Kannada star Yash has given his fullest account yet of why he joined Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana as both Ravana and co-producer. Speaking at the film’s pre-launch event in Hyderabad, he traced the decision to conversations in Los Angeles with producer Namit Malhotra about the place Indian filmmaking should occupy globally.
The conversation that brought him aboard
Yash said Malhotra’s ambition to take Indian cinema to an international stage convinced him to take a producer’s stake rather than remain only an actor. He framed his own satisfaction simply: he wants Indian cinema “placed at that level.”
The star said the decision was a bet on a producer, not merely on a film. Malhotra had taken criticism and correction seriously and tried to improve, he added.
Don’t reduce it to VFX
The Hyderabad appearance arrived amid online discussion of the production’s visual effects. Yash did not dispute individual frames. Instead, he asked viewers to look at the film’s broader ambition before passing judgment.
He urged audiences not to hunt for “small faults” in VFX and warned that “this chance won’t come again.” If the industry loses producers like Malhotra now, he said, it will go backwards.
He also made a direct appeal to fans across language industries—Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi—to unify behind the film if they enjoy it and “show the world.”
Why it matters for Hindi cinema
The plea carries weight because Ramayana: Part One is one of the most closely watched Indian productions in years, both for its mythology and its visual scale. Yash’s intervention reframes audience skepticism as a cost: if viewers judge an ambitious attempt only by its imperfections, he argued, the industry may lose the confidence to try again at this level.
That is a familiar tension in Hindi cinema’s long history of spectacle: big-canvas films are often remembered for their ambition, but first judged frame by frame. Yash is asking for the first response to be postponed until the theatre lights go down.
- Director: Nitesh Tiwari
- Cast: Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, with Ravi Dubey and Rakul Preet Singh
- Release: Ramayana: Part One opens worldwide on November 5, 2026; the second instalment is expected around Diwali 2027
The second half of the project will test whether this first appeal becomes a movement. Yash has asked audiences to judge the work first and debate flaws later; the film’s global box office will show how many took the advice.
Source: The Times of India
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