Ramayana star Yash shares Diwali family photos in Ravana avatar with wife and children

Dubai: Actor Yash gave fans a glimpse of his Diwali celebrations, sharing family photographs in which he appears in his Ravana avatar from Nitesh Tiwari's upcoming film Ramayana.

Taking to social media on Tuesday, the actor posted pictures with his wife, Radhika Pandit, and their children, daughter Ayra and son Yatharv.

One photograph shows the family posing together for a festive picture. Another features Yash dressed as Ravana, taking a selfie while his children imitate the character's expressions.

"Wishing you all a very Happy Deepavali. Thank you for the love," Yash wrote alongside the photographs.

Director Nitesh Tiwari responded with a series of heart emojis.

Yash's Diwali pictures come amid growing conversations about his portrayal of Ravana in Ramayana.

Following a screening in Los Angeles on October 27, the actor spoke about his seven-year-old son Yatharv's emotional reaction to a scene in which Ravana kills Jatayu, the bird from the epic.

Yash said he was surprised by his son's response, especially since it was the first time the boy had watched a film in a theatre.

Actress Sai Pallavi, who plays Sita in the film, also recalled the incident during a media interaction attended by Yash and Ranbir Kapoor.

She said Yatharv told his father: "I didn't like you killing that bird."

According to Sai Pallavi, the boy understood that his father was acting but still felt the scene was wrong.

"He said, 'No, it is not nice. It is not good that you kill the bird even in the movie. I don't think you should have done that.' It was such a beautiful moment," she recalled.

Yash has previously spoken about the challenge of presenting a different perspective on Ravana, a character traditionally portrayed as the antagonist in the Ramayana.

The actor said he wanted to explore the character's lesser-known qualities rather than focus only on his negative traits.

"Sometimes you want to give people another point of view, allow them to understand that he also had some good qualities. It is not just black and white," he said in an earlier interaction.

He added that understanding Ravana's motivations and where he went wrong made the role particularly interesting and challenging.

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana. The ensemble cast also includes Sunny Deol, Ravi Dubey and Lara Dutta.

Made on a reported budget of Rs 4,000 crore for its two-part production, Nitesh Tiwari's ambitious epic is among the biggest projects in Indian cinema. The first instalment, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash, has made a strong box-office start, grossing nearly Rs 664 crore worldwide within five days of its November 5 release, including Rs 250 crore from overseas markets. The two-part saga has a reported budget of Rs 2,000 crore per instalment.