Nitesh Tiwari’s adaptation of the Hindi epic poem is an action heavy piece that brings its protagonists to life on a scale akin to a Marvel Cinematic Universe film
RAMAYANA: RISE OF A LEGEND (2026)
★★★ & 1/2 ★ of ★★★★★ stars
(Note: This is a review of the subtitled Hindi version in Real3D)
Coming into this film as someone from a Western point of reference that isn’t super faimilar with the source poem, Tiwari’s film does an excellent job of setting the scene for its audience. Based on an epic poem, not unlike this year’s The Odyssey, Ramayana takes it time in establishing its two main characters, Ravana and Ram, and their fated journey to oppose each other. Ravana, played by Yash, is the erstwhile Thanos of this story. His people, a demon race called Asuras, are defeated by Indra, an incarnation of the Hindu diety Vishnu. Their defeat leads his people to be a subclass race, while the people that Indra championed, the Devas, live in an unabashed paradise called Lanka. Dushanan, as Rava is originally known, is called upon by his mother to use his Asura rage and Sage knowledge to leave his life of scriptural and musical study to avenge his people. He goes an epic journey throughout three universes and channels his meditation for so long with such spiritual power that the creator of the universe, Brahma, urges him to stop, lest his energy destroy the world. Dushanan agrees, on the condition that Brahma grant him a boon of immortality. Brahma says he cannot do this, but he grants Dushanan the boon that he be impervious to death from supernatural beings, gods, demigods and their weapons and methods – conspicuously forgetting to name humans in this wish. Brahma grants this wish and he emerges as a new being, Ravana, not unlike Xerxes in 300. He easily crushes the Devas and becomes a warrior king and ruler of the 3 universes. Should his story end here, you could see Ravana as a hero, empowered by the film’s score by Hans Zimmer, but power corrupts and Ravana’s quest for respect and revenge extends to destroying Vishnu, who knows his pivot to defeat the threat Ravana poses is to incarnate as a human.
Queue to the film’s protagonist Ram, born to the king of Ayodyha. He is one of four sons of the King Dashrath and Vishnu incarnates as him. He is noble and an amazing warrior. Think of him as a Hercules type figure, with his brother Lakshman as his trusy sidekick. The people of Ayodhya love him and his training by the Gurudev grant the film some of its coolest sequences, including a really awesome setpiece where he fights these giant demons in a haunted forest. The film’s CGI, especially in 3D, is really immersive and the best cinematic 3D experience I’ve had since Avatar: Fire and Ash. Ram also meets his future wife Sita through the actions of the gurudev as he is encouraged to participate in a contest to win the hand of the Princess Sita if he can life and string a bow once held by the deity Shiva. The connection here to The Odyssey is a little hard to miss, but this comes across as a thing that is common in ancient literature. As expected, none can lift the box to string it, except Ram who does so after asking a boon from Shiva, who lets him lift it. However, the box breaks after he strings it. He wins Sita’s hand, but is confronted by Parshanum, an avatar of Shiva who challenges Ram. Ram bests him, Parshanum grants him a bow once owned by Vishnu, recognizing his divinity. Everything starts to go well for Ram, until some machinations by his stepmother’s aide, Mathara, lead to his eventual exile for 14 years from Ayodhya. This leads to his eventually crossing paths with Surpanakha, the sister of Ravana, who falls for Ram. She tries to seduce him in Sita’s form, which leads to her being attacked and facially disfigured by Lakshman for her deception. This gets Ram on Ravana’s radar, as he has started his path toward evil, and he decides to take revenge on Ram by taking his wife in another cool setpiece. At the end of this setup, Ram vows he will do anything to rescure Sita and the film ends in a cliffhanger setting up Part 2.
There is A LOT of exposition in this film, which runs over 3 hours, but it is sort of necessary as we’re introduced to a massive sprawling cast of characters, gods, demigods and demons. In this sense, it’s similar to watching an MCU film, where these characters have a massive backstory of mythology behind them and setting up their relationships. Tiwari does a good job of referencing these characters and their relationships – setting up scenes to push narration later in the film. Yash does an amazing job as Ravana, playing different versions of the character throughout that feel like different takes entirely, including a scene where he talks through his decision to attack Ram in a nod to his 10 headed original incarnation in the poem. You can see how he would see himself as the hero of the story, not unlike Josh Brolin’s Thanos in the Infinity Saga. Ranbir Kapoor does a great job playing Ram as a great warrior and a humble man who only wants peace and to find his place in the world. His physicality is convincing ina role that needs it and his relationship and chemistry with Sai Pallavi’s Sita is well earned and feels genuine. Ravi Dubey as Lakshman balances well as Ram’s brother and sidekick and helps sell the film’s exposition naturally. The downside of the film is that it ends in a cliffhanger right when you want it to get going to the climax. It does have a mid-credits scene showing off a character that fans of the poem will be excited to see in the sequel, but overall, this is a great movie that should elevate Indian action films. The score and effects are great. It’s definitely a film from a different culture, but if you’re a fan of video games like Asura’s Wrath and Black Myth Wukong, some of these characters will seem familiar. A great effort from Tiwari here and a giant epic film for fans of Hindu iconography.
Ramayana: Rise of a Legend Part 1 opens in theaters on November 5th.
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