Mukesh Khanna questions Ranbir Kapoor's Ram in Ramayana: 'Made him Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan'

Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna has returned with fresh criticism of Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana, arguing that the upcoming epic turns Ram into a typical big-screen action star instead of the dignified, restrained figure revered as Maryada Purushottam. He also questioned how heavily the film relies on visual effects.

The tree-top archery scene

In an interview with the YouTube channel Bollyywood Now, the Shaktimaan star singled out a moment from the trailer in which Ranbir Kapoor's Ram climbs a tree and fires arrows from it. Khanna said that nothing in his years of reading the Ramayana or attending Ramleela performances matched that image.

He said, "You have turned Lord Rama into Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth. No, sir, Ram is Ram — Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram. He used to smile and would even fold his hands before the ocean, saying, 'Move aside, I need to go ahead'.

He suggested the film was moulding Ram in the image of Hollywood tough guys, and pointed to what he sees as a contradiction in the story itself:

"If you portray Shri Ram more as a man of action than as Maryada Purushottam, and turn him into Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood, I might feel that Rama did not fight like this. If he fought this way, then why would he have needed the help of the Vanar Sena?"

Spectacle versus faith

Khanna conceded that the film's scale could win over audiences abroad, but said viewers in India would judge it through the lens of devotion rather than visual grandeur.

"They would compare it with Star Wars aur shayad kama legi. Lekin India mein India ki aastha ke hisaab se honi chahiye. Hum special effects nahi dekhenge (It may do well commercially. But in India, it should be made keeping Indian faith and beliefs in mind. We will not be looking at the special effects)."

Not his first objection

Khanna has voiced doubts about the project before. Speaking to Free Press Journal, he worried that Ranbir's screen image from Animal, in which he played the violent and troubled Ranvijay Singh in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's film, might follow him into the role of Ram.

"Ranbir Kapoor's image was established after Animal. I hope he doesn't bring that image with him; that was the wrong image for children. I was angry about Animal too," he said.

He also expressed concern about Yash's Ravana: "I wanted to watch the trailer, but there are so many special effects that I couldn't watch it. If Ravana gets more screen time than Rama in Ramayana, it will hurt people's faith."

Tiwari's adaptation of Valmiki's epic is being made in two parts on a reported budget of about Rs 4,000 crore, which ranks it among the costliest Indian productions ever. Ranbir Kapoor plays Ram, Sai Pallavi plays Sita and Yash plays Ravana. The supporting cast includes Sunny Deol (Hanuman), Ravi Dubey (Lakshman), Kajal Aggarwal (Mandodari), Lara Dutta (Kaikeyi), Arun Govil (Dasharatha), Rakul Preet Singh (Surpanakha), Sheeba Chaddha (Manthara) and Adinath Kothare (Bharat).