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Casting director Mukesh Chhabra opened up about why actor Ranbir Kapoor is the perfect choice to play Lord Ram in director Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming Ramayana adaptation. He said that once audiences watch the film, they’ll realise that there could’ve been no other choice for the highly coveted role. Mukesh also revealed that casting the character of Lakshman proved to be a difficult task because established actors weren’t willing to play second-fiddle to Ranbir. In the end, he said in an appearance on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast, they went with a newcomer from the television industry.
He said, “Nitesh bhai had decided to cast Ranbir very early in the process, and once you watch the film, you’ll see why it’s such apt casting. I think the actors I’ve worked with the most in my career are Ranbir and Rajkummar Rao. Nobody can beat Ranbir when it comes to acting.” Explaining what he meant by that, Mukesh continued, “He’s very neutral about it. He doesn’t bother too much about hits and flops. All he’s concerned about is acting.”
He added, “He seems to hate promotions. All he wants to do is act. I’ve observed him closely; I’ve watched his performance in Rockstar, in Tamasha, in Sanju, in Bombay Velvet… His biggest quality is that he seems effortless. With some actors, you see them putting in the extra effort in workshops, but when you see them on screen, you can’t tell. Ranbir doesn’t let anybody see the effort he’s putting into his performances.”
Mukesh also opened up about casting some other major roles in the film, and said that a big name has been locked for Hanuman, while they’ve chosen to go with a newcomer for the role of Lakshman. He said, “We’ve found a lovely actor for Lakshman. A lot of people auditioned for the role. But I’m very happy with the actor we’ve gone with, this is going to be his first film in Bollywood.”
He said that Lakshman’s key trait in the film is that he adores his brother, and doesn’t challenge his opinion. He also needs to maintain his dignity, but can’t dominate interactions. But finding someone to play this ‘simple, straightforward’ character proved to be difficult. “It was the last role we cast. We’ve chosen a young actor who has worked a lot in television; he’s a lovely guy. We couldn’t have found a better Lakshman. I’m very happy that the people we’d initially approached all said no. Two or three people said no, because they think that Ram and Lakshman will always have to be together.”
Mukesh said that even Lakshman is a god, and after experiencing difficulty in casting the role, told himself that the person who truly respects the character will eventually get the part. Ramayana has been shrouded in secrecy. The film hasn’t been officially announced yet, although leaked set pictures recently revealed Ranbir and his co-star Sai Pallavi in full costume.
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