Actor Ranbir Kapoor’s casting in Ramayana has been a topic of discussion ever since the film’s trailer was unveiled. While actor Mukesh Khanna is yet to watch the trailer of Nitesh Tiwari’s much-awaited mythological drama, he recently weighed in on Ranbir’s casting as Lord Ram and Yash’s as Ravana. He suggested that Ranbir’s image following the release of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal could influence how audiences perceive him as Lord Ram.

During a chat with , Mukesh addressed Ranbir’s image after Animal. “Ranbir Kapoor ki image bann gayi thi Animal ke baad mein. I hope Ranbir ki woh image leke na aaye; woh galat image to the kids tha. Mein uspe (Animal) bhi bhadak gaya tha (Ranbir had an image after Animal, I hope people don’t carry it with them. It was a bad image for the kids, even I was upset with it),” Mukesh said. Ranbir played the role of Ranvijay Singh, a violent and complex man, in Animal.

He also questioned the screen time of Ravana, played by Yash, in the trailer of Ramayana. “I wanted to see the trailer, but there are so many special effects in it that I didn’t watch it. Ramayana mein Ram se zyada Ravana dikhega toh aastha ko chot pahunchegi,” he said.

The veteran actor further added, “Maine Bhishma Pitamah mein accha kaam nahi kiya hai ki Mukesh Khanna accha actor hai, isliye kyunki Dr. Rahi Masoom Sahab ne merko chandi ki thaali mein dialogue bhar-bhar ke diya. Yash Ravana ke role mein accha laga hoga kyunki usko Ravana ka role diya hoga, badaya hoga (The dialogues matter, like it did when I played Bhishma Pitamah. The same thing happened with Yash playing the role of Ravana in Ramayana).”

Mukesh Khanna gave the example of Akshaye Khanna and how the right scenes and dialogues played a role in his character Rehman Dakait’s popularity in Dhurandhar, even more than his acting skills. “Dhurandhar mein Akshaye Khanna itna acha, not because he is a good actor. If he was a good actor only, uski pichle 10 filmein bhi chalni chahiye thi. But isme kyu dikha? Director ka kamaal hai. Usko scenes and dialogues diye hue hain (He was so good in Dhurandhar, not just because he is a good actor. If being a good actor were enough, his previous 10 films should also have worked. But why did he stand out in this film? That’s the director’s achievement. He was given the right scenes and dialogues),” he stated.

About Ramayana

Nitesh Tiwari’s magnum opus Ramayana: Part 1 stars Ranbir Kapoor, Ravie Dubey, Sai Pallavi, Sunny Deol, and Yash (in his Hindi film debut), alongside Sunny Deol, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Kunal Kapoor, Adinath Kothare, Arun Govil, Indira Krishnan and Lara Dutta. It is set to hit theatres worldwide on November 6, this year.