Ranbir Kapoor's look as Lord Rama in Ramayana leaked, shoddy wig in $400M film faces flak: Learnt nothing from Adipurush

Ranbir Kapoor's look as Lord Rama from the sets of Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana was leaked online on Monday.

Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana is one of the most-awaited films of the year. The mega-budget adaptation of one of India’s most recognisable epics is also the most heavily guarded film of recent times, with everything from the sets to the actors’ looks under wraps. On Monday, however, some of this secret was spilt in the open as pictures of Ranbir Kapoor in his Lord Rama getup were leaked. This led to discussion about the look on social media, and not many were impressed.

Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Rama in Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana.

Ranbir Kapoor's look as Lord Rama leaked

On Monday, Zoom published a bunch of pictures of Ranbir Kapoor from the set of Ramayana. The pictures seem to have been taken while Ranbir is on his way from the shoot to his vanity, with staff members behind him holding an umbrella and vans visible in the background. The actor is seen wearing a kesariya dhoti, a janeu, and a black cape covering his bare torso. His hair is also supported by a wig, completing the look as Lord Rama. It is not certain when the undated pictures are from. The shoot of Ramayana Part One has wrapped, and the shoot for Part Two is underway.

The internet is not impressed

The pictures were shared on Reddit on Tuesday morning, with many critical of the look. One Redditor criticised the wig and wrote, “All that $400 million budget and they couldn't arrange for a decent-looking wig?” Another replied to it, “Bollywood really sucks in the fake hair & fake beard department. You can notice this in any movie or TV show.” Ramayana producer Namit Malhotra has said in multiple interviews that the two films will cost $400-500 million, making them the most expensive Indian productions ever.

Another social media account echoed the criticism, saying the film did not look faithful to how the epics have portrayed Lord Rama. “If Ram had long hair, he would tie it up in a top knot. At least that's what my comic book illustrations show,” read the comment.

Many felt that Ramayana had not learnt the lessons from the colossal failure of Adipurush, Om Raut’s ill-fated adaptation of the epic with Prabhas as Lord Rama. “Learnt nothing from Adipurush apparently,” chirped one. Another added, “The whole film is gonna be CGI, isn't it? just like Adipurush.” The 2023 release also starred Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon and was the costliest Indian film at the time. However, it earned only ₹350 crore worldwide and became one of the biggest box-office bombs in Indian cinema history.

Not everyone was completely dismissive of Ranbir as Lord Rama, though. As one social media user summed up, “He actually looks weird here, but I'll still wait for a proper teaser/trailer before passing any judgment.”

All about Ramayana

Apart from Ranbir, Ramayana stars Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman, and Ravie Dubey as Lakhsman. The film’s global appeal is further enhanced by the fact that legendary composer Hans Zimmer joins AR Rahman for the music score.

Ramayana films are produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studio. The film's first glimpse was unveiled in July last year. Ramayana Part One is set to release worldwide in October 2026, ahead of Diwali.