Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna has expressed his concerns about Ranbir Kapoor playing the role of Lord Ram in the upcoming epic movie Ramayana. Mukesh Khanna's reservations are especially considering Ranbir Kapoor's recent image after starring in the 2023 film Animal, which was directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga.
During one of his recent interviews, Mukesh Khanna criticised some of the creative choices made for the film and questioned whether Ranbir Kapoor is the right fit to portray the highly revered figure of Lord Ram, who is known as Maryada Purushottam.
In an interview with Gallata India, Mukesh Khanna said, ‘They're depicting Ram as someone who climbs trees and shoots arrows. Krishna or Arjuna might do that, but Rama wouldn't. If Rama considered himself a warrior, he would never rely on monkeys for assistance. He stood alone, one man against Ravana.’
The actor further added, ‘From my perspective, I’m not sure if Ranbir can embody the Maryada Purshottam persona of Rama. He’s a talented actor, but he carries an image with him, and that’s Animal. I have no issues with that. He might be able to do it.’
For the unversed, the first glimpse of the film of the Nitesh Tiwari-directed Ramayana introduced Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram. In a quick moment in the video, Ranbir was also shown climbing a tree.
Mukesh Khanna also had doubts about whether the two-part Ramayana saga would achieve new box office records, considering the current trends in the film industry. On July 3, the makers unveiled the first look of Ramayana, showing Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram and Yash as Ravana.
Fans are making a buzz on the internet about the actor’s appearances and are waiting for the release of the film. The film will be released in two parts; the first part is set to release in Diwali 2026.
Ramayana is directed by Nitesh Tiwari and written by Shridhar Raghavan. Apart from Ranbir Kapoor and Yash, it's also cast Sai Pallavi, Ravi Dubey, Sunny Deol, Amitabh Bachchan, Arun Govil, Lara Dutta, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Kunal Kapoor and many others.
