after launchRamayanaFirst look of ‘Rama’ at an event in Los Angeles, Nitesh Tiwari, Ranbir Kapoor and producer Namit Malhotra flew to New York for the second screening. Similar to the LA event, the director and cast of the upcoming epic sat down for a chat where they discussed the film, casting, message and more.
Nitesh Tiwari in casting Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram
In a video from the event, director Tiwari can be seen talking about his decision to cast Kapoor as Lord Rama, and commanding him to bring the character to life on screen. At the event, Tiwari said, “Lord Ram was a man of few words. His love was unbound. His pain could not be seen but could be felt. His courage required a lot of physicality. This role was really demanding and so we felt there was no one better than Ranbir Kapoor to portray all these things and manage the expectations of a billion people.“
Nitesh Tiwari on not modernizing ‘Ramayana’
Director Tiwari was also asked during the QA round why he chose to modernize the ancient epic and stay true to the original and its value system. As Nitesh explains, “I wouldn’t say we made a conscious effort to make it a modern story or anything. The essence of ‘Ramayana’ lies in its values. Those values are universal and eternal… I don’t need to modernize it in any way.”He added: “What has happened is that the world has forgotten these values, it’s time to remind them and maybe a film like this will make the world a better place.”
First look at ‘Ramayana’
Casting Ranbir Kapoor in the role of Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash the formidable Ravana, Sunny Deol as the powerful Hanuman and Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, ‘Ramayana’ is one of the most awaited films of 2026. While the first look has been released to a select audience in the US, fans in India and around the world will see the clip on April 2, producer Namit announced in a social media post.‘Ramayana’ will hit the theaters on Diwali 2026.
