Imtiaz Ali Shares Why Ranbir Kapoor Will Benefit From Playing Lord Rama In Ramayana: He Imbibes From...

Imtiaz

Ali and Ranbir Kapoor have had two memorable feature films together with Rockstar (2011) and Tamasha (2015). Both are currently working on separate projects, but Imtiaz revealed that he was really looking forward to seeing Ranbir in Ramayana. The Animal actor is headlining the two-part mythological drama, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, as Lord Rama. The Main Vaapas Aaunga director said Ranbir playing Lord Rama in the film would be very enriching for him.

Why Imtiaz Ali can't wait to see Ranbir Kapoor in Ramyana

In an interview with Filmibeat, Imtiaz revealed that he was very happy to see Ranbir play the dual roles of Lord Rama and Parshuram because, as an actor, he can bring a certain effect or reality to Rama the character and to Bhagwan Rama. The director felt that it would be nice to approach the character of Rama in a humane and personal way.

Imtiaz added that while he was looking forward to seeing Ranbir as Shri Rama, "it'll be hugely beneficial for Ranbir to have played Rama because he is the kind of actor, [that] he imbibes from the character. He will take from Rama and that will be so enriching for him."

More about Ramayana

Ramayana: Part 1 is expected to release in theatres globally on Diwali 2026; a special look was shown internationally at CinemaCon this year. Besides Ranbir, the ensemble cast features Sai Pallavi, Yash, Sunny Deol, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Ravi Dubey, Kunal Kapoor, Adinath Kothare, Arun Govil, Lara Dutta and Amitabh Bachchan as Jatayu and the narrator of the film. In a recent interview, director Nitesh Tiwari stated that he felt intimidated, challenged, and inspired to tell a great story like Ramayana because it came with a lot of moral responsibility. Ramayana: Part 2 is officially scheduled to release in theatres a year later, during Diwali 2027.

About Imtiaz Ali's next Main Vaapas Aaunga

After his last film Amar Singh Chamkila, Imtiaz is working with Diljit Dosanjh once more in Main Vaapas Aaunga. Written and directed by Imtiaz, the Hindi film is a Partition-set love story with Vedang Raina and Sharvari. Naseeruddin Shah plays the older version of Vedang's character, while Diljit plays his grandson.

Amar Singh Chamkila had premiered directly on Netflix. Main Vaapas Aaunga is set to release in theatres on June 12. Imtiaz is reuniting with his longtime collaborators AR Rahman and Irshad Kamil for the music and lyrics.