‘Ramayana’ Makes Everyone Interesting Except Ram
The ambitious film adaptation of Valmiki’s epic gives us plenty to feel — just less for its hero. A leading translator explains what gets lost.
Ramayana: Rise of a Legend (2026) opens with one word: dharma, defined as the “path to divine truth and righteousness.” Regardless of what you might have heard about the first installment of this two-part movie (“hollow,” lots of CGI, etc.), a few things are true: it’s based on Valmiki’s version of the epic tale, it has a stacked cast of characters, and it’ll make you feel something.
Though comparisons are never perfect, to understand the sheer scale of India’s great epics, one professor called the Ramayana “the Iliad and the Odyssey and the Bible in one package.” This is a story of filial duty, marital duty, fratricide, morality, fate, asuras vs. devas, and the most delicious thing of all: origin stories. Despite the movie’s name, it’s not Ram who’ll win you over. This is a film where characters you’d least expect — from a feisty Lakshman to a restrained Kaikeyi to the inimitable Ravana — will keep you riveted.