After ‘Boycott Kareena Kapoor Khan’ trends, Bollywood fans suggest Kangana Ranaut, Yami Gautam as Sita

A day after ‘Boycott Kareena Khan’ became a social media trend and sparked televised debates across Indian channels, Bollywood fans are now going a step further and suggesting alternate choices in actresses to play the role of Sita in a retelling of the Indian epic, the Ramayan.

Kangana Ranaut: The controversial Bollywood actress may have alienated several in the industry and members of her fan following but there are others who feel Ranaut is the right choice to play wife to the Hindu deity Ram in the retelling of the story. Twitter user Deendayal Tiwari kept it simple, saying: “ I think @kangnaranuut is the best suggestion for Sita’s character. #Boycottkareenakapoorkhan.” Tushar Srivastava posted on Twitter: “I think only kangana will be fit for a role of sita because she has more knowledge instead of kareena Khan.” Ranaut also has a roster of roles behind her that strengthen her case, including her Indian National Awardwinning role in ‘Manikarnina: The Queen of Jhansi’.

Yami Gautam: Since her hush hush wedding to filmmaker Aditya Dhar last week, Gautam has not only gotten a stamp of approval from Ranaut for her simplistic bridal look but she has also won the hearts of fans who think she is ideal to play Sita on screen. “Role of Sita ji for movie Ramayan mst b offered to such person who believes in it's Hindusim culture, respects & adore it rather than someone who disrespects the culture & disbeliever of the same. Yami Gautam best fits for the role,” posted Kushgara on Twitter. Ajay Ghaba added: “think more than anyone else @yamigautam deserves roll of #MaaSita and certainly not #TaimurAliKhan’s mummy.”

Anushka Shetty: She won over hearts when she played Devasena in ‘Baahubali’ and the South Indian actress is continuing to win hearts on social media as well as a hot contender to play Sita. Twitter user Matakti Aatma took to the micro blogging site to write: “The two best choices for role of maa Sita in my opinion. Keerthy (Suresh) and Anushka (Shetty).” Twitter user Manish Sharma also tweeted: “Anushka Shetty is my choice to play Sita on screen.”

Keerthy Suresh: The South Indian star, who has featured in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam cinema, has also one an Indian National Film Award for Best Actress for portraying actress Savitri in the Telugu biopic film ‘Mahanati’. Her versatility into taking on varied roles has made her a contender as well to play Sita according to fans of the star on social media.

Dipika Chikhlia: Old is gold, as they say and several Twitter users have stated they cannot picture anyone else play Sita on screen other than Chikhlia, who played the character in Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayana’ for years.

What caused the drama: On Saturday, #BoycottKareenaKhan was picking up steam in India with several taking to the micro-blogging site calling out the Bollywood actress for reportedly charging Rs120 million to play Sita in a film based on the Indian epic, ‘Ramayan’. Several others also took objection to the fact that she was being considered for the role of Sita, who was the wife of the Hindu deity Ram, while being married to a person of a different religion in real life; Kapoor Khan is married to Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and the couple are parents to two children.

It’s a no for Kareena Kapoor Khan: The brouhaha erupted after news broke last week the Kapoor Khan was in the running to play Sita, who is a revered figure in India. Interestingly, news of her playing the character on screen has already been refuted by the writer of the film who is penning the retelling. Entertainment portal Spotboye asked writer K Vijayendra Prasad about Kapoor Khan being considerd for the new project, which is being directed by Alaukik Desai, and his response was: “No, no, no.”