As anticipation builds around RamayanaActor Sunil Lahri — best known for playing Lakshman in Ramanand Sagar’s flagship TV series — has shared a balanced view of the Ramayana teaser. While optimistic about the scale and intent of the film, Lahri believes that some emotional aspects need to be deepened.Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, it stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Ravi Dubey Lakshman, Sai Pallavi Sita and Yash Ravana.
“Some things I liked and didn’t like about the teaser”
The teaser has drawn mixed reactions online, with some praising its scale and others questioning the visual effects. Reacting similarly, Lahri told PTI, “There were things I liked and didn’t like about the teaser. I wish and hope that they make a landmark film for our country, present our culture properly and evoke the right emotions among the world audience through ‘Ramayana’.”
‘Ranbir He is a very good actor, but will the public accept him as Ram?’
Lahri praised him Ranbir Kapoorhe worried whether the actor matched the emotional essence of Lord Ram.“Ranbir is definitely a very good actor, I really like his work and he will definitely do very well. But will the audience accept him as Ram or not is the question,” he said.He further pointed to a specific moment in the teaser, which didn’t work for him. “The scene where Ranbir comes into the light, the innocence that should have been the first revelation, it wasn’t there. I didn’t like that, I felt it was a little harsh, the innocence was missing.”
“Without emotion, even a beautiful painting is incomplete”
While Lahri appreciated the visuals, the music and the overall scale, he insisted that emotional depth is crucial for a story like the Ramayana, saying that “without emotion, even a beautiful painting feels incomplete”.“If there is no emotion, the picture is not good. Ranbir’s look was good, the music was also good, the effects created were good… the overall results were good.“I hope they don’t make mistakes. If they think they want to show themselves differently, and if they do something that will make people say ‘wow’, then they should understand that the wow factor (visuals) doesn’t work here, it works in sci-fi movies.”
“The demons looked like they came out of a Hollywood sci-fi movie”
The veteran actor also expressed his disappointment with the depiction of demons in the teaser, saying that he felt it was too stylized, like something straight out of a Hollywood sci-fi movie. “What we did was very basic. Although, the effects were not that powerful, but it was close to reality. Look at the costumes, the crowns were made of solid brass, they were heavy,” he said recalling his experience working on Ramayan.“There was no AC, there was no frills, it felt like you were working in 200 degree temperatures because the costumes and accessories were so heavy,” added Lahri. The Ramayana is conceived as a live-action saga in two parts 5,000 years ago, rooted in one of the most enduring epics in Indian mythology. The film is produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios and DNEG in association with Yash’s Monster Mind Creations and is scheduled for a Diwali 2026 release.
