Ramayana Early Reviews: Ranbir Kapoor, Yash Draw LOTR-Scale Praise

The long wait for Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana finally has its first public reaction, and the response from Los Angeles is landing at epic volume. Following a premiere at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, early international viewers are describing the film in the same breath as the fantasy sagas that changed global cinema.

One attendee gave the comparison that will now follow the film everywhere: the last time they felt this scale of wonder was watching the first The Lord of the Rings in 2001. “This movie is very grand. It’s very epic,” they added. For a mythological drama, that is a powerful first impression.

Ranbir Kapoor and Yash are leading the early word

Ranbir Kapoor’s Lord Ram is drawing a spiritual, emotional response. Film reviewer Theresa Simoni called the actor “some serious talent” and said she was moved to tears. In the antagonist’s corner, Yash’s Ravana is already being singled out, with early viewers praising his introduction in particular.

The two performances give the film its central tension: a quiet, morally weighted hero opposite a menacing, larger-than-life villain. Early audiences are responding to both.

Why the Lord of the Rings comparison matters

It is not a casual compliment. Peter Jackson’s trilogy also opened a familiar mythology on a huge canvas and ended its first chapter with a deliberate promise of more. Ramayana is now being measured on that same blockbuster scale, which changes how the film will be received outside India and raises expectations for the sequel before formal reviews arrive.

The Los Angeles showcase also tells us something about the film’s positioning. This was not treated as a regional event, but as a world-stage premiere, and early word is spreading across social feeds like a global release.

The cliffhanger and the one caveat

Viewers are already talking about the Part 1 ending without spoiling it. One attendee admitted they shouted out loud when the screen cut to black, and the cliffhanger is doing exactly what it was designed to do: turn Part 1 into a reason to demand Part 2.

Not every first take was unreserved. Some early trade voices felt the film leans heavily into action spectacle over intimate drama. That balance will be the real test as more critics weigh in.

• LA premiere word compares Ramayana to The Lord of the Rings in scale and ambition.
• Ranbir Kapoor’s Ram and Yash’s Ravana are the early standouts.
• The Part 1 cliffhanger is already fuelling demand for the sequel.

For now, the film has cleared its first big test on the world stage.

Source: Filmfare

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#Bollywood#Film Reviews#Mythological Epic#Nitesh Tiwari#Ramayana#Ranbir Kapoor#Yash