The first glimpse of Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana sparked discussions and debates on the internet and in living rooms across India. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, and the teaser gave the first official look at the actor in the film. Now, AI-generated images have imagined the late Sushant Singh Rajput in place of Ranbir as Lord Rama. And the internet is in agreement that it looks like an improvement.
Sushant Singh Rajput as Lord Rama
On Friday, a day after the Ramayana teaser was released, a Redditor shared a bunch of images featuring Sushant as Lord Rama on the platform with the title: ‘He would have been better’. The pictures show Sushant in two frames – one in Lord Rama’s regal attire in the Ayodhya court and the other during the vanvaas as he sits on a boat. Both frames are from the teaser and originally feature Ranbir Kapoor. The carousel also shared a screenshot of a Google search for Lord Rama, showing that he was described as having dark skin.
In the comments section, Redditors seemed to agree Sushant would have been a better choice than Ranbir. “He always had kind eyes and calming aura, I guess that’s what Maryada Purushottam Lord Ram had, so yes, you are right, he would have fit like a glove,” read one comment. Another agreed and added, “100%. He has both calmness and fierceness in his face.” One commented, “He would have been the best Rama. The best. All those feelings when he died came back seeing this post. Hope he is at peace.”
However, many also disagreed with this casting, saying that even Sushant did not have the right skin tone. “I agree he would’ve been better, but the last slide defeats your argument considering Sushant wasn’t dark brown either,” argued one.
Sushant Singh Rajput died in June 2020. The police investigation into his death ruled it a suicide. The popular actor from films and TV was 34.
About Ramayana
Ramayana is a two-part film mounted on a massive budget of ₹4000 crore, making it the most expensive Indian film ever made, and one of the costliest film productions worldwide. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman, and Ravie Dubey as Lakhsman. The Rama glimpse focused only on Lord Rama but also gave fleeting glimpses at other characters, including Lakshman and Sita. The teaser also showed Yash’s Ravana getting out his fabled flying machine, Pushpak Vimana, at the end.
Ramayana Part One is slated to release in theatres in October 2026, with the second part arriving in 2027.
