Ranbir Kapoor: India Had Flying Cars 5,000 Years Ago
The Ramayana actor credits the Pushpaka Vimana as India's original flying car, days before the epic's November 5 Diwali release.
Days before Ramayana opens in cinemas on November 5, Ranbir Kapoor is making a different kind of headline—one that places ancient Indian imagination next to a Tesla demo.
In a Star Talks conversation with co-stars Ravi Dubey, Rakul Preet Singh and Yash, and director Nitesh Tiwari, the actor responded to a discussion about the epic’s weaponry and VFX. The host noted that the creations on screen could rival modern inventions, and Tiwari said it was exciting to reimagine those ideas.
Ranbir then offered the line now doing the rounds online. “Elon Musk recently invented a flying car. I think India did it 5,000 years ago!”
The Tesla reference
He was pointing to Tesla’s long-delayed Roadster, unveiled on October 15 at SpaceX’s facility in Waco, Texas. During the demo, the electric supercar drove upside-down on a curved ramp, went airborne for a few seconds and landed safely. Musk’s reaction after the landing was short: “Well, it worked.” Production is planned for 2028.
What the Pushpaka Vimana is
The comparison lands because the Ramayana trailer features the Pushpaka Vimana as a gigantic flying structure. In the epic, this self-moving aerial chariot was built by Vishwakarma for Brahma and later came into Ravana’s hands. The text describes it as a flying palace that moves at the speed of thought and can expand to carry any number of people.
For the film’s audience, that is not just mythology. It is a visual promise—one that DNEG, the Academy Award-winning VFX studio, has helped bring to the screen.
Why the quote works for the film
Ranbir’s one-liner does more than spark a debate about ancient science and modern engineering. It reframes the epic as spectacle: if you were amazed by a Tesla Roadster briefly leaving the ground, wait until you see what the Ramayana imagines.
- Release: November 5, 2026, during Diwali
- Director: Nitesh Tiwari
- Cast: Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Hanuman, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman
- Music: AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer
The two-part adaptation is produced by Namit Malhotra and Yash. For fans counting down to Diwali, the flying-car comment is a reminder that this version is positioning the epic as a big-screen event, not a history lesson.
Source: Hindustan Times
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