Key Takeaways
- Nitish Bharadwaj, best known for playing Lord Krishna in B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat, has publicly taken back the praise he once gave Ramayana Part 1.
- He now describes himself as “deeply upset and disappointed” with the Ranbir Kapoor-led mythological drama.
- The film also stars Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Raavan, directed by Nitesh Tiwari.
- The row revives an old debate: can a big-budget VFX epic match the emotional pull of Ramanand Sagar’s 1987 Doordarshan classic?
Nitish Bharadwaj has withdrawn his earlier praise for Ramayana Part 1, saying he is now “deeply upset and disappointed” with the Ranbir Kapoor starrer. For an actor who has spent nearly four decades being addressed as “Krishna ji” on the street, that is not a small thing to say.
Who Is Nitish Bharadwaj and Why His Word Carries Weight
Most Indians above thirty don’t know Nitish Bharadwaj as an actor so much as a memory. He played Lord Krishna in B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat, the Doordarshan series that ran between 1988 and 1990 and turned Sunday mornings into a national pause button. Streets genuinely emptied out. Weddings were timed around the telecast.
Bharadwaj didn’t just play the part once and move on. He went back to Krishna again and again, wrote books on the Bhagavad Gita, earned a doctorate on Krishna’s characterisation, and later served a term as a nominated Rajya Sabha MP. Few living actors in India are seen as closer custodians of mythological storytelling than him. So when he speaks about Ramayana Part 1, trade and audiences alike tend to listen.
What Did Nitish Bharadwaj Originally Say About Ramayana Part 1?
Like much of the industry, Bharadwaj had earlier spoken warmly about the project when its scale and intent were first made public. Mythological cinema rarely gets backing this big in India, and his initial comments reportedly welcomed the ambition of retelling the epic for a new generation, on a canvas Doordarshan could never have afforded.
That early goodwill is exactly what makes his reversal newsworthy. It isn’t an outsider taking a shot at a big film. It’s someone who has lived inside this universe, walking back his own words.
Why Has Nitish Bharadwaj Withdrawn His Praise for Ramayana Part 1?
Bharadwaj has not minced words about how he feels now, calling himself “deeply upset and disappointed.” Entertainment trackers covering the fallout suggest his unease centres on how certain portions of the narrative and characterisation have been handled in the finished film, as opposed to what was promised in the trailers and early promotional material.
Is This About Creative Liberties?
Mythological retellings always walk a tightrope between scripture and screenplay. Every version of the Ramayana, from Valmiki’s Sanskrit original to regional retellings across Tamil, Bengali and Assamese literature, has taken some liberty with detail while keeping the moral spine intact. Where exactly Ramayana Part 1 crossed a line for Bharadwaj hasn’t been spelt out item by item in his public remarks, and it would be unfair to guess at specifics he hasn’t confirmed himself. What is clear is the intensity of his reaction, which is unusually sharp for an actor known for measured, scholarly commentary.
What Is Ramayana Part 1 About, and Who Stars in It?
Ramayana Part 1 is the opening chapter of a two-film adaptation of the epic, directed by Nitesh Tiwari of Dangal fame and backed by producer Namit Malhotra’s studio, known for its VFX pedigree through DNEG. It brings together one of the biggest ensemble casts Hindi cinema has assembled for a single mythological project.
| Role | Actor |
| Lord Ram | Ranbir Kapoor |
| Sita | Sai Pallavi |
| Raavan | Yash |
| Director | Nitesh Tiwari |
| Format | Two-part theatrical release |
The film arrives with reported budgets running into hundreds of crores, built around heavy visual-effects work meant to bring Lanka, the Pushpak Vimana and the Vanara army to life in a way Indian cinema hasn’t attempted before.
How Does Ramayana Part 1 Compare to Ramanand Sagar’s 1987 Ramayan?
This is where the story loops back, as these stories always do in Indian popular culture. Long before Ramayana Part 1 existed even as an announcement, Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan held the same cultural real estate that this new film is chasing. It ran on Doordarshan from 1987 to 1988, with Arun Govil as Ram and Dara Singh as Hanuman, shot on modest sets with effects that look almost quaint today.
And yet nothing about it felt small to the people watching. You can read more about how that original series was made on Wikipedia’s detailed entry on the 1987 Ramayan, which still documents the scale of its viewership, reportedly among the highest ever recorded for an Indian television broadcast.
| Aspect | Ramayan (1987, Doordarshan) | Ramayana Part 1 (2026) |
| Medium | Weekly television serial | Theatrical two-part film |
| Scale | Studio sets, limited effects | Large-scale VFX, global post-production |
| Lead as Ram | Arun Govil | Ranbir Kapoor |
| Public reaction | Near-universal devotion | Divided, debated, closely scrutinised |
That contrast is really the crux of why a single actor’s disappointment with Ramayana Part 1 has become a story at all. The 1987 version wasn’t trying to impress anyone with technical spectacle. It succeeded because it felt devotional first and dramatic second. Whether a modern blockbuster, built for multiplex screens and global box office math, can hold onto that same restraint is the real question Bharadwaj’s comments have put back on the table.
How Have Fans and the Industry Reacted?
Social media has split roughly along familiar lines. One camp defends the film’s ambition and argues that no adaptation can satisfy every purist, pointing to decades of regional Ramayana retellings that differ from each other too. The other camp treats Bharadwaj’s discomfort as validation of concerns they’d already been voicing about trailers and promotional clips.
Neither camp has had the benefit of a full, considered critical response yet, since Ramayana Part 1 is still fresh in theatres and detailed reviews are only beginning to settle. Bharadwaj’s remarks have simply sharpened a conversation that was already simmering.
FAQ
Who is Nitish Bharadwaj?
Nitish Bharadwaj is an Indian actor and author best known for playing Lord Krishna in B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat (1988-1990). He later served as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha.
What did Nitish Bharadwaj say about Ramayana Part 1?
He withdrew the praise he had earlier given the film and said he is “deeply upset and disappointed” with aspects of how it has turned out.
Who stars in Ramayana Part 1?
Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi plays Sita, and Yash plays Raavan, with Nitesh Tiwari directing.
Is Ramayana Part 1 related to the 1987 Doordarshan Ramayan?
No, they are separate productions decades apart, though both retell the same epic and are often compared for tone and reception.
Will there be a Ramayana Part 2?
Yes, the story is being told across two theatrical parts, with the second instalment expected to follow this release.
Whatever one makes of the finished film, Bharadwaj’s about-turn is a reminder that mythology on screen is never just entertainment for Indian audiences — it’s inherited memory, and people notice when it’s handled carelessly. Ramayana Part 1 will be judged, fairly or not, against a 1987 serial it never had to compete with until an actor who lived inside that older Ramayana decided to speak up.