‘Ramayana’: AR Rahman, Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi on bringing the epic to life

We have heard the story of the Ramayana a hundred times. Some, maybe a thousand. But the story still holds fascination for all.

Which is what makes the pan-Indian biggie Ramayana: Rise of a Legend among the most-anticipated Indian films of the year. Starring Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi in lead roles as Lord Ram and Sita, the film also features Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Rakul Preet Singh as Surpanaka. Set to hit screens on November 5, the project is backed by Namit Malhotra and directed by Nimesh Tiwari.

“There’s so much to learn from the Ramayana. I first saw it in school, and then watched RS Manoharan’s Ilankeswaran, and now this... it has been a journey of learning,” said its music composer AR Rahman at its recent promotional event in Chennai. “Way back in 2014, a gentleman called Satish from New York sent me an e-mail mentioning that he had a dream in which I would present the great epic, Ramayana. I was stunned, how people can have a vision of what I would be doing today.”

Hosted by anchor Bhavna Balakrishnan and put together by Amazon Music, the promotional event – held at Chennai’s Trade Centre on Wednesday evening – not only saw the star-studded cast and crew of the film, but also the songs like ‘Jai Jai Ram’, ‘Mangal Rang’ and ‘Jodi Jodi’ being presented live. Oscar-winner AR Rahman has worked on the songs of the magnum opus along with internationally acclaimed composer Hans Zimmer. Elaborating on the process, Rahman added, “Indian classical music has so much bhakti, be it keerthanas or varnams. I have drawn inspiration from all of these to craft this work.” Producer Namit Malhotra added, “Bringing together two musical legends was driven by that very vision to create something deeply rooted in India, yet universal in its appeal and emotion.”

The vision

Ramayana has a packed star cast that could well boost its chances at the box office; in fact, strong advance openings already indicate the anticipation for the film. Sai Pallavi said, “We were so awestruck with the world of Ramayana that we didn’t feel the pressure... only when we saw the trailer in 3D did we realise the grand effort behind this vision. While the subject has been in the making for almost a decade, I have been part of it in the last three years – and it looks so authentic in all languages, so that everyone can experience it in their mother tongue.”

Urging her co-star Ranbir Kapoor to speak a bit in Tamil for the Chennai fans, Sai added, “He (Ranbir) is very passionate about Tamil cinema. He would have watched films which even I hadn’t, and he is quite updated about new releases as well. While playing Ram, he showcased an inner peace that is very different from his performances in Animal and Barfi.”

Popular star Yash, whose performance as Ravana is something many fans are looking out for, said, “Many people asked me why I wanted to play this character, as it is the most hated person in the epic. I was able to pull it off because of the energy behind the ‘Ravana Tandav’ track in the film.” He added that he was able to learn Tamil and Hindi by listening to the songs of AR Rahman’s Gentleman and Rangeela respectively.

Ramayana is envisioned as a two-part epic, with the first part hitting screens this Diwali, followed by the second part in Diwali 2027, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam across India.