"Ramayana Part 1," directed by Nitesh Tiwari, is getting its first round of reviews, and critics find plenty of positives to say but some negatives too.
Critic hail Yash's Ravana and visuals effects while differing in opinion about Ranbir Kapoor's Ram. This review round-up presents critics' reviews, which should not be taken as my personal review since I have not seen the movie myself.
"Ramayana" is a two-part adaptation of Indian epic. The epic movie is written and directed by Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus Studios and Yash's Monster Mind Creations.
The first part of the movie is slated for release during the Diwali season of 2026 and the second during Diwali 2027. According to IMDb News, the movie had an estimated budget of $100 million.
Ranbir Kapoor: Lord Rama, and also Parashurama, a double role that he said required a year of preparation.
Sai Pallavi: Sita.
Yash: Ravana, who is also a producer on the film.
Sunny Deol: Hanuman.
Ravie Dubey: Lakshmana.
Lara Dutta: Kaikeyi.
It was also noted that Amitabh Bachchan voiced the role of Jatayu. The screen play of the movie has been written by Shridhar Raghavan and Tiwari.
Many of the critics focused on the scale of the movie. According to Great Andhra, the movie has magnificent visuals and provides many amazing scenes that were not usually seen in such scale in other screen adaptations of the legend.
The scenes liked by the critics included:
The battle of Jatayu: The battle between Ravana and the divine bird was considered to be one of the action highlights.
Ten personalities of Ravana: Gulte mentioned this scene as one of the positive scenes in the movie.
Stand alone scenes: Great Andhra mentioned the clash between Yash and Vivek Oberoi.
Other elements of the legend: Gulte highlighted the focus of Tiwari on less known elements of the legend, such as the prologue before the birth of Rama and Ravana.
Amongst the highest compliments showered upon any actor in the movie was that of Yash. Great Andhra appreciated him for stealing the show, Gulte praised him for having stolen the show with his presence, while Outlook commended him as one performance in the movie which keeps holding the screen
Opinions on Ranbir Kapoor were mixed. India TV commented on Ranbir Kapoor’s Rama as someone who displays great calmness, patience, compassion, and dignity while his restraint is his strong point. Great Andhra also described him as a dignified Rama with composure who later transforms into a powerful warrior for his story demands.
Outlook however had a different opinion and commented on Ranbir Kapoor’s Rama for lacking the required composure. Gulte mentioned that Ranbir Kapoor seemed conscious in the early scenes but performed brilliantly after the Vanavasa scenes and gave great performances in emotional scenes and as Parashurama.
According to India TV, the film provides a great sense of grace and power to the character Sita, but due to the focus on the grandeur of the film and the rival Ravana, there seems to be little space left for some supporting characters in the film.
Most of the reviews gave more importance to Yash and Kapoor in comparison to other characters of the cast.
The main criticism came from the aspect of depth. The title of the review by the Outlook magazine claimed that it was a VFX spectacle, lacking soul, and went further saying that the movie failed to capture the depths of the Ramayana, although having great world-building skills. However, the film was considered having enough potential to build a grand cinematic world, which makes the film's ambitions worth being taken seriously.
According to India TV, the director Tiwari captured the mythology and emotions of the story, not changing their essence, but making them anew through cinematography and visuals.
Critics who assigned the movie stars got an average rating. Gulte and Great Andhra both awarded the movie three stars out of five. Outlook, however, did not assign any star rating to the movie based on the excerpt I have found, while India TV's rating was not visible in the provided excerpt.
As Gulte explains, the Ramayana has already been represented in stage, television, and film production hundreds of times with at least 200 movies being made on the topic in various Indian languages. The two-parter by Tiwari is one of the most expensive productions in the history of Indian movies and its producers plan on showing it in international theaters.
The box office collections during the first few days should be indicative of audience response irrespective of what the critics say. The next part, due to be released on Diwali 2027, is supposed to cover the later parts of the epic that includes the war of Lanka, and the response to the first film could influence the expectations.
Social media users are also going to question the adaptation of the story in the film just like any mythological movie.
