Ramayana Review: Ranbir, Yash Power a Visual Buffet
Filmfare's Jitesh Pillaai reviews Ramayana Part 1: Yash's Ravana and Ranbir Kapoor's Ram anchor a grand, if meandering, visual spectacle.
Filmfare Editor-in-Chief Jitesh Pillaai has delivered his verdict on Ramayana Part 1, and it is a warm but clear-eyed recommendation. The retelling is “not flawless” but “riveting,” he writes, praising a film that leans on scale, star power and visual grandeur while acknowledging the stretches where it loses pace.
The spectacle does the heavy lifting
Pillaai says the early scenes draw viewers into “the making of a villain and a hero.” Shobhana, as Ravana’s mother, pushes him to challenge the devas, and the film builds its antagonist as a man of arts and scholarship. The coronation drama, Kaikeyi’s reversal and Manthara’s scheming keep the narrative engaging.
The review is honest about the rough patches. The runtime meanders, and some VFX choices wobble: the Jatayu-Ravana sequence is thrilling, but Ravana’s Pushpaka Vimana is compared to a school-fair merry-go-round. Still, the production design and period costumes get full praise.
Yash towers; Ranbir stays restrained
The performance conversation starts with Yash. Pillaai finds him in fine form, with Sharad Kelkar’s dubbing adding heft to an already imposing Ravana. The review argues it takes a secure actor like Ranbir Kapoor to cede that much footage; Ranbir’s Ram is mellow, restrained and grounded. Sai Pallavi’s dubbed voice bothers Pillaai, but she gives Sita a sensitive, spiritual presence. Ravi Dubey adds lightness, Rakul Preet makes Shurpanakha meaty, and Kajal Aggarwal is underused; Vivek Oberoi leaves an impact in a brief role.
Songs are the soft spot
Musically, the film is split. Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman’s background score is rousing. The playback songs, Pillaai writes, do not match up. Dialogue mostly works, especially the pre-coronation scenes and Ravana’s banter, though some pronunciations land as unintentionally funny. The review also notes the film sticks to and reinterprets the texts without Hindutva homages.
Why fans should care
For Bollywood Society readers, this review frames Ramayana Part 1 as a big-screen spectacle built around two central performances rather than a devotional homework. Pillaai’s verdict: a visual buffet that will not give you a tummy ache, and a welcome distraction for audiences saturated with K-pop and glossy obsession.
- Go for Yash’s Ravana and Ranbir’s restrained Ram.
- Expect a long runtime that meanders and some uneven VFX.
- Keep playback-song expectations low; the background score delivers.
Source: Filmfare
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