Ramayana review: 3.75/5 for a VFX landmark with soul

Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana opened in cinemas on November 5, 2026, with a burden most filmmakers would refuse: adapt a story the audience already knows, on a scale that must feel like an event. The review published by 123telugu.com awards it 3.75/5, praising a spectacle that keeps its emotional centre intact.

The film arrives with a rare combination: a Bollywood leading man as Ram, a Kannada superstar as Ravan, and a composer duo that pairs Hans Zimmer with A.R. Rahman. The big action blocks—Indra vs Ravan, Jatayu vs Ravan and a tornado sequence—are called worth the ticket price, while the emotional moments around Jatayu and the pre-Vanavaas stretch land hard.

The high-wire act of a familiar epic

Retelling the Ramayana is always a high-wire act. The beats are familiar, the expectations are enormous, and every creative choice will be measured against memory. The review argues that Tiwari handles the subject with enough craft to make the film a reference point for other filmmakers tackling mythology.

What helps, according to the review, is the decision to spend time on Ravana’s early life—his acquisition of Lanka from Kubera and the boon from Brahma. That backstory gives Yash’s Ravan a foundation beyond simple villainy and brings freshness to a story told many times before.

Cast and craft

The review is clear about the film’s anchors. Ranbir Kapoor’s Ram is called “the heartbeat of Ramayana”, strong in action and affecting in the emotional passages. Yash’s Ravan is described as a commanding, ferocious presence with the kind of screen power the role demands. Sai Pallavi’s Sita brings serenity, while Ravi Dubey gets room for humour as Lakshman and Rakul Preet Singh makes an impact as Shurpanakha.

• Rating: 3.75/5
• Director: Nitesh Tiwari
• Producers: Namit Malhotra and Yash
• Music: Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman
• VFX: DNEG

On the technical side, the review notes that Pankaj Kumar and Mahesh Limaye’s cinematography is magnificent, while Rahman and Zimmer’s score lifts the film. Academy Award-winning DNEG’s VFX work is singled out as a new benchmark for Indian cinema, with the 3D version delivering the strongest experience.

Where it stumbles

The complaints are minor. The pace dips after the interval, particularly in a Ravan vs Vidyutjihva sequence that the review says could have been shorter. A few dialogues are not clearly audible because of sound-mixing issues, and the full version of Jai Jai Ram is missed; it plays only in the background.

Our take

For Hindi film fans, Ramayana is the rare big-canvas event that does not sacrifice feeling for scale. The review’s message is practical: go big, go 3D, and let the spectacle do what it was built to do. The minor flaws—a slow stretch and some sound issues—are unlikely to dilute the theatrical impact for most viewers.

Source: 123telugu.com