Nitesh Tiwari is sure his Ramayana won't hurt sentiments as he avoids taking ‘creative leaps’, follows ‘do's and don'ts’

In a recent interview, director Nitesh Tiwari spoke about how he's confident he won't hurt sentiments with his upcoming Ramayana films.

Filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari is confident his Ramayana films, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash, won’t hurt sentiments. In an interview with Collider, he was asked about how he brings his voice as a filmmaker, even as many variations of the epic exist in India. He revealed that he’s holding off on creative liberties in some scenes and following some dos and don’ts for the film.

Ranbir Kapoor in a still from Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana film.

Nitesh Tiwari says Ramayana won’t hurt sentiments

While stating that over 300 versions of Ramayana exist in India, Nitesh said that they’re following Valmiki’s version. He added, “As a creator, you are very well aware of certain do’s and don’ts; you can’t go wrong. We have stuck to that. Wherever you are not supposed to take any creative leap, we have not taken any creative leap. But wherever you can take a leap of faith, we have gone ahead and done that. I myself am an avid follower of Ramayana. If I’m not hurting my own feelings, if I’m happy with the work which I’m doing, I’m pretty sure that a lot of the audience will agree with me.”

Ramayana is an emotional tale beyond grand visuals

Nitesh also mentioned in the interview that while Ayodhya and Lanka will be shown in a whole new light in the film, the core lies in the emotions. “See at the heart, it’s always the emotions. Ramayana is the story about morals, about principles, about relationships, about people. And that’s what’s going to remain at the core. What the visual effects and what the spectacle is gonna do is going to make it look even more beautiful, even more presentable, even more engaging. So that the audience can see the same story they have seen in the past in a completely new light,” he explained.

About Ramayana films

Ramayana is directed by Nitesh and produced by Namit Malhotra through his company Prime Focus Studios in association with DNEG and Yash's Monster Mind Creations. The film will star Ranbir as Rama, Sai as Sita and Yash as Ravana. It will be released in two parts for Diwali 2026 and 2027. A glimpse of Rama was released first in the US and then in India, offering a hint of what’s to come. While the teaser received some criticism for its VFX, many were taken by the grand visuals. The film is mounted on a massive budget of ₹4000 crore.