Ranbir Kapoor’s Rs 80K festive look warms up Ramayana buzz

Ranbir Kapoor turned a routine Durga Puja visit into a two-part festive moment this weekend: first with a red-and-gold kurta that had fashion watchers doing the maths, then with an impromptu Kabira singalong that felt lifted from a filmi high point. At the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal on Saturday evening, the actor signalled he is easing into the promotional rhythm for Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Rise of a Legend.

The Rs 80,000 kurta that led the frame

Kapoor chose the Abeer Kashidakari Kurta Set by Dolly J Studio, a rich red silk ensemble detailed with traditional Kashidakari embroidery. Styled by Usaamah Siddique, the look paired the ornate kurta with white pyjamas, keeping the silhouette clean while the embroidery did the talking. The set carries a price tag of Rs 80,000, a figure that quickly became part of the social conversation around the outing.

The deep red base and traditional gold-toned detailing make the set a natural fit for festive gatherings and cultural evenings, while the tailored trousers keep it from tipping into costume. For Kapoor, it was a deliberate bridge between occasion and screen image.

Kabira, Harshdeep Kaur and a pandal turned chorus

The bigger moment came when Kapoor joined singer Harshdeep Kaur on stage for Kabira, the Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani track that still lands with audiences more than a decade after the film. Videos from the pandal show him holding the microphone and singing along, at one point angling it toward the crowd so the audience could carry the line. Harshdeep Kaur led the challenging portions, then asked the crowd to clap for his effort.

There was also a reunion of sorts: Kapoor caught up with Ayan Mukerji, who directed Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, creating a neat throwback framed by the same festive glow. The pandal itself, organised by the Mukerji-Samarth family for nearly eight decades, has long been one of Mumbai’s more watched festive stops, which made Kapoor’s appearance both a personal visit and a paparazzi-friendly one.

Why the timing matters

The outing arrives just weeks before Ramayana: Rise of a Legend opens in theatres on 5 November 2026. The film is the first part of a two-part adaptation of the epic, with a cast that has already drawn wide attention:

• Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama
• Sai Pallavi as Sita
• Yash as Ravana
• Sunny Deol as Hanuman
• Ravi Dubey as Lakshman
• Rakul Preet Singh as Surpanakha

For Hindi film audiences, the Durga Puja appearance works as gentle pre-release visibility: not a hard-sell press stop, but a cultural occasion where an actor’s off-screen warmth, a familiar song and a headline-making outfit can do quieter promotional work than a trailer. The festive imagery also sits well with the film’s devotional register, a more fitting runway than a neutral photocall.

Because the adaptation carries enormous expectations, every public appearance tends to be read as part of the wider conversation around scale, casting and tone. A Durga Puja stage, rather than a press event, gives the actor’s off-screen persona room to do the talking first.

Source: The Times of India