Comedian Ravi Gupta flips the script on Ramayana, turns mockery into praise

Comedian Ravi Gupta went into Ramayana: Rise of a Legend armed with criticism and came out mesmerised. In his latest video, Gupta began with a playful takedown of the film’s dialogues and supposed lack of creative liberty before switching gears to praise its visuals, performances, music and technical finesse.Gupta singled out Yash’s portrayal of Ravana and Ravie Dubey’s performance as Lakshman, while also defending Hans Zimmer’s music. His review comes amid discussions around the Ranbir Kapoor and Yash starrer.Gupta opened his review by joking about why the film was being criticised. According to him, viewers might struggle to remember its dialogues because the characters have everyday conversations instead of delivering elaborate lines.“I just watched Ramayana and I have understood why it is being criticised so much. Because after watching the film, you will not remember any of its dialogues. There is no dialogue in this. It is a normal conversation. In this Ramayana, they have not shown any creativity. What was written, they have tried to show only that. In the older version, both creativity and liberty were imprisoned,” he said. He continued in the same vein, bringing up the Pushpak Vimana and King Dashrath. “If Pushpak is a plane, then they have shown it like a flower. Creativity is zero. Dashrath Ji has also been shown as a king in this.”Gupta then added, “From Lord Ram to Duryodhan, everyone is looking good. Lord Hanuman is not even shown in this.” Just as it appeared that he was ready to dismiss the film, he announced, “Now I come to the honest review of Namit Malhotra’s Ramayana.” Gupta said he had entered the theatre with several preconceived notions after hearing the criticism around the film. The experience, however, changed his mind completely.“When I went to watch the film, I had a lot of prejudices in me... I have not seen a more powerful, more magnificent, beautiful and technically perfect film than this,” he said.He also made it clear that the review reflected only his experience and was not sponsored. “This is my personal opinion. Your opinion can definitely be different from mine. And this is not a paid review.”The comedian was particularly impressed by the film’s visual treatment. He said each frame gave him something new to admire and also praised the writing of Ravana’s character and Yash’s performance.“This film is so visually beautiful that I was mesmerised from start to end. Every frame used to change, and I used to say, ‘Wow, what a scene’. Raavan’s character has been written very well. Yash has done very good acting. It is fun to watch. What a powerful actor he is,” Gupta said.Yash was not the only actor who impressed Gupta. He also praised Ravie Dubey, who plays Lakshman, and highlighted the humour the character brings to the story.“The second character that impressed me the most is the character of Laxman Ji, which is played by Ravi Dubey. That humour keeps adding up throughout the whole film,” he said.Gupta also had a cheeky observation about Lakshman’s intelligence, suggesting that the epic could have taken a different turn had everyone listened to him. “And if you watch the whole film, then Laxman Ji’s character is the most intelligent. If his words were accepted, then Ramayana would have been sorted there.”Gupta also defended the film’s music, composed by Hans Zimmer, after it drew criticism from some viewers. He said the score worked for him and particularly praised the use of the violin.“The music is by Hans Zimmer, whose music was criticised a lot by people. But I found it very perfect. There is a violin in the middle of the whole film, which I like very much. If you want to find shortcomings, you can find 50 shortcomings,” he said.Wrapping up his review, Gupta said he believed the film could raise the standing of Indian cinema globally. He compared its potential international appeal with fantasy franchises such as The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.“But I feel that the country has produced a film for the first time that keeps the standards of Indian cinema very high at an international level. The way we watch Lord of the Rings, the way we watch Narnia, the same way this film will be seen outside,” he said.Ram Gopal Varma calls it a ‘devotional force’Director Ram Gopal Varma also shared his perspective on the film in a post on X. He described it not merely as a traditional devotional film but as an uncompromising “devotional force”.Referring to its visual and narrative ambition, Varma wrote, “The #Ramayana is not a devotional film. It is a devotional force. The hero is not a blue god floating above the story. He is a man who has already seen the end of the world and still willfully chooses to walk into it.”More about the movieRamayana: Rise of a Legend features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Goddess Sita, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman and Yash as Ravana. The cast also includes Rakul Preet Singh as Supranakha, Lara Dutta as Queen Kaikeyi and Arun Govil as King Dashrath.The makers recently released the film’s post-credits scene alongside a Hanuman Chalisa music video, introducing Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman. The film was released in cinemas on November 5, 2026.- Ends