‘Ranbir Kapoor has baggage after Animal’: Ramanand Sagar’s grandson on Ramayana casting 

In a video shared by The Climax India, Shiv acknowledged that Yash and Sai Pallavi are well-cast as Ravana and Sita, respectively. “I saw the trailer that was released yesterday, and of course, the trailer was much better than the teaser because the previous teaser they had put out had very little information. This was a longer trailer where we could see more of the characters, more of the VFX, and there was also the reveal of Ravan, who is played by Yash,” he said.

He further added, “Overall, I really like the casting of Yash as Ravan, and I also really like Sai Pallavi as Sita because they’re from South India, and these actors really understand our mythology. These are stories that have been told to them from a very young age by their grandparents. So they really know the mannerisms and understand these characters very well. I think that’s why Yash and Sai Pallavi were really able to incorporate these characters into their performances.”

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Ramanand Sagar’s Son says “ I really like the casting of Sai Pallavi and #Yash not sure of #RanbirKapoor” #Ramayana pic.twitter.com/Hh0x9Lv47u

— The Climax India (@TheClimaxIndia) August 3, 2026

However, Shiv Sagar admitted that he had reservations about casting Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram. “I did not really care much for some of the other actors. I felt that, typically, what we have done is always cast a fresh face for a character like Ram. Because Ranbir has a lot of baggage with him, especially after Animal, I really don’t know if he will be accepted as Ram.”

Ranbir Kapoor played Ranvijay Singh, a morally complex and violent protagonist, in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s 2023 action drama Animal.

Ranbir Kapoor reacts to Lord Ram casting in Ramayana

Amid the criticism surrounding his casting as Lord Ram, Ranbir Kapoor addressed the debate while promoting Ramayana at San Diego Comic-Con recently. “The first question that popped into my head was, am I worthy? Am I the right person and why am I being gifted this responsibility to not play Lord Rama but represent him? But very soon you understand the value, the responsibility and the noble intention of the filmmakers to present the story, which has been relevant for 4,000 years. It’s deeply ingrained in our subconscious. So I don’t think there’s a right actor to play Lord Rama,” he said.

The actor added, “All the people who have watched Ramayana, they all have their own interpretation of Lord Ram. There is no fixed face to it. Many people will probably feel like I am the wrong casting. Some people will say I am the right casting. But the honest truth is that the right casting for Ram would be any actor who has the right intentions and who has belief and faith in the journey of Lord Ram.”

About Ramayana

Ramayan is directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra and Yash. It features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Raavan, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman, Sunny Deol as Hanuman, and Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi. The trailer of the movie was released on July 24.

The film’s music has been composed by Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman. Ramayana: Part One is set to hit theatres during Diwali 2026, and the second part is scheduled for a theatrical release in Diwali 2027.