Following Dipika Chikhlia’s remarks that Nitesh Tiwari’s adaptation of the Ramayana should not be produced, Sunil Lahri, who portrayed Lakshman in the TV series, has also voiced his concerns about the casting of Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi as Lord Rama and Sita.
In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Sunil Lahri commented on Ranbir Kapoor’s casting, stating that while Ranbir’s look in the poster is impressive, it may be “unacceptable” to the audience.
“From the poster, I liked his look. It’s very nice and since he’s so smart, he will look perfect in that role. But, I don’t know how much people will accept him as Ram. I feel that you should take someone that has no image or baggage. It works better. No doubt Ranbir is a great actor with a big legacy of his family and the work he has done. I’m sure he will do justice, but again, it is the perception of people that you can’t change. He has to crush his earlier performances and come out with this. And especially, after doing something like Animal recently, it will be very difficult for people to see him in such an opposite role as Lord Ram.”
Regarding Sai Pallavi, Sunil Lahri admitted he is unfamiliar with her work but expressed doubts about her suitability for the role of Sita based on her appearance.
“I don’t know how she is as an actress, I have never seen any of her work. But, looks wise, I am honestly not very convinced. In my mind, Sita has a very beautiful and perfect looking face, and I don’t think Sai’s face has that perfection. In Indian mindsets, all the Devis are out of this world, it should be extraordinary. I don’t know how they are going to make this actress look that attractive that Raavan would fall for her.”
Sunil Lahri emphasized that while he has no issues with adapting the Ramayana for the big screen, it must do justice to the epic, unlike the 2023 film Adipurush, which faced heavy criticism for its poor dialogues, performances, and VFX.
“The point is how convincing you can make it. To wipe those 37 years of our Ramayana and that image, somebody has to come with a stronger content and feel to do some justice to the roles. With Adipurush, the content and emotions were very poor. It is a very simple story. The way you present the emotions, it has to touch the audience’s heart. So, banaao Ramayana, bilkul banao, but please don’t kill the soul of the story. If you wish to do something different, play with the technology at hand, not with the basic story,”
Sunil concluded.
