Ramayana LA Premiere: First Reactions Praise Yash as Ravana

The first verdicts on Ramayana: Rise of a Legend are in. The film held its world premiere on Tuesday night, October 27, at the David Geffen Theatre inside the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, and the viewers who came out of the screening spent the night posting their reactions. Ranbir Kapoor, who plays Rama, Yash, who plays Ravana, and Sai Pallavi, who plays Sita, walked the red carpet with director Nitesh Tiwari and producer Namit Malhotra, eight days before the film opens in cinemas worldwide on November 5.

Yash draws the loudest praise

The strongest early notices went to Yash. Filmfare reported that attendees singled out his Ravana again and again, and one early reaction quoted by the magazine called the performance the biggest highlight of the film, superb especially in his introduction scenes. Ranbir Kapoor drew warm notices of his own. Reviewer Theresa Simoni, quoted by Filmfare, said the actor playing Rama moved her to tears and called the screening an unforgettable experience. Another viewer compared the feeling of watching the film to seeing The Lord of the Rings for the first time in 2001, and called it grand and epic. Zoom TV reported that viewers praised the scale of the production, the visual presentation, the score and the action sequences.

A hug that travelled overnight

Some of the widest shared footage from the night had nothing to do with the film itself. Videos from the red carpet showed Kapoor and Yash, the screen's Rama and Ravana, embracing warmly in front of the cameras while fans cheered, and the clip spread quickly across social media overnight. Reports from the carpet said crowds chanted for Ravana as Yash arrived, and called out for Kapoor as he stopped to greet fans.

Not every note was glowing

The first reactions were positive but not uniform. A roundup by iDiva noted that some viewers criticised the pacing, the music and a studio feel in certain scenes, even as they praised the visuals and Yash's performance. Premiere audiences are invited guests and early social media posts are first impressions, not formal reviews, and the wider critical verdict will only form once the film opens on November 5.

The dubbing question, answered on the night

The makers also used the premiere to settle a question that had followed the film online. Director Nitesh Tiwari confirmed that every voice in the film was recorded by the artists themselves, and that artificial intelligence was used only for language lip sync, according to The Daily Jagran's report of the premiere. Zoom TV reported the same clarification, that Tiwari set out the film's limited use of the technology.

What happens next

Ramayana: Rise of a Legend is the first of two parts. The Daily Jagran reported a combined budget of about Rs 4,000 crore for the two films. Ravie Dubey plays Lakshman and Sunny Deol plays Hanuman, with Arun Govil and Lara Dutta also in the cast. Part 1 opens worldwide on November 5, and advance interest from the diaspora audience that turned out in Los Angeles suggests the opening weekend will be watched well beyond India.