Ranbir Kapoor talks about his ‘responsibility’ for playing Lord Ram in ‘Ramayana’: ‘My job was to be worthy of the faith that people place in the story’

The makers of ‘Ramayana‘ have released a behind-the-scenes video that gives a glimpse into the making of the much-awaited epic. It also explains why Ranbir Kapoor was seen as the ideal choice to play Lord Ram. In the video, the lead actor spoke about the responsibility of portraying the god on screen.

Ranbir Kapoor on the responsibility of playing Lord Ram

Ranbir began by praising Arun Govil and shared the one thing that stayed with him. He said, “Mr Arun Govil, Arun sir, is the iconic Lord Ram for all of us. His one line that really resonated with me: ‘Kshama Dharma, Kshama Yagya, Kshama Veda, Sanatana.’ See, Bhagwan Ram ki sabse badi shakti unka Dhanush nahi tha; woh unki Kshama thi. His ability to forgive (Mr Arun Govil, Arun sir is the iconic Lord Ram for all of us. One of his lines really resonated with me: ‘Kshama Dharma, Kshama Yagya, Kshama Veda, Sanatana.‘ See, Lord Ram’s greatest strength was not his bow; it was his ability to forgive).”

What the role means to Ranbir Kapoor

Explaining what the character means to him, Ranbir said, “Yeh role nahi hai. It’s not ki mujhe ek film offer hui hai aur yeh ek role exciting hai… yeh ek zimmedari hai (This is not just a role. It’s not that I’ve been offered a film, and this is an exciting role… this is a responsibility).”He added, “But I think everything just comes down to the simplicity and belief of the individual playing Lord Ram.” He also shared another line that guides him: “You know there is a well-known principle from our Vedic text, ‘Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah’; Dharma protects those who uphold it.”

Ranbir Kapoor on the making of ‘Ramayana’

Ranbir also spoke about the experience of filming the epic and the international talent that came together for it. He said, “And I think another exciting thing that I witnessed while filming this epic was how Namit got the best of the east and the best of the west come together with a single belief of the telling of Ramayan. Ramayana talents like Terry Notri, who’s worked on such great movies. I had the good fortune of training under him, you know, for body language, for movement, but just the process was so exciting, you know, the expertise that he was bringing to us cuz I saw it in Terry Notre’s intention that he believed in the Rama and he believed in the story. You know, we had the amazing legend Guy Norris, who I had the good fortune of doing two action set pieces with him. It’s one arrow on the air, and I run. I look; and somebody like Guy Norris, understanding or speaking about the emotionality, who’s actually an action director. He directs a fighting sequence, but him being so interested in the emotionality of Ram was such a pleasant surprise. So every day I reminded myself that my job was not to be worthy of this role. My job was to be worthy of the faith that people place in the story.”

More about ‘Ramayana: Part One’

‘Ramayana’ is directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra. Ranbir plays Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi portrays Sita, and Ravie Dubey plays Lakshman, while Arun Govil features as King Dashrath. The film also stars Yash, Sunny Deol, Vivek Oberoi, Lara Dutta, Rakul Preet Singh, Indira Krishnan, Sheeba Chaddha and others. Part one is set to arrive in theatres in India on November 8, 2026.