For an actor who has worked across four southern film industries, a Hindi debut could have been a small cameo. Harish Uthaman is not taking that route. He joins Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana as Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother—the figure who walks away from his own kingdom to stand with Rama.
The role arrives through a phone call
Uthaman told Variety India that the first sign came from chief assistant director Jay Shah. The executive producer then made the offer. “It was super exciting,” he said. “I wanted to read and study more about Vibhishana.”
The study was necessary. Vibhishana is not a simple ally. He is loyal to his family until he concludes that Ravana’s path is adharma, and then he crosses to the other side. Uthaman said the portions shot so far cover that crossing: leaving home, tribe and kingdom behind.
The challenge is a mindset, not an action beat
“He was for Dharma and not for Adharma,” Uthaman said. The difficulty, he explained, was less about performing on screen than about reaching the internal point where a man can stand against his own brother. He described leaving his family to go to Rama’s side as the moment when the character dynamics change.
That interior turn is the kind of detail that can distinguish a large epic adaptation from a spectacle-only exercise. The film’s two-part structure gives that arc room.
A two-part release window
- Part one: worldwide release in November 2026, ahead of Diwali
- Part two: set for Diwali 2027
- Pivotal cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Ravi Dubey and Yash
Uthaman’s casting is a signal of the project’s multi-industry reach. A performer known across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada cinema now carries a Hindi-language role in one of the country’s most awaited films. He says his preparation began with reading and studying Vibhishana—a sign that the production is treating its mythological characters as psychological choices, not fixed types.
For Hindi cinema readers, the takeaway is not simply that another actor has joined a big release. It is that a two-part Ramayana is leaving room for interior conflict as well as spectacle. If the first part lands that choice, Vibhishana may become one of the adaptation’s quiet anchors.
Source: The Times of India
Comments