Nitish Bharadwaj withdraws praise for Ramayana

Actor Nitish Bharadwaj has withdrawn his earlier praise of Ramayana after watching the film, saying its portrayal of Ravana and emphasis on visual effects left him deeply disappointed. His objections are his assessment of the adaptation, not an independent evaluation of the film’s interpretation of the epic.

In notes posted on Instagram, Bharadwaj said he could not find a good word to say about the film and withdrew his earlier appreciation, which followed the release of its trailer. He had previously praised the project’s scale and technical elements and predicted it could win an Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

Bharadwaj focused his criticism on the depiction of Ravana, played by Yash. He said the film presents the character as exceptionally liberal, socially just and fair, and argued that this changes the Ramayana’s moral framework. In his view, the character’s portrayal also undermines the purpose of Rama’s incarnation, which he described as upholding Dharma, tradition and Maryada.

He said the Ramayana is more than a story and is deeply rooted in India’s civilizational and spiritual consciousness. Bharadwaj argued that the epic’s philosophical and spiritual values cannot be...