Yash’s son asks the hardest question about playing Ravana

Kannada superstar Yash is preparing to play Ravana in Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part Ramayana, but his most challenging audience turned out to be at home. The actor recently shared how his young son reacted after hearing the epic’s story and learning what his father would be doing on screen.

The moment the story hit home

Yash said the boy was well aware of who his father is, but the mythology changed the picture. Once he understood the story of the Ramayana, he was stunned. According to an IANS report, Yash recalled the child saying, “No, you’re the bad guy! How can you do that?”

The actor explained to his son that the entire story needs to be depicted for people to truly understand it. Playing Ravana, he said, does not mean agreeing with Ravana’s actions or presenting him as the moral centre.

Why Ravana still matters in the telling

Yash described a lesson any parent trying to introduce a complex text will recognise: the villain has to be fully drawn or the hero’s victory makes no sense. Ravana’s grandeur, power and presence are part of the story’s scale, but they are not its values.

He told his son to keep Lord Rama as the ideal. “In this story, the central figure you must look up to is Lord Rama. Everyone should walk Rama’s path,” Yash said. Then came the line that could anchor the film’s entire promotional arc: “You can cheer for me as an actor in the theatre, but do not mistake the character for the ideal.”

The question that left him unprepared

The conversation took another turn when the boy asked whether Ravana loses and dies at the end. Yash admitted he was not ready for that. “Do you die in the end? Do you lose?” was the question, and Yash called it hard. He had signed on to give the audience a compelling performance, but he had not anticipated teaching his son the difference between an actor and a dramatic role.

That distinction is worth holding onto when the film arrives. A great antagonist can be magnificent on screen while still being wrong, and a child’s honest question captures why that separation matters.

What to know for opening day

• The film: Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part Ramayana, with Yash as Ravana.
• The leads: Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama and Sai Pallavi as Sita.
• The ensemble: Ravi Dubey, Sunny Deol, Arun Govil, Lara Dutta, Rakul Preet Singh, Sheeba Chaddha and Adinath Kothare.
• The music: AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer.
• The date: Part one opens worldwide on November 5, 2026.

For Hindi film fans, this first look at Yash’s Ravana now comes with an unexpected emotional layer: a father trying to teach his child that a performance is not a person.

Source: The Times of India