The makers of Ramayana chose Dussehra to release Ravana Tandav, a song video built around the Lanka king's devotion to Lord Shiva. It went live on YouTube on October 20 and has crossed six million views in about a day. The film's worldwide release is only two weeks away.
The video opens with actor Yash as Ravana in the form of an ascetic. He has matted locks and ash on his forehead, wears a dhoti, and is layered in rudraksha armlets, kadas, necklaces and waistbands. It is a very different image from the warlord in the earlier trailer, and it follows the tradition of Ravana as Shiva's most devoted worshipper.
Drum beats open the track before it moves into the Shiva Stotram. AR Rahman composed it, Vishal Dadlani sings it, and Dr Kumar Vishwas wrote the lyrics. He placed two stanzas of the traditional hymn at the start.
The comment section has been full of praise for Yash. One fan wrote that KGF made him a star and that Ramayana could make him an artist for the ages. Others called his energy in the song unmatched and said he seems to become Ravana rather than play him. Another fan said the film deserves its hype.
Ramayana is a two-part adaptation of the epic, produced by Namit Malhotra. Part 1 releases worldwide on November 5, and Part 2 follows in 2027. The budget is reported to be Rs 4,000 crore, and advance bookings are reported to have reached Rs 1.5 crore in ticket sales so far.
Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Rama and Sai Pallavi plays Sita. Ravi Dubey is Laxman, Sunny Deol is Hanuman and Rakul Preet Singh is Surpanakha.
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