Ravana will be shown as benevolent king instead of traditional villain in Ramayana; Nitesh Tiwari explains why

In an interview, Nitesh Tiwari remarked that Ravana is more than just the ‘black character’ he's usually portrayed as in Ramayana retellings.

All eyes are on how Nitesh Tiwari pulls off the epic Ramayana films starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash as the leads. In an interview with Collider during the teaser launch, the director spoke about how he plans on portraying Ravana in the film. He calls the Lanka king’s tale a ‘very important lesson’. (Also Read: Nitesh Tiwari is sure his Ramayana won't hurt sentiments as he avoids taking ‘creative leaps’, follows ‘do's and don'ts’)

Yash will pray Ravana in Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana films.

Nitesh Tiwari explains why Ravana will be shown as benevolent king in Ramayana

Nitesh was asked in the interview if Ravana would be shown as a ‘traditional villain’ in Ramayana, or if he plans on showing the ‘tragic complexity of his intellect and devotion’. He replied, “Ravana had so many aspects to his life. He was a great warrior, he was an accomplished musician, a scholar, a benevolent king, so much more…a great Shiva devotee. So there was so much more to him than just being one black character.”

The filmmaker explained that it’s important to show all these facets of Ravana because it’s a ‘very important lesson’. “It’s very important for us to showcase all these bits, all these aspects of Ravana, because there’s a very important lesson which is hiding in there. You can have all these great qualities, but if you are governed by vengeance and if you’re driven by ego, then you know what the end result is going to be,” he said.

Elsewhere in the interview, Nitesh also mentioned that Ramayana is more than just a visual spectacle, as emotions are at its heart. He also promised to show Lanka and Ayodhya in a manner ‘no one has ever seen before’.

About Ramayana

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. Yash plays Ravana in the film, while Ranbir plays Rama and Sai essays Sita.

“To reach till this moment, it has personally taken me seven years. Filmmaking is a speculative and lonely process. Every moment of these seven years, I've imagined this moment as to what the reaction would be when it comes out,” said Namit emotionally at the film’s teaser launch, adding, “Today, looking at your reaction, I feel the seven years are worth those seven years. A lot of people have worked on this film. We hope we get much love from you all.”

Ramayana will be released in two parts for Diwali 2026 and 2027. Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman are composing the film’s score.