4 min readNew DelhiJul 30, 2026 10:01 PM IST
The highly-anticipated trailer of Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Part One, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi in pivotal roles, was finally unveiled on Thursday to a mixed response. However, hours after its release, actor Nitish Bharadwaj, who played the role of Lord Ram in B.R. Chopra’s 2001 television series Ramayan, heaped praise on the trailer of Ramayana.
In a social media post, Nitish called the upcoming epic an “Oscar-worthy” film. He also said that Ranbir is now at par with Ranveer Singh. Taking to his Instagram handle, he shared a poster of the trailer and wrote in the caption, “My views on Ramayan trailer – 100% Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Namit Badhaee. Nitesh Tiwari is Bharat’s next gift to the world cinema after Satyajit Ray & Shekhar Kapur. Tens of awards for Production design & DOP.”
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The veteran actor continued, “Wonderful period creation using VFx & AI. Thanks to a great music maestro Hans Zimmer for collaborating with Indian cinema. Ranbir now at par with Ranvir as the next 2 unbeatable Dhurandhars. Yash – welcome to global cinema. RK, always loved you as an actor but now starts your social responsibility to uphold Bharat’s heritage, values, culture & ethos.”
Nitish Bharadwaj even had a message for Ranbir Kapoor, urging the actor to leave films like Animal behind as he steps into the role of Lord Ram. He added that he hoped audiences would wholeheartedly embrace Sai Pallavi as Goddess Sita. “So no more ANIMAL even if the goldmine is offered to you. Plz do not pollute your Vaani anymore. Bharat has enough stories to satiate your acting prowess. I only hope that Bharateeyas will accept Sai Pallavi as Sita & I can also hear Tulsidas ji’s CHAUPAEES amidst Mridangam & Manjira somewhere in the film. That’s the sound identity of this Maha-Kavvya in every Bharateeya’s soul. Will want to see RAMYAN at least 5 times as my respect to Nitesh’s toil of making this magnum opus,” he concluded.
Ranbir Kapoor defends casting as Lord Ram
A section of social media users have questioned the makers’ decision to cast Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, arguing that he was not the right fit for the role. While promoting Ramayana at the San Diego Comic-Con, the actor reacted to the online criticism and told Review Nation, “The first question that popped into my head was, am I worthy? Am I the right person and why am I being gifted this responsibility to not play Lord Rama but represent him? But very soon you understand the value, the responsibility and the noble intention of the filmmakers to present the story, which has been relevant for 4,000 years. It’s deeply ingrained in our subconscious. So I don’t think there’s a right actor to play Lord Rama.”
He continued, “All the people who have watched Ramayana, they all have their own interpretation of Lord Ram. There is no fixed face to it. Many people will probably feel like I am the wrong casting. Some people will say I am the right casting. But the honest truth is that the right casting for Ram would be any actor who has the right intentions and who has belief and faith in the journey of Lord Ram.”
About Ramayana
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Helmed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana is a two-part magnum opus. The film features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Hanuman, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, Kajal Aggarwal as Mandodari, Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi, Arun Govil as Dasharatha, Rakul Preet Singh as Surpanakha, Sheeba Chaddha as Manthara, Adinath Kothare as Bharat and many others.
Produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios, DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, the film has been reportedly made on a budget of Rs 4,000 crore. The music has been composed by Oscar winners Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman. The mythological drama will hit theatres globally – Part 1 in Diwali 2026 and Part 2 in Diwali 2027.
