‘Tried To Internalise The Whole Essence Of Ravana’: Yash On Working In Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana

Yash will be seen playing the role of Ravana in Nitesh Tiwari’s magnum opus Ramayana, produced by Namit Malhotra. The actor has recently travelled to Las Vegas to present the film at CinemaCon, where he spoke about the film’s vision. The actor shared how the film has tried to bring nuance to his character.

Speaking to Reuters,Yash revealed, “I have tried to internalise the whole essence of Ravana and tried to make him as human as possible at times,” and added, “It’s important for people to relate to him.” The actor also spoke about the criticism surrounding the portrayal of auras and making it look too Western-inspired, and said, “Since we have global ambitions, we need to make it familiar to a Western audience as well.”

Namit Malhotra also spoke

about the film blending fantasy and human elements, and said, “It will promise a very different experience, unlike anything that traditional Indian movies offer or even Hollywood, for that matter. It’s meant for the world, and it’s got the best of the East and the best of the West coming together to make it happen.”

Nitesh Tiwari on Yash 

As for Yash’s Ravana, director Nitesh Tiwari previously revealed that his Ramayana films will not depict Ravana as purely a villain. Instead, Yash’s depiction of Ravana will also include his better qualities. He told Collider, “See, Ravana had so many aspects to his life. He was a great warrior, he was an accomplished musician, a scholar, a benevolent king… a great Shiva devotee. There was so much more to him than just being a black character.”

The filmmaker continued, “…It’s very important for us to showcase all these bits and aspects of Ravana because there’s a very important lesson hidden in them. You can have all these great qualities, but if you are governed by vengeance and driven by ego, then you know what the end result is going to be. There’s a great lesson out there.”

Ranbir Kapoor also spoke about Yash’s Ravana and said, “Yash, of course, has the stardom that he does. To play Ravana, you need somebody who has that aura and screen presence. His interpretation of Ravana is very different from what we have seen over the years. I think that’s something which audiences will really enjoy watching on the big screen.”

About Ramayana: Part 1

Interestingly, Yash is also one of the producers of the movie. Ramayana: Part 1 brings together a wide ensemble, including Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Hanuman, and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. The first part of Ramayana is set to release in theatres globally during Diwali 2026, with the second part scheduled for Diwali 2027.