Ramayana: Kaikeyi and Manthara get first posters for Diwali 2026

Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part Ramayana is rolling out its royal court one character at a time, and the newest reveals put the story’s great emotional fracture front and centre. The makers have shared character posters of Lara Dutta as Queen Kaikeyi and Sheeba Chaddha as Manthara. Both roles were known, but these stills give fans the clearest look yet at how the two figures who set Rama’s exile in motion will appear on screen.

The looks that set the palace plot in motion

Lara Dutta’s Kaikeyi is shown in bridal-style royal finery — a heavily worked tiara, maang tika, rows of pearls and a traditional nose ring. Her expression is not simply regal; it is stern and conflicted, which matters because Kaikeyi is the queen whose two boons alter Rama’s path.

Sheeba Chaddha’s Manthara is designed as the scheming counterweight: a dark earthy shawl, a silver head ornament and a wooden staff. She looks straight at the camera with an intense, calculating gaze. The studio’s caption frames the pair as the human triggers behind Ayodhya’s crisis, describing Kaikeyi’s “two wishes” and Manthara’s “whispers”.

Why this reveal matters

Kaikeyi and Manthara are not decorative court roles. They are the emotional engine of the Ramayana’s first major turn: the queen, persuaded by her maid, asks Dashrath for the boons that send Rama into exile. By releasing them as character posters early, the team is signalling that the film will treat palace politics seriously, not just spectacle.

The campaign is also building towards a very specific date.

• First instalment: Diwali 2026, worldwide theatrical release
• Sequel: Diwali 2027
• Formats: IMAX in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam
• Distribution: Sony Pictures outside India; Dharma Productions in the Hindi market

A cast that mixes new stars with familiar faces

The Kaikeyi and Manthara posters follow the reveal of Arun Govil as King Dashrath. Govil’s presence is a deliberate nod to television nostalgia — he played Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s 1987 Ramayan and now returns as Ayodhya’s patriarch.

Tiwari’s ensemble is otherwise led by Ranbir Kapoor as Rama and Sai Pallavi as Sita, with Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. The production is backed by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios, DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations.

For Hindi film fans, this is more than another poster drop. It is a reminder that Ramayana is being positioned as a two-part, multi-language IMAX spectacle built around the characters who make the epic hurt. The question now is whether Tiwari’s two-film plan can keep that emotional centre intact through two Diwali seasons.

Source: India Today