Ramayana Part One Hits Cinemas Today: Early Reviews Rave About Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and the Film’s Scale
Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Rise of a Legend opened worldwide on 5 November with Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana; early critics and audiences praise its visuals and music.
One of the most talked-about Indian films in years has finally arrived. Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, the first of director Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part retelling of the epic, opened in cinemas worldwide on Thursday, 5 November, and the first wave of reactions has been overwhelmingly positive.
The cast and the crew
Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi is Sita and Yash takes on Ravana. Sunny Deol appears as Hanuman, Ravi Dubey as Lakshmana, Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi, Sheeba Chadha as Manthara, Kajal Aggarwal as Mandodari and Rakul Preet Singh as Shurpanakha, with Arun Govil, Shobhana and Vivek Oberoi also in the cast. Namit Malhotra is the producer, the songs are by AR Rahman and the background score is a collaboration between Rahman and Hans Zimmer. The visual effects are by DNEG.
The film runs for about 3 hours 15 minutes and has been certified U by the CBFC. Its budget has been reported at around ₹4,000 crore for the project. Reports differ on when Part Two will follow.
What the first reviews say
Trade analyst and critic Taran Adarsh, writing for Bollywood Hungama, gave the film five stars and called it an experience rather than just a film. He singled out the scale of the production, DNEG’s visual work, the Sita swayamvar and the forest battle, the clash between Ravana and Jatayu aboard the Pushpaka Vimana, and the music. He described Ranbir Kapoor’s Rama as dignified and quietly strong, and called Yash a commanding villain.
Reactions gathered by ETV Bharat from viewers on X were broadly in the same direction, with praise for the action, world-building and the 3D presentation. Not everyone was entirely won over, though: some viewers felt the opening portions were rough, a few performances uneven, some action sequences overlong, and the songs weaker than the background score.
Why it matters
The Ramayana has been told on Indian screens many times, most famously in Ramanand Sagar’s television serial, in which Arun Govil played Rama. This version is the first to attempt the epic with a blockbuster budget, international technical talent and a planned global release, and its box office run over the Diwali week will be closely watched by the industry.
Featured image: Painting: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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