Ramayana Movie Review & Rating!

Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana is a grand cinematic adaptation of one of India’s most celebrated epics. Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Rakul Preet, Sai Pallavi, Kajal Aggarwal, and several others play key roles in this film which releases today. Read our review here.

Ramayana Story:

The film explores Ravana’s rise to power, beginning with his childhood and his journey towards acquiring Lanka from Kubera and receiving a boon from Lord Brahma. His growing power eventually leads him to defeat Lord Indra (Kunal Kapoor). With Ravana becoming an increasingly dangerous force, Indra seeks help from Lord Vishnu, who takes human form as Lord Rama (Ranbir Kapoor). This sets the stage for the legendary battle between good and evil. The first part concludes with Rama’s vow to rescue Sita after her abduction.

Performances: Ranbir Kapoor is perfectly suited to the role of Lord Rama and delivers a performance that carries dignity, sincerity and grace. His solid screen presence makes him convincing as the divine figure, and he handles the character’s calm and composed nature well. He brings the required seriousness to the role without going overboard, making him one of the film’s major strengths.

Yash, however, emerges as the biggest highlight of the film. His portrayal of Ravana is powerful, commanding and filled with intensity. He brings tremendous screen presence to the character, and whenever he appears, the film gets a noticeable boost. Yash’s ability to balance Ravana’s arrogance, power and larger-than-life personality adds considerable impact to the narrative.

Sai Pallavi is decent as Sita, but her casting may not work for everyone. While she performs adequately, the character does not leave the expected impression. Arun Govil makes a good impression as Rama’s father, bringing the required maturity and presence to the role.

Rakul Preet Singh is superbly cast as Soopanaka and delivers a solid performance. Kajal Aggarwal is wasted in her role. Lara Dutta, meanwhile, is superb as Kaikeyi. She makes the character’s presence felt and delivers one of the more effective performances among the supporting cast. Apart from these performances, the remaining casting choices feel less convincing and do not make much of an impact.

Technical Aspects: The technical aspects are among the biggest strengths of Ramayana, with the visual effects standing out as a major achievement. The VFX work is top-notch and ranks among the most impressive seen in Indian cinema. The film creates several larger-than-life moments that look spectacular on screen, making the world of Ramayana feel grand and immersive.

The attention given to the visuals, especially during the action sequences, adds considerable value to the overall theatrical experience. The production design is equally impressive. The sets, locations and overall visual presentation give the film a rich, detailed and grand atmosphere.

The action blocks are well designed and executed, with the visuals adding more impact to the confrontations. The Telugu dubbing deserves special appreciation. The dialogues sound natural, and the AI-assisted lip-syncing is handled remarkably well. It is difficult to notice any major mismatch between the actors’ lip movements and the Telugu dialogues, which makes the dubbed version feel smooth.

On the downside, AR Rahman’s music is a disappointment. Despite the scale and emotional importance of the story, the songs and background score do not create the expected impact. Several key moments could have been much more powerful with stronger musical elevation.

Analysis: Ramayana benefits immensely from its massive scale, breathtaking visuals and spectacular action sequences. While the story is familiar to audiences, Nitesh Tiwari makes an effort to present several episodes in a visually engaging manner. The film is particularly impressive when it focuses on Ravana’s backstory, his rise to power and his interactions with his ten heads.

The Parasurama episode is another notable sequence, while the Ravana-Jatayu battle stands out as one of the most visually striking portions. These moments showcase the technical strength of the film and offer the kind of big-screen spectacle that audiences expect from a project of this scale.

However, the film is not without its shortcomings. The pacing becomes slow in certain portions, and the narrative does not always maintain the same level of engagement. More importantly, the drama and emotional depth do not consistently match the grandeur of the visuals. AR Rahman’s music also fails to provide the powerful elevation that some important moments demand.

As a result, a few sequences that could have been deeply moving end up feeling less impactful. Despite these shortcomings, Nitesh Tiwari delivers a technically impressive cinematic experience. Ramayana may not be a completely satisfying epic, but its scale, action, performances and visual brilliance make it a film worth experiencing on the big screen.

Verdict: Overall, Ramayana is a visually spectacular epic that delivers a grand theatrical experience, backed by impressive VFX, stunning production design and terrific performances from Yash and Ranbir Kapoor. However, slow pacing and uneven drama prevent it from reaching its full potential. Despite these shortcomings, the film has enough big-screen moments to make it worth watching in theatres.

Bottom Line: A big screen watch

Rating: 2.5/5