Ramayan Part 1 (Mythological Epic / 2026/ In Cinemas )
Writers – Nitesh Tiwari, Shridhar Raghavan, Shreyas Jain
Director – Nitesh Tiwari
Confession –
I had disliked the trailer so much that I had decided to not watch the film untill first few positive reviews poured in. I did not want to watch with dislike ,a story that deserved reverence.
But ,I actually ended up being awed even though there were a couple of aspects that left me wanting.
Positives –
The sheer scale and visual grandeur left me impressed. I was spell bound with the sets, costumes, jewellery and the world they created with VFX. It felt amazing to see a good depiction of Ramayan after decades.It brings alive the glorious “Sone Ki Lanka’ . It boasts of a fine set of actors depicting our beloved characters. It regales one of the most loved epics with great efforts, courage and unmatched production values.
My favourite creations by their art /design and costume department were Ravan’s throne, his crown , jewels and his Pushpak Vimaan. Loved Sita ji’s mul cotton attires .
Even though the story doesn’t dwell enough at any point to make a strong emotional connect but there were parts that do leave an impact. For example, I felt deeply for Dashrath’s agony, the heartbreaking announcement, onset of exile and Jatayu’s battle and death.
Performances-
Ranbir gives a very measured performance. His portrayal is a fine mix of tender human emotions and unfazed God-ly aura. For an actor known for his intensity and unbridled portrayal, it must have been a challenge. It might take more than a lifetime to not see Ram in an Arun Govil avatar but I can definitely say Ranbir is a capable actor who grows on you and settles well in the character.
Sai Pallavi is fine actor. What’s unique about her is the pious aura that she brings to Sita. Her charm ,simplicity and prettiness will win your heart even though she doesn’t flaunt stereotypical beauty standards.
Yash steals the show as Ravan, debatable though whether he should have. I appreciate his performance as an actor. His Ravan exudes strength ,courage, confidence and arrogance , that the character is synonymous with.
Ravi Dubey is adorable in his performance as feisty Lakshman.
Arun Govil plays Dashrath with as much sincerity and love as he played Ram decades ago. You feel a certain special warmth for his Dashrath.
Rakulpreet looks beautiful and great as Surpanakha (a mellowed depiction as compared to the negative one we know )
It was a pleasure to spot the actors in iconic characters. Kunal Kapoor as Indra, Shishir Sharma as Guru Vashishit, Ajinkya Deo as Maharishi Vishwamitra, Mukesh Rishi as Rishi Agastya, Shobhana as Kaikasi, Lara Dutta as Kaikayi , Kajal Aggarwal as Mandodari, Vivek Oberoi as Vidyutjeev.
Condensing an epic of such mammoth scale, with this many characters and sub stories must have been a challenge. So skipping a couple of backstories or shortening certain episodes is understandable. Those who know Ramayan well, will have a long list. For me ,certain deviations or cinematic liberties stood out more than others ,primary of them being the depiction of Ravan and asuras.
Shortcomings-
Asurs’ plight as downtrodden ,when they lost the battle to Indra ,while not showing what evilness asurs actually stood for, was a bit odd.
No denying the fact that Ravan was a powerful and knowledgable man, but even that depiction is lopsided. None of his vices besides arrogance are highlighted. Wherever he takes the harsh decisions, he is shown to be in moral dilemma, which blunts out his evilness. His backstory tries to justifies the man he becomes. And he gets the lion’s share of footage too. At a certain point I felt like I was watching Ravan-ayanam.
And honestly , Yash looks so glorious as Ravan, it was difficult to hate him.
The fact that Yash is a co producer explains it all.
For kids , young generation and the people who are not aware of Ramayan ,I don’t think they get a balanced view of Ram-Ravan or Dev- Asur Or Good Vs Evil situation. That is my only grouse.
Do not want to comment on how Sita is shown to have skills of a warrior. It is a cinematic liberty that could have been avoided but I don’t find it offensive either. The film offers fresh and offbeat VFX-ish depictions of battle scenes and “mayaavi jungles”. No harm in the imaginative representation either.
For a film of this scale, beauty, grandeur, importance and the potential appeal, the music was quite underwhelming. With better music , the emotional connect would have been many fold. The costume department shouldn’t have shorthanded the extras. Also, the film was a bit too long at 3 hrs 15 min. There were places where it felt dragged. It could have been crisper by 15-20 min had it not been in love with Ravan so much.
Recommendation-
Despite all the shortcomings, I absolutely loved the film and am totally in awe of what they have accomplished. Looking forward to its next part and hoping they compensate the flaws. The film is nothing short of being magnificent.
If you love cinematic experiences , do catch this in cinemas, for I don’t think anyone is attempting this anytime soon.
