As the buzz around Ramayana continues to heighten, director Nitesh Tiwari has revealed that the film will go beyond depicting Ravana as purely a villain. Instead, Yash’s portrayal of Ravana will also include his better qualities, such as his Shiva devotion, appreciation of music and benevolence as a king. Yash’s Ravana, according to Nitesh Tiwari, will showcase how anger and negativity can overpower the good qualities of someone’s being, eventually leading to their downfall.
Nitesh Tiwari on Ravana`s character in Ramayana
Nitesh Tiwari was recently seen attending Ramayana’s teaser launch in LA, where he reportedly told Collider, “See, Ravana had so many aspects to his life. He was a great warrior, he was an accomplished musician, a scholar, a benevolent king… a great Shiva devotee. There was so much to him than just being a black character.”
The filmmaker added, “It’s very important for us to showcase all these bits and aspects of Ravana because there’s a very important lesson which is hiding in them. You can have all these great qualities, but if you are governed by vengeance and if you are driven by ego, then you know what the end result is going to be. There’s a great lesson out there.”
At the same event, Ranbir Kapoor also mentioned Yash’s character of Ravana and said, “Yash, of course, he has the stardom that he has. To play Ravana, you need somebody who has that aura and screen presence. His interpretation of Ravana is very different from what we have seen over the years. I think that’s something which the audiences will really enjoy watching on the big screen.”
Yash about playing Ravana
Notably, Yash also serves as one of the producers of the movie. In April 2025, the KGF star had opened up about co-producing Ramayana. He told Variety, “It has been my long-term aspiration to make films that will showcase Indian cinema on a global level. In pursuit of that, I was in LA to ally with one of the best VFX studios, and to my amazement, the driving force behind it was a fellow Indian.”
The actor further added, “Namit (Malhotra, producer) and I had various ideation sessions, and coincidentally, our synergy on the vision for Indian cinema aligned perfectly. We brainstormed various projects, and during these discussions, the subject of ‘Ramayana’ came up. Namit had a part of it in the works.”
Ramayana: Part 1 stars an ensemble cast including Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. The first part of Ramayana is set to release in theatres globally on Diwali 2026, followed by the second part scheduled for Diwali 2027.
