‘Turned Lord Rama into Salman Khan, Rajinikanth’: Mukesh Khanna on Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana

Mukesh Khanna has once again weighed in on Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, this time questioning the way Lord Ram has been portrayed in the film’s action sequences. The veteran actor said the character appears to be presented more as a conventional action hero than as ‘Maryada Purushottam’, and he also raised concerns about the film’s extensive use of visual effects.

Speaking to Bollyywood Now’s YouTube channel, Mukesh Khanna discussed the trailer and specifically pointed to a sequence in which Ranbir Kapoor’s Lord Rama is seen climbing a tree and shooting arrows. He said such a depiction did not match his understanding of the character after reading the Ramayana and watching Ramleelas over the years.

Khanna said, “Sri Ram ko dhanurdhar bana diya hai. Sri Ram dhanurdhar they. Bhagwan ka roop hai, avatar hai. Krishna bhi Bhagwan ke avatar the. Par jis tarah ke fight sequence dikhaye hain, Sri Ram ped ke upar uth ke teer nahi mar sakte, kabhi dekha nahi. Itni Ramayan padhi hai. Ramleela dekhi hai. Sri Ram ko Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, bana diya, Rajinikanth bana diya. Ram Maryada Purushottam hain. Smile karte the, Samudra ko bhi haath jodkar kehte the, hatt jao mujhe aage jaana hai (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’.)”

The Shaktimaan actor went on to say that the film’s treatment makes Lord Rama appear like a larger-than-life action star.

“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 Lord Rama did not fight like this. If he fought this way, then why would he have needed the help of the Vanar Sena?”

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Mukesh Khanna on Ramayana’s VFX

Khanna also shared his reservations about the film’s heavy dependence on visual effects. While he acknowledged that the film could appeal to international audiences as a large-scale spectacle, he said Indian viewers would look at the portrayal differently because of their cultural and religious connection with Lord Rama.

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He said, “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).”

What Mukesh Khanna had earlier said about Ramayana

This is not the first time Mukesh Khanna has expressed reservations about Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana. The Shaktimaan actor had earlier spoken about Ranbir Kapoor’s image after Animal and questioned whether it could affect how audiences view him as Lord Ram.

In a conversation with Free Press Journal, Khanna said he hoped Ranbir would not carry the image of his Animal character into Ramayana.

“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. In Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, Ranbir played Ranvijay Singh, a violent and emotionally complicated character.

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Khanna also raised questions about the portrayal of Yash’s Ravana in the Ramayana trailer.

“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,” he said.

About Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana is a two-part adaptation of Valmiki’s epic. Ranbir Kapoor stars as Lord Rama, with Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana. The film also features Sunny Deol as Hanuman, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, Kajal Aggarwal as Mandodari, Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi, Arun Govil as Dasharatha, Rakul Preet Singh as Surpanakha, Sheeba Chaddha as Manthara and Adinath Kothare as Bharat, among others.

The ambitious project is being produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios in association with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations. As per Malhotra, the two-part epic is reportedly being made on a budget of around Rs 4,000 crore, making it one of the most expensive Indian film projects. The music is being composed by Oscar-winning composers Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman, marking their first collaboration for an Indian film.

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Ramayana is planned as a two-part theatrical release. The first instalment is scheduled to reach cinemas worldwide in November 2026, ahead of Diwali, while the second part is slated for release during Diwali 2027.

The makers are planning a multilingual release in India, with versions expected in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada alongside Hindi.