Aarya Babbar has offered a split-screen reading of two of Hindi cinema’s most scrutinised Ravanas. He defends Saif Ali Khan’s turn in Adipurush, questions the novelty of Yash’s first revealed look in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, and frames both against his own stage interpretation in Mahabali.
Saif Ali Khan, and who a performance belongs to
Speaking to Variety India, Babbar said he thought Saif was “very good as Ravana.” The more interesting argument is structural: an actor, he said, is “only as good as the director’s perception and interpretation.” In his view, the choices behind Adipurush — from performance to look — belonged to the director, and the actor should not be blamed for them.
He still credited Saif with bringing a “different kind of intensity” to the part, while adding that mythological figures carry cultural and emotional weight for audiences and should be approached with that responsibility.
Babbar’s distinction
- Saif’s Ravana was director-led but not without intensity.
- Audiences should separate performance from directorial packaging.
- Mythological characters require responsibility, not just acting craft.
Yash’s first look, and the burden of a franchise beard
Babbar was more guarded about Yash. He said it is too early to judge the performance, but the first look left him underwhelmed: “I did not honestly feel that there is anything new in his look except the costumes.” The beard, he observed, is “pretty much the same” as the one Yash carried in the KGF franchise. He noted that he saw a genuinely new look from the actor in Toxic, but not in this reveal.
That critique is not a verdict. Babbar said he hopes the performance surprises, and that the entire film may show “a different Yash.” With Ramayana slated for November 5, the image is doing its earliest work.
Why the first look matters
First-look materials do more than confirm casting. They set the terms of comparison, especially when a star brings a strong franchise image. For Yash, the KGF silhouette is so recognisable that any visual continuity risks reading as the previous character. Babbar’s reaction shows how quickly an audience can absorb a look before a scene has been judged.
It also matters for the film. Ramayana arrives with expectations of scale and mythology, and the first look is its earliest public argument.
Mahabali: a third Ravana, with promised layers
Babbar says the production he is part of aims for a different register. He credits director Kulvinder Bakshish Singh and writer Ashutosh Dwivedi with creating a Ravana of “depth and complex layers.” He recalled earlier portrayals on television and in Ramlila as dark and straightforward. In Mahabali, he said, there is “empathy to this Ravan,” a different shade, and “Bhakti Bhavana.”
He also teased “a very big secret of Ravan” that unfolds in the story, and described the character as the catalyst for other characters’ emotions and decisions. The team’s claim, he said, is that this Ravana is absolutely different from what audiences saw in Adipurush and will see in Ramayana.
Source: The Times of India
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