Sadhguru asks Ramayana producer Namit Malhotra how a ‘handsome man like Yash’ was cast as villain Ravan: ‘We needed a superstar-level person’

Sadhguru smiled and replied, “I don’t know how Yash became Ravana. I know him very well. A villain always means he has a blunt nose and a huge stature. Yash is a handsome man.”

The producer instantly defended his stance and said, “It is because we were almost looking at a superstar level person to come in and play that role. He is very handsome and a very talented star in the country, and incredibly loved. So, the whole idea was how do we try him? The idea was there had to be a lot of shades of Ravana in terms of why he was who he was.”

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Having said that, the spiritual leader told him that all the villains somehow always have a blunt nose. “Somehow, have you noticed that villains always have blunt nose and not a sharp nose,” he said, and Namit quipped, “There’s a new learning for me. I shall go and look at that.”

During the same conversation, they also discussed Ranbir Kapoor’s portrayal of Lord Ram. “People are pulling out things from the past and asking how Ranbir Kapoor could play Shri Rama in Ramayana,” Namit said. “It’s an unfair judgment of an actor because he acted in some way in the past. You can’t expect him to become Ram. Tomorrow in another movie, he may act as Ravana,” Sadhguru replied.

According to reports, the makers have already wrapped up the first instalment of the film. The mythological fantasy drama also stars Sai Pallavi, Sunny Deol, Vivek Oberoi, Ravi Dubey, Lara Dutta, Arun Govil, and others. It is set to hit the theatres worldwide – Part 1 on Diwali 2026 and Part 2 on Diwali 2027. Touted as the most expensive Indian project ever, the two-part saga would be made on a budget of Rs 4,000 crore.