Ramayan's Lakshman, Sunil Lahri, hopes makers of Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana 'don't do blunders': If there is no emotion…

Sunil Lahri, who played Lakshman in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, hopes Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana can avoid mistakes to become a landmark film.

Actor Sunil Lahri, best known for playing Lakshman in Ramanand Sagar's iconic adaptation of Ramayana, has said he hopes Nitesh Tiwari's upcoming film adaptation of the epic turns out to be ‘landmark’, while cautioning the makers against doing ‘blunders’.

Sunil Lahri famously played Lakshman in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan.

Ramayana, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Yash as Ravana, and Sai Pallavi as Sita. The first glimpse of the film, titled Rama, was unveiled last week, giving viewers their first look at Ranbir as Rama. The video sparked a debate with some praising the scale while many criticised the special effects.

Sunil Lahri on Ramayana teaser

In a recent conversation with PTI, the veteran actor spoke about his take on the teaser. “I liked and disliked certain things in the teaser. I can only wish and hope that they will make a landmark film for our country, present our culture properly and evoke the right emotions among the world audience through Ramayana,” the actor said.

He added that while he feels Ranbir is a good actor, the innocence to play Lord Rama seems to be missing in him. “Ranbir is no doubt a very good actor. I really like his body of work, and he will definitely perform very well. But will the audience accept him as Rama or not is the question. The scene where Ranbir steps out in the light, the innocence that the first appearance should have had, was not there. I didn't like that, I felt it was a little harsh, the innocence was missing,” he said.

‘If there is no emotion…’

While praising the visuals, the veteran actor said the makers need to complement that with emotions, hoping that they don't make ‘blunders’.

“If there is no emotion, then the painting is not good. The look of Ranbir was good, the music was also good, the effects created were good... overall effects were good. I hope they don't do blunders. If they think they want to show themselves differently, and do something where people will say, 'wow', then should understand that wow factor doesn't work here, it works in science fiction films.”

All about Ramayana

Ramayana is a two-part live-action saga set 5,000 years ago and rooted in one of Indian mythology's most enduring epics. It is produced by Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus Studios and DNEG, in association with Yash's Monster Mind Creations. The film also stars Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. Part 1 is set to release ahead of Diwali 2026.