Ramanand Sagar’s grandson Shiv Sagar says he can’t accept Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana after his morally complex role in Animal. He clarified that he has nothing personal against Ranbir but feels a fresh face would have suited Ram better.
Ranbir Kapoor’s casting as Lord Rama in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana has once again become a talking point. This time, Shiv Sagar, the grandson of filmmaker Ramanand Sagar, shared his reservations about the choice. Shiv, whose grandfather created the iconic 1987 television series Ramayan, believes the role needed an actor without a strong image from earlier films.
Shiv said he personally finds it difficult to see Ranbir as Lord Rama after watching him in Animal. He stressed that his comments were not about Ranbir’s acting skills, but about the image an actor carries with them.
“We have seen Ranbir in different roles; he is a very good actor. Personally, I don’t have anything against him. I think they must have taken him for the project because they want a marketing push, and maybe if they didn’t take Ranbir, the film wouldn’t have been marketed so well. So that’s also something to think about, but I personally believe that for such characters, it’s better to take a new face,” he elaborated.
While the director-producer praised rest of the cast, including Yash as Ravana and Sai Pallavi as Sita.
“You can take a very strong supporting cast; Yash is looking very good, Sai Pallavi is looking very good; they don’t have that much baggage. He has a lot of baggage. That’s why we usually take a new face in our serials, so they don’t have any baggage or history,” said Shiv Sagar.
However, the filmmaker conceded that, in the end, his personal opinion will not matter if the audience accepts Ranbir in the role. He said the ‘public is the king’ and they will have the final word on the matter once the film is released.
With Ramayana set to release amid heightened expectations, only time — and the audience — will tell whether Ranbir Kapoor’s Ram finds acceptance beyond the shadow of Animal. As Shiv Sagar himself put it, the public is the ultimate judge, and whatever verdict they deliver will be the one that truly matters.
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