Mukesh Khanna says Ranbir Kapoor might be unsuitable for Lord Rama role in Ramayana

In a recent interview, Mukesh Khanna revealed his reservations about Animal actor Ranbir Kapoor playing Lord Ram in Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana. Mukesh explained that the image of Ranbir as Ranvijay Singh in his Animal movie might make it tough for audiences to accept the "Maryada Purushottam image of Rama" that he is set to play.

Mukesh Khanna claims Ranbir Kapoor may not be able to pull off Lord Rama's "Maryada Purushottam image" in Ramayana

In Hinduism, Lord Rama, also known as Shri Ramachandra, is titled Maryada Purushottam, as a reminder of the ideal human qualities everyone is inspired to achieve and uphold the life of highest honour and dignity.

"Ched chaad karoge toh phasoge. Aap Ram ko yodha bata rahe ho, vo Maryada Purushottam the," he said. (Translation: "If you tease or provoke, you’ll get into trouble. You are calling Ram a warrior, but he was the Maryada Purushottam — the ideal man.")

"They’re showing Lord Ram climbing trees and shooting arrows. Krishna or Arjuna can do that, but Rama wouldn’t do it. If Rama proclaimed himself as a warrior, he would never ask monkeys to help him. He was enough, one man against Ravana."

"From what I can see, I don’t know if Ranbir Kapoor can pull off the Maryada Purushottam image of Rama. He’s a good actor, but he has an image chasing him — and that’s Animal. I don’t have an objection to it. He could do it. But I think agar aapne Rama ko Yodha Rama bataya, toh log accept nahi kar paayenge. Iske upar gadbad ho sakti hai." (Translation: "If you show Lord Rama as a warrior, then people will not accept it. This can create a problem.")

Moreover, when asked about his thoughts on Ranbir Kapoor's earlier admission of beef eating, Mukesh refused to comment on it, though he speculated that Ranbir might have quit eating beef by now.

Ranbir Kapoor, who faced heavy criticism for the violence and misogyny portrayed in his lead role in Animal, previously said that it was the right role for him at the time.

"I was stagnating and hitting a saturation point in my career. I was called the ‘next superstar’ for a very long time—and I am not saying I am that today, because unless you have those continuous blockbuster films, you can’t be called a superstar—but Animal was the correct film at the right time, to take another step up," he had said previously.

Ramayana is scheduled to release in two parts: one on Diwali 2026 and the other on Diwali 2027.

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.