Ramayana Part 1 Movie Review

From Lanka Dahan in 1917 to Adipurush in 2023, India has produced numerous movies based on Valmiki’s Ramayana. A majority of people in the country consider the epic story of Lord Rama sacred, and the elderly in every household ensure that the younger generation in their families read the Ramayana or watch movies or shows based on the epic. There were at least two hundred movies across languages in India that have been made until now and most of the movies ended up getting fantastic reception from the audience.

With the intent to show the epic to the Western audience, the producer, Namit Malhotra, announced a two-part film series based on the Ramayana. Nitesh Tiwari, the director of, Dangal(2016), was given the responsibility to direct both films. Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Sai Pallavi and Sunny Deol were selected to play the roles of Rama, Sita, Ravana and Hanuman respectively, while Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman, were hired to score the music for the film. With so many high-profile names in the cast and crew, the producers of the film made it very clear that they are aiming to give Ramayana, a never-before-seen grand spectacle-like presentation on screen. After promoting the film aggressively across countries, the makers released the first part of the film series, Ramayana: Part 1, in theatres today. Does the film live up to all the pre-release expectations and hype? Did the makers indeed make the film into a grand spectacle? Was the director, Nitesh Tiwari, able to get the emotional part right with his narration? How did Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Sai Pallavi and Sunny Deol, do in the roles of Rama, Sita, Ravana and Hanuman? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

We all know the story of the Ramayana, don’t we? Yes, the latest film on the Ramayana also talks about the same story as it should but additionally, we get to see a detailed backstory of the Ramayana before the birth of Rama and Ravana. The Ramayana is a two-part film. In part one, we get to see the backstory, the birth of Rama and Ravana, their purposes, their conflict and it ends after the death of Jatayu. What happens after Ravana abducts Sita, is what we are going to see in the second part.

Performances:

Ranbir Kapoor appeared a bit too conscious during the initial portions but right from the start of the Vanavasa episode, he seemed to have understood the nuances of Rama’s character and did very well. Especially, he did an excellent job with his performance during the emotional sequences as always. Also, his screen presence in the role of Parasuram was very good. Yash stole the show with his amazing performance and screen presence. With his unmatched aura, he appeared to have owned the character of Ravana and came up with a terrific portrayal of the character. Sai Pallavi in the role of Sita did a good job. She may not have the majestic screen presence to play the role of Sita but she compensated for the lack of majestic screen presence with her amazing acting capabilities. Especially, the way she conveyed the love, pain and devotion, through her eyes was top-notch.

Ravi Dubey in the role of Lakshman did a superb job with his performance. Rakul Preet Singh in the role of Shurpanakha looked good and did a decent job with her performance. The film had many notable actors in crucial roles and almost all of them did a good job with their performances. Anupam Kher lent his voice to the character of Jatayu and he made his voice felt.

Technicalities:

Barring a few glitches in the editing, the film is technically very sound. Hans Zimmer & A. R. Rahman with their music proved yet again why they are the best in the business. Both the musicians enhanced the storytelling with their soulful music. Editing by Huzefa Lokhandwala should have been a bit better in the first half. A few abrupt cuts in the first half disturbed the viewing experience a bit in the first half.

One of the best parts of the film is its cinematography, art and production design and visual effects. All three of these departments appeared to have worked in perfect sync to give the film a very grand spectacle look and feel. At no point during the film do we feel the film was shot on a green mat and the full credit for it should be given to the aforementioned three technical departments. Visually, Ramayana: Part One stands among the very few Indian films that have international-standard visuals. Let’s discuss Nitesh Tiwari and his writing team’s work in detail in the analysis section.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠The director’s emphasis on lesser-known details of the Ramayana
2.⁠ ⁠Grandeur & Visuals
3.⁠ ⁠Ranbir Kapoor’s performance from the start of the Vanavasa episode
4.⁠ ⁠Yash’s screen presence
5.⁠ ⁠Action episode involving Jatayu
6.⁠ ⁠Sequence involving Ravana’s ten personalities

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Dragged-out episode between Ravana & Vidyutjihva
2.⁠ ⁠Leisurely pace at times

Analysis:

We have seen multiple films that were made on the Ramayana in the past. A well-made film on the Ramayana will always have an audience in India; there’s no question about it. All the directors have to do is retain the soul and essence of the Ramayana and not get carried away in the name of giving the film a visual spectacle look and feel. Remember the mockery made by Om Raut and his team with, Adipurush? Fortunately, the director Nitesh Tiwari is not Om Raut. We all know Nitesh Tiwari is a brilliant director and he proved his expertise yet again with Ramayana. He and his writing team, stuck to the basics and made sure the emotions hit the right chord at regular intervals. What we see in Ramayana Part One is the narration which has a soul and the finest visuals which an epic story like Ramayana deserves. There are at least seven episodes in the film where we as an audience unknowingly either start to clap or shed a tear or two.

Most filmmakers who made films based on the Ramayana in the past, used to narrate the story from Rama’s point of view and used to show Ravan as evil and to introduce the conflict point. It is where Nitesh Tiwari and his team’s vision stood out from the past films that were made on the Ramayana. Do we know the starting point of the Ramayana? Is Rama’s birth the starting point? Is Ravana’s birth the starting point? What exactly prompted Lord Vishnu to take the Rama avatar? People who have read the Ramayana fully, may know the starting point but people who get to know the Ramayana through movies have fewer chances of knowing the backstory. Nitesh Tiwari chose to start the film with the backstory of the Ramayana even before the birth of Rama and Ravana. In fact, we do not get to see Rama’s introduction until forty minutes into the film. We get to see the war between the Gods and the Asuras, how lord Indra won the war against the Asuras, what happened to the Asuras after they lost the war, what did Kaikasi do the retain the lost kingdom of Lanka, what was her intention behind marrying a sage, Vishrava? What did she tell Ravana to make him realise his purpose? What did Ravana do to win against Lord Indra and how did he snatch the kingdom of Lanka from the gods and eventually become the king of Lanka? We get to see all of these aforementioned sequences during the first forty minutes of the film and then we see the introduction of Rama. The decision to narrate the backstory in detail and in a very interesting manner, worked out big time in the film’s favour.

Instead of showing Ravana as just an evil character, the director narrated the backstory and the purpose of Ravana very well. There was no attempt to show Ravana as a completely evil character. There is a sequence where the ten personalities of Ravana tell him ten different good, bad and ugly things. He listens to all ten perspectives and eventually selects the ‘bad’ perspective. With this sequence, the director beautifully portrayed that just like all human beings, Ravana also has a good and bad side to him and it is his tendency to choose the wrong thing driven by his ego, that led to his downfall. ‘Show your antagonist as powerful as possible to eventually elevate and talk about the greatness of your protagonist’, is the simple commercial formula of the films which Nitesh Tiwari used very well to narrate the Ramayana to this generation of people and while doing so, he succeeded mostly, barring a dragged out sequence involving Ravana and Shurpanakha’s husband, Vidyutjihva.

Once the backstory and Ravana’s purpose were established, we get to see the introduction of Rama. Almost everything we see involving Rama in the film was shown in many films in the past but what made the difference was the manner in which those familiar sequences were executed. The introduction sequence of adult Rama, the sequence of Rama fighting with the two Asuras(Tadaka & Subahu) to protect Sage Vishwamitra’s yagna, the Sita Swayamvara sequence, the ten-minute episode before Rama goes to vanavasa, the sequence where Bharata visits Rama in the forest, and the last thirty minutes of the film which also involves a superbly shot action episode involving Jatayu, worked out very well in the favour of the film. The emotions in the aforementioned sequences worked out well and the beautiful visuals further enhanced the viewing experience.

Overall, the Ramayana part one lived up to all the pre-release hype and expectations. Barring a couple of dragged-out sequences and a leisurely pace at times, the film largely engages the audience. The soul of the Ramayana was beautifully blended with amazing visuals and the film gives a pleasant feeling throughout its runtime. The film certainly deserves to be watched in the theatre with family to witness our epic story in all its glory. Especially, it is definitely worth showing the film to the kids, preferably on an IMAX screen. And yes, Part One ends at the crucial juncture of the Ramayana and it certainly makes us wait for Part Two which is scheduled to release in theatres next year.

Bottomline – Grand, yet it retained the Ramayana’s soul.

Rating – 3/5