In the past few years, Indian mythology has become the new favourite subject of several filmmakers. The Ramayana was recently adapted by director Om Raut into his 2023 project Adipurush.
Filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari announced his version of the Ramayana, which is scheduled to release in two parts and is currently under production.
In Nitesh Tiwari’s film, actor Ranbir Kapoor is all set to portray the role of Lord Ram, and Sai Pallavi will play Sita. The first part of the film is scheduled to release on Diwali next year.
Another Ramayana-based film is also taking shape in the South, this time from veteran actor Vishnu Manchu. But, his version of Ramayana focuses on the life of Ravana.
Vishnu Manchu shared earlier that he has been working on this mythological film for a very long time. But he is going to adapt it with a twist. He also revealed that this version will emphasise Ravana’s perspective.
He came up with this concept back in 2009 and reached out to superstar Suriya to play the role of Ram. However, due to budget constraints, the film couldn’t be made at that time.
The direction of the film was supposed to be done by Vishnu’s father, actor Mohan Babu, who would also be doing the dual role by portraying the role of Ravana.
The scripts and dialogues of the film were also ready; however, it was shelved at that time and now years later, the project has once again gained momentum.
In a recent interview, Manchu was asked whom he’d cast in his version of the story, and he quickly said, “The only person who immediately appears in my mind for the role of Lord Rama is actor Suriya.” For the role of Sita, he picked Alia Bhatt.
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Other films to have taken inspiration from mythology were Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra (2022) and Nag Ashwin’s Kalki: 2898 AD (2024).
He also shared that he wanted to play the role of Lord Hanuman; however, his father did not approve of this. He instead wants him to play the role of Indrajit, Ravana’s powerful son.
