On April 2, director Nitesh Tiwari and producer Namit Malhotra unveiled the first look of actor Ranbir Kapoor as Rama from their upcoming film Ramayana. The teaser clip, VFX and Ranbir’s glimpse as Rama took the internet by storm. But it was filmmaker Sanjay Gupta’s cryptic tweet, that came soon after the launch, which caused curiosity. The Kaabil director wrote: “KHODA PAHAAD… NIKLA CHUHA.” In the comment section below, many wondered if this tweet was for Ramayana considering the timing. However, Sanjay denies the rumours when approached by HT City. “No, not at all. I don’t want to comment on it and it’s not regarding Ramayana,” shares the filmmaker.
Guessing that Sanjay’s post was for Ramayana, a social media user wrote in the comment section, “Ramayana ke teaser ke liye bol rahe hai,” whereas a comment said, “Kuch bhi! #Ramayana looks absolutely beautiful.” Another social media post by Sanjay, now deleted, read, “Obvious observation. VfX companies don’t win Oscars. The technicians do.” This was interpreted as an indirect dig at VFX giant DNEG, which is handling the VFX of Ramayana and boasts of an Oscar for Best Visual Effects for Dune: Part Two at the 97th Academy Awards.
Before launching the teaser in India, Ranbir along with Namit and Nitesh unveiled the first look of Rama from Ramayana at a special screening in Los Angeles this week. At the event, talking about playing Rama in the upcoming film, Ranbir shared, “Lord Rama has been the conscience keeper of billions of people around the globe for centuries. He enlightens us about the triumph of human spirit. He stands for compassion, for courage, for righteousness and forgiveness, and is called Maryada Purushottam, which stands for an ideal man.”
After witnessing RK as Rama, several celebs and fans showered love on the teaser. Actor Hrithik Roshan shared, “O my god !! Insane !! Love it !! ❤️❤️,” whereas Bipasha Basu stated, “Just WOW!👏.” Filmmaker Siddharth Anand, on the other hand, tweeted: “SPECTACULAR! Ranbir has nailed it as Lord Rama for me. I cannot wait to celebrate Diwali this year with #Ramayana on the biggest screen! Nitesh sir your craft is just awe-inspiring. Namit you have done what you promised! 🫡,” whereas Karan Johar shared, “CANNOT WAIT!!!! Ranbir Kapoor embodies Lord Rama with divine reverence and piousness… his last turn on hearing his name was the peice de resistance of this spectacular first look…..”
Also starring Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman and Sunny Deol as Hanuman, Ramayana: Part 1 will arrive in theatres on Diwali 2026, followed by Ramayana: Part 2 which will release on Diwali 2027.
