5 Ramayana Characters Nitesh Tiwari’s Film Overlooked

Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Rise of a Legend has put the epic back on the big screen with huge scale and a marquee cast. The central four—Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Ravana—naturally carry the frame. But a new India Today piece points out that the epic’s emotional weight often comes from the people around them, and several of those figures barely get their due in the film.

The report rounds up five names worth remembering: Nishadraj Guha, Ahalya, Kevat, Urmila and Mandodari. Some appear only briefly in the larger narrative; others remain in the background despite shaping the choices around them. Their arcs deepen the long-running exploration of friendship, sacrifice, justice and wisdom.

The five in the wings

• Nishadraj Guha: the Nishad king who welcomes Ram as a friend during exile, no royal status required. His bond shows Ram connecting beyond kings and warriors.
• Ahalya: often reduced to the woman rescued from a curse; Valmiki’s version makes her invisible, not stone, and leaves a sharper question about blame for Indra’s deception.
• Kevat: the boatman whose insistence on washing Ram’s feet before the river crossing becomes a beloved act of service, yet the boatman is missing from the movie.
• Urmila: Lakshman’s wife, left behind for 14 years by a separation she did not choose; her sacrifice rarely gets the same attention as his.
• Mandodari: Ravana’s wife and the voice of reason in Lanka; she sees the disaster coming but cannot change his mind, and in the film is mostly a spectator.

The emotional load they carry

Guha’s bond with Ram is not built on royal status. When Ram, Sita and Lakshman reach Shringaverpur in exile, Guha receives them as a friend and asks for nothing in return. It is a friendship that crosses social lines at a time when Ram has lost his kingdom.

Ahalya’s story is more uncomfortable. In Valmiki’s telling she is not turned to stone; she becomes invisible and waits for redemption. Indra approaches her in disguise, yet she is the one condemned to years of consequence. That is a difficult question about blame and how women were judged.

Kevat works as a small but unforgettable beat. Before the river crossing, he insists on washing Ram’s feet because he fears the boat itself might be transformed, as Ahalya was freed by Ram’s touch. He wants no payment—service is the reward. That episode has lived through generations of retellings, especially in the Ramcharitmanas, so its absence is noticeable.

Urmila’s cost is quieter. Married to Lakshman, she stays in Ayodhya while he follows Ram into exile. For 14 years she lives with a separation she did not choose. Lakshman’s brotherly devotion is celebrated; her side of that sacrifice rarely gets the same space. Actor Sonia Balani plays her in the film, but mostly in the background.

Mandodari knows where Lanka is headed. She urges Ravana to return Sita and avoid a war that could destroy everything he built, not out of disloyalty but because she can see the difference between pride and doing right. Kajal Aggarwal portrays her, yet in this first part she largely watches events unfold.

Why the next part can fix it

Nitesh Tiwari’s film has introduced the epic to a fresh generation of moviegoers, but the source suggests Mandodari’s fuller perspective may come in Part 2. That is the opportunity. These characters are not just missing scenes—they are ready-made engines for conflict, moral choice and emotional payoff.

The enduring Ramayana is not only the story of its heroes. The people beside them—the boatman, the friend, the wives—give the journey its texture. If the franchise treats them as more than visual texture, the next chapter can make the spectacle sit on something deeper.

Source: India Today