Mukesh Khanna criticises Ranbir Kapoor climbing trees, shooting arrows in Ramayana: ‘Agar aapne Rama ko Yodha bataya…’ | Bollywood
Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor is all set to essay the role of Lord Ram in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana. The first glimpse of the film, released in July, has left fans excited. However, in a recent interview with Galatta India, Mukesh Khanna, who played Bhishma Pitamah in BR Chopra’s iconic television series Mahabharat, expressed that he is not certain whether Ranbir will be able to pull off Lord Ram’s Maryada Purushottam image.
Mukesh revealed that he was about to share a reaction video to Ramayana’s teaser, which showed Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram climbing a tree and shooting an arrow, but his team stopped him, saying it was just AI-generated and not real. When he was informed that it appeared in the official teaser, Mukesh said he was asked to comment on Ranbir playing Lord Ram despite having earlier admitted to eating beef. However, he refused to react, saying Ranbir might have even quit eating it by now.
Mukesh Khanna reacts to Ramayana’s first glimpse
He raised an objection to depicting Lord Ram as a warrior in the first glimpse, saying, “Ched chaad karoge toh phasoge. Aap Ram ko yodha bata rahe ho, vo Maryada Purushottam the (If you tease or provoke, you’ll get into trouble. You are calling Ram a warrior, but he was the Maryada Purushottam — the ideal man). They’re showing Lord Ram climbing trees and shooting arrows. Krishna or Arjuna can do that, but Rama wouldn’t do it. If Rama proclaimed himself as a warrior, he would never ask monkeys to help him. He was enough, one man against Ravana.”
He further added, “From what I can see, I don’t know if Ranbir Kapoor can pull off the Maryada Purushottam image of Rama. He’s a good actor, but he has an image chasing him — and that’s Animal. I don’t have an objection to it. He could do it. But I think agar aapne Rama ko Yodha Rama bataya, toh log accept nahi kar paayenge. Iske upar gadbad ho sakti hai (If you show Lord Rama as a warrior, then people will not accept it. This can create a problem).”
About Ramayana
Helmed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra, the film also stars Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravie Subey as Lakshman, Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman, and Kannada superstar Yash as Ravana. The film is scheduled to release in two parts — one on Diwali 2026 and the other on Diwali 2027.
The first glimpse video showcased Ranbir as Lord Ram and Yash as Ravana, but it was the VFX that stole the show for fans. Many called it far superior to Om Raut’s Adipurush.
