Rakul Preet Singh on playing Surpanakha in Ramayana: 'A very misunderstood and layered character'

For an epic built around a king and his greatest adversary, the character drawing the most curiosity ahead of Ramayana’s release may be the one who sets the whole conflict in motion. Rakul Preet Singh, who plays Surpanakha in Nitesh Tiwari’s mammoth adaptation, says that is precisely what drew her to the part.

Why she said yes

Speaking to news agency PTI, the actor said two things excited her about the project. The first was its ambition: she sees the film as carrying India’s history and storytelling to the world on a scale no Indian production has attempted before. The second was the character herself.

“Surpanakha is a very misunderstood and layered character,” Rakul said, pointing out that her actions are what ultimately trigger the war at the heart of the epic. Playing a woman with so many shades, she added, has been a genuinely interesting challenge.

She had touched on the same idea earlier on X, where she reshared a letter from a fan along with a personal note. Thanking the writer, Rakul said it was Surpanakha’s complexity that made her accept the role, and that popular memory tends to reduce the character to a single episode when her story runs much deeper. “As an actor, roles that challenge perception are the most exciting,” she wrote, signing off with a hope that audiences would meet the character with an open mind when the film opens.

A brief glimpse that stole the trailer

Rakul’s few seconds on screen in the first trailer proved surprisingly memorable. While much of the online conversation centred on Ranbir Kapoor’s look as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and the sheer size of the production, her appearance as Surpanakha emerged as one of the unexpected talking points.

Where Surpanakha fits in the story

In the Ramayana, Surpanakha is the sister of Ravana. After she is humiliated in the forest, Ravana sets out to avenge her, taking on the guise of a sage to abduct Sita. That abduction leads directly to the war between Rama and the king of Lanka.

About the film

The new Ramayana draws on Valmiki’s epic, among the oldest works of literature in the world. Ranbir Kapoor plays Rama, pposite Yash as the asura king Ravana and Sai Pallavi as Sita.

Produced by Namit Malhotra and Yash, the film has been split into two parts and is reported to carry a combined budget of around ₹4,000 crore. Part one arrives in cinemas on November 5, 2026, while the second instalment is expected around Diwali 2027.