Why Yash Says Ramayana Needs Both Rama and Ravana

When Ramayana: Part One opens in theatres on November 5, Yash wants audiences to do something unusual for an epic: empathise with the antagonist as much as the hero. The actor, who plays Ravana in Nitesh Tiwari’s adaptation, made the case during a promotional conversation with Today Stars, where he appeared alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Ravie Dubey and Rakul Preet Singh.

The argument for Ravana’s gaze

Yash pointed to the many Ramayana traditions across India as the reason the story benefits from a dual perspective. He noted that interpretations shift by state and language, and that seeing the narrative through Ravana’s eyes is not a modern gimmick but part of how the culture has always retold the epic.

“One can relate to Rama, one can relate to Ravana,” Yash told Today Stars.

He described Ravana as a scholar, a musician and a warrior whose decisions create a domino effect. The point is not to blur the moral lines, but to make Rama’s choices legible: to show what Rama rises above, the story first has to build a Ravana worth taking seriously.

Who’s in the frame

• Director: Nitesh Tiwari
• Rama: Ranbir Kapoor
• Ravana and co-producer: Yash
• Also in key roles: Ravie Dubey and Rakul Preet Singh
• First instalment: Ramayana: Part One releases November 5

Why Yash put his money behind it

Beyond playing the demon king, Yash is a co-producer. He framed the investment as a cultural moment: with Korean cinema making a global mark, this is the right time to put Indian films on the world stage. That ambition may explain the scale of the production, which had its world premiere in Los Angeles ahead of the theatrical release.

Early reviews from that premiere have been mixed to largely positive. Several outlets have praised the visual effects and scale, while some have flagged the narrative’s length and structure. The packed storyline and pacing have drawn criticism, with reviewers questioning whether the film balances visual ambition with emotional depth.

What to make of it for film fans

For the Total Filmi reader, the takeaway is not just that an epic is back on the big screen. It is that this version is explicitly asking you to hold two perspectives at once. If the film manages that balance, Ravana’s screen time will be more than villainy; it will be the mirror that makes Rama’s restraint land. If it does not, the criticism about pacing and structure suggests the emotional thread might get lost in the spectacle.

Either way, the theatrical window starts this week, and the conversation about the epic’s many tellings is already underway.

Source: The Times of India