Yash and Ranbir Kapoor took the Ramayana panel to San Diego Comic-Con this week. Behind the headlines about casting and “intent” sits a bigger story: one of the most technically ambitious visual-effects productions ever attempted out of India.
San Diego Comic-Con isn’t where you’d expect a Hindu mythological epic to debut. But director Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana did exactly that this week. The film now shares a stage with Marvel and DC tentpoles — a sign of how far its technical and creative ambitions reportedly stretch.
A defense, and a confession
At the panel, Yash pushed back against criticism that’s followed Ranbir Kapoor’s casting as Lord Rama since the announcement. Yash plays Ravana and also produces the film. His argument: no actor can claim to be worthy of the role, and that humility is the point. He credited the project’s “right intent” for convincing him to sign on.
Kapoor described a rockier road in. He said he first doubted whether he deserved to play a figure worshipped by millions. That doubt gave way to what he called gratitude and a sense of moral duty. His prep reportedly ran nearly two years. He trained in yoga and meditation under a personal guru, read widely, and spoke with scholars to understand Rama’s philosophy rather than just his look.
The bigger technical bet
Ramayana stands out for who’s building it. Namit Malhotra backs the film. He founded DNEG, the Oscar-winning visual-effects studio behind Dune and Inception. Industry watchers call this one of the largest VFX and world-building efforts ever attempted for an Indian film. The Ramayana’s mythic scale — celestial battles, divine weapons, Ravana’s Lanka — needs modern digital effects at a Hollywood-comparable standard. That’s the film’s central engineering challenge, by most accounts.
The score adds another layer of ambition. Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman are composing together. The pairing brings a Hollywood composer known for large-scale orchestral sound design alongside India’s most internationally recognized musical name.
Why a mythology film is chasing a global stage
Comic-Con has long served as a launchpad for franchise blockbusters. Bringing Ramayana there suggests the makers see it as more than a domestic release. They’re positioning Indian mythological storytelling within the same visual and marketing language as global franchise cinema. Whether the VFX pipeline and international collaborations can deliver on that scale will likely become clear once a full trailer lands. The team pushed back its original release date and promised a bigger global rollout instead.
The film also carries an unusually stacked cast for an Indian production. Ranbir Kapoor plays Rama, Sai Pallavi plays Sita, and Yash plays Ravana. Sunny Deol, Arun Govil, Lara Dutta, Vivek Oberoi and others fill supporting roles, spanning multiple generations of Indian cinema in a single project.
