Actor Sunny Deol, who had long been rumoured to be part of the two-part Ramayana franchise, has officially confirmed his participation to SCREEN.
A day after Ranbir Kapoor publicly acknowledged his involvement in director Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana and shared details about the highly anticipated project, actor Sunny Deol, who had long been rumoured to be part of the two-part franchise, officially confirmed his participation to SCREEN. At the third edition of SCREEN Live in Mumbai, Sunny, who was accompanied by brother Bobby Deol, revealed he is part of the project and shared some insights into it.
At the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Ranbir disclosed that he had completed filming the first part of the two-part franchise. He said, “It has two parts. I have finished the shooting of Part 1 and will shoot Part 2 soon. Just to be a part of that story, I am so humbled to essay Ram’s role. It’s a dream for me. It’s a film that has everything. It teaches what Indian culture is about — family dynamics and husband-wife dynamics.”
Now, Sunny Deol’s confirmation has only heightened the excitement around the project. He shared, “Ramayana is a long project because they’re trying to make it the way Avatar and Planet of the Apes movies were made. All those technicians are a part of it. The writer and director are very clear about the way it has to be and how the characters should be presented,” he said at the SCREEN event held in KC College in Mumbai.
Given the backlash received by many recent massive films — especially director Om Raut’s Prabhas and Kriti Sanon-starrer Adipurush, inspired by the Hindu epic Ramayana — for its shoddy visual effects, Sunny assured that the Nitesh Tiwari project would be visually impressive. “You will also get to see the special effects that will make you believe that it (the events unfolding) has very genuinely happened rather than making one feel that these are special effects. To be honest, I’m very sure it’s going to be great and I’m sure that everybody will love it,” he added. While rumours suggest that he plays the role of Hanuman, Sunny did not confirm this.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) in November this year, producer Namit Malhotra had shared his vision for the project, writing, “More than a decade ago, I embarked on a noble quest to bring this epic that has ruled billions of hearts for over 5000 years to the big screen.”
“And today, I am thrilled to see it taking shape beautifully as our teams work tirelessly with only one purpose: to present the most authentic, sacred, and visually stunning adaptation of our history, our truth, and our culture – our ‘RAMAYANA’– for people across the world”, he wrote in another post. Namit added, “Join us as we fulfill our dream of bringing our greatest epic to life with pride and reverence… Part 1 in Diwali 2026 and Part 2 in Diwali 2027. From our entire Ramayana Family.”
The project reportedly features a star-studded cast with Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi playing Ram and Sita, respectively. While Ravi Dubey has confirmed his role as Lakshman, Kannada superstar Yash will portray Ravan. The first part of the film is scheduled for release during the Diwali season of 2026, with the second part to follow in 2027.
