'Ramayana' producer Namit Malhotra, during his visit to Isha Foundation, sat down for a chat with spiritual leader Sadhguru 'Jaggi' Vasudev, talking about the epic's relevance, massive expectations from mythological films and characters, apart from other things.
Sadhguru said that while playing Lord Rama is an opportunity for transformation, at the same time, there shouldn’t be unfair expectations from the actor playing him. “Acting like Rama brings some elements of Rama into the actor, which will be wonderful for him. But it’s an unfair expectation,” he said, defending actors including Ranbir Kapoor, who portray Lord Rama on screen.
The remarks came after a section of social media expressed its disdain over the casting of Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama in Director Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming epic 'Ramayana', the most anticipated film of 2026. An old clip, where the actor talked about his love for eating beef, enraged many who questioned the actor’s suitability for the role.
The spiritual leader agreed that people have expectations from actors who play Rama as they visualize them as the deity, but at the same time for actors, it could be unfair as they are just acting. “If you act like Rama in a movie, then I expect at least you have some gentleness,” he said, adding, “It’s unfair for an actor because for them it’s a profession, he’s just acting.
Sadhguru also said that the current state of the world is very concerning, and the “younger generation needs to be shown what the 'Ramayana' truly is.”
