From the serenity of Lord Rama to the formidable presence of Ravana, breathtaking visual effects and a deeply emotional story, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend brings one of India's most...
From the serenity of Lord Rama to the formidable presence of Ravana, breathtaking visual effects and a deeply emotional story, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend brings one of India's most treasured epics to the big screen with extraordinary ambition. Webfit News explores the performances, storytelling, music and cinematic experience behind this much-discussed production.
Webfit News Rating: ★★★★☆ | 4/5
Webfit News Entertainment Desk
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND | 5 November 2026
There are films that entertain, films that impress, and films that attempt something far more ambitious: transporting audiences into a world they have heard about, imagined and carried in their hearts for generations.
Ramayana: Rise of a Legend belongs to that last category.
For millions of people, the Ramayana is much more than an ancient story. It is part of family conversations, childhood memories, religious traditions and cultural identity. Its characters represent values that continue to resonate across generations: love, duty, loyalty, sacrifice, courage and the difficult choices that come with doing what is right.
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Bringing such a deeply cherished story to the cinema is no ordinary undertaking.
The challenge is not simply to recreate grand kingdoms, legendary characters or spectacular battles. It is to preserve the emotional and moral heart of a story that audiences already know and love, while making it accessible to a new generation.
That is where the ambition of Ramayana: Rise of a Legend becomes particularly interesting.
With its expansive visual world, imposing characters, emotional storytelling and large-scale cinematic presentation, the film seeks to offer audiences something that feels both familiar and new.
And for viewers who have grown up watching international fantasy adventures, it presents an opportunity to discover the richness of Indian storytelling through the language of modern cinema.
At its heart, the Ramayana is the story of Lord Rama, whose life becomes a remarkable journey through love, responsibility, separation, sacrifice and the struggle between righteousness and evil.
Rama is not remembered merely because he possesses extraordinary abilities. He is revered for the principles he represents.
His willingness to place duty above personal comfort, his commitment to his word and his devotion to those he loves form the emotional foundation of the epic.
Alongside him stands Sita, whose dignity, courage and resilience are central to the story.
Their relationship is not simply a romantic element added to a grand adventure. It gives the narrative its emotional depth.
Then there is Ravana, one of the most fascinating figures in Indian mythology: powerful, intelligent, proud and formidable, yet ultimately defined by the consequences of his choices.
The Ramayana brings these contrasting personalities together in a story that raises questions about power, morality, devotion, pride and the responsibilities that accompany greatness.
These are not ideas confined to ancient India.
They remain relevant to families and communities around the world.
One of the most striking aspects of the production is its scale.
Director Nitesh Tiwari and producer Namit Malhotra have been associated with an ambitious effort to present the Ramayana through contemporary filmmaking techniques and extensive visual world-building.
The ambition is apparent in the film's sweeping environments, elaborate settings, dramatic landscapes and large-scale action.
The intention is to create a world that audiences can enter rather than merely observe.
That distinction is important.
Visual effects are at their most effective when they serve the story. Instead of constantly reminding viewers how much technology has been used, they should make extraordinary events feel natural within the world of the film.
The impressions shared by early viewers particularly highlight the smooth integration of visual effects and the sense of immersion created by the production.
It is the kind of cinematic ambition that invites audiences to experience the film on the largest screen available.
Portraying Lord Rama presents a unique challenge for any actor.
The character carries enormous cultural and emotional significance, and audiences approach him with deeply established expectations.
A convincing portrayal requires more than heroic dialogue or a commanding physical appearance.
It demands restraint, compassion, dignity and a quiet inner strength.
Ranbir Kapoor's portrayal is notable in the shared review impressions for its emphasis on Rama's composed personality and emotional sincerity.
Rather than relying entirely on grand gestures, the performance seeks to communicate strength through calmness.
There is something particularly meaningful about this approach.
In a cinematic world filled with larger-than-life heroes, Rama's defining qualities are often his patience, his commitment to duty and his willingness to make difficult personal sacrifices.
Those qualities give the character a different kind of power.
The relationship between Rama and Sita also provides opportunities for tenderness and emotional connection, reminding audiences that behind the grandeur of the epic are people experiencing love, uncertainty and separation.
It is this human dimension that helps make the story resonate.
If Rama represents composure and moral discipline, Ravana introduces an entirely different energy.
Ravana is a character of extraordinary contradictions.
He possesses intelligence, knowledge, authority and immense power, but his pride and choices become central to his downfall.
Bringing such a figure to the screen requires an actor capable of making his presence felt immediately.
Yash's portrayal has attracted particular praise in the audience reactions shared with Webfit News.
His commanding presence, intense expressions and powerful delivery contribute to the sense that Ravana is a genuinely formidable force.
What makes the character compelling is not simply that he is an antagonist.
Ravana is a figure whose strength and stature make his decisions all the more consequential.
The contrast between Rama and Ravana becomes one of the story's defining dramatic elements.
One represents control, restraint and duty.
The other embodies immense power, ambition and the dangers of unchecked pride.
Their opposing worldviews give the narrative much of its tension.
Any meaningful interpretation of the Ramayana must recognise the importance of Sita.
She is not simply a character around whom events unfold.
Her courage, devotion, dignity and resilience are fundamental to the epic's emotional and moral structure.
Sai Pallavi's casting brings attention to a character whose strength is expressed differently from the physical power associated with the film's warriors and kings.
Sita's significance lies in her convictions and the dignity with which she faces adversity.
The relationship between Rama and Sita also offers an important contrast to the spectacle surrounding them.
Their world is associated in the shared viewer impressions with beauty, warmth, colour and tranquillity.
These visual choices help communicate the emotional character of their relationship.
The effect is to remind audiences that the Ramayana is, at its core, also a story about love and the extraordinary lengths to which people will go for those they cherish.
One of the most interesting observations from the audience review material concerns the visual contrast between Rama's world and Ravana's.
The environments associated with Rama and Sita are described as colourful, peaceful and almost idyllic.
Ravana's world, by contrast, is presented with a more intense, unpredictable and dramatic energy.
This contrast is more than a matter of production design.
It helps tell the story without requiring every idea to be explained through dialogue.
Colour, movement, lighting and atmosphere can communicate a character's nature long before that character speaks.
The calmness surrounding Rama reflects his temperament.
The heightened intensity surrounding Ravana reinforces the danger and unpredictability associated with his power.
When visual storytelling works this effectively, the audience begins to understand the characters through the worlds they inhabit.
That is one of cinema's greatest strengths.
Large-scale visual effects are now common in international cinema, but the challenge is always to make them feel convincing.
A spectacular environment means little if audiences cannot believe in the world surrounding the characters.
The reactions shared with Webfit News repeatedly emphasise the immersive quality of the film's visual presentation.
The environments, dramatic imagery and fantasy elements contribute to a world that feels expansive and richly imagined.
For audiences accustomed to Hollywood fantasy adventures, the production's visual ambition offers a familiar sense of scale while drawing its identity from Indian mythology.
That combination is particularly significant.
Indian storytelling possesses an enormous collection of epics, legends and characters capable of supporting major cinematic worlds.
The Ramayana demonstrates why these stories have such enduring potential.
Its landscapes, kingdoms, extraordinary personalities and monumental conflicts provide an imaginative foundation that is already remarkably rich.
Modern visual technology gives filmmakers new ways to bring that imagination to life.
Some films can be enjoyed equally well on a television.
Others are clearly designed to take advantage of the scale and immersion of a cinema auditorium.
The shared audience reactions suggest that Ramayana: Rise of a Legend falls firmly into the second category.
The film's expansive environments, dramatic compositions and large-scale action are especially suited to a premium cinema presentation.
One viewer who initially had reservations about 3D described becoming increasingly absorbed in the format as the film progressed.
That is an encouraging observation because effective 3D should enhance the audience's connection to the story rather than simply draw attention to itself.
For viewers in Auckland and across New Zealand, the opportunity to experience a major Indian epic on a large cinema screen is part of the film's appeal.
It allows families and friends to share the scale, sound and emotion of the production together.
Music has always played a special role in Indian storytelling.
It can communicate devotion, grief, triumph, longing and hope in ways that dialogue alone cannot.
For an epic such as the Ramayana, the musical dimension is especially important.
The production's association with A. R. Rahman and Hans Zimmer has contributed to expectations of a soundtrack capable of matching the scale of the visual storytelling.
The musical experience described in the review material is one of intensity and emotional impact.
Powerful orchestral passages and dramatic background scoring help reinforce the film's sense of grandeur.
But the real value of music in a story like this lies in its ability to bring audiences closer to the characters.
A moment of separation can become more poignant.
An act of courage can feel more inspiring.
A confrontation can gain greater dramatic weight.
When music and storytelling work together, the result can stay with audiences long after the screening ends.
Perhaps the most important reason the Ramayana continues to matter is that its emotional foundations are so recognisable.
Parents want the best for their children.
Families struggle with difficult decisions.
People make promises that come at a personal cost.
Love demands patience.
Power tests character.
And doing the right thing is not always the easiest choice.
These experiences transcend geography, language and generation.
The Ramayana gives them extraordinary scale, but the feelings themselves remain deeply human.
One particularly moving reaction in the audience material came from a viewer familiar with the epic through his religious background and work as a temple priest.
Despite already knowing the story, he described being emotionally affected by its presentation on screen.
That response captures something important about adapting a familiar narrative.
Knowing what happens does not necessarily diminish the experience.
Sometimes, a powerful retelling allows audiences to feel an old story in an entirely new way.
For many Indian families, the Ramayana has been passed down through grandparents, parents, books, television adaptations and community traditions.
But younger audiences increasingly encounter stories through streaming platforms, video games, international fantasy franchises and visually ambitious films.
That change creates an opportunity.
A contemporary cinematic presentation can introduce the Ramayana to people who might never have read the epic or watched an earlier adaptation.
It can also encourage younger viewers to ask questions about the characters, their decisions and the values represented by the story.
For children growing up outside India, including those in New Zealand, this connection can be especially meaningful.
A film cannot replace the depth of the original epic or the many traditions through which it has been interpreted.
But it can provide an accessible starting point.
It can spark conversations between generations.
It can encourage families to revisit the story together.
And it can remind young audiences that Indian cultural heritage contains narratives with extraordinary emotional, philosophical and imaginative richness.
Although the Ramayana is rooted in Indian civilisation, its themes have the potential to connect with audiences from many backgrounds.
Viewers do not need to know every character or every detail of the epic to understand the importance of loyalty, courage or sacrifice.
Nor do they need an extensive knowledge of Indian mythology to appreciate the contrast between a principled hero and a powerful adversary.
The audience material shared with Webfit News includes reactions from viewers who were impressed by the fantasy world-building and emotional performances.
That suggests one of the production's strongest opportunities: introducing a treasured Indian story to people who may be encountering it for the first time.
The visual spectacle can attract their attention.
The characters and emotions are what can keep them engaged.
New Zealand is home to a diverse Indian community, including families who have grown up with the Ramayana and younger generations who know the story through their parents and grandparents.
For those audiences, a major cinematic interpretation offers more than an evening of entertainment.
It provides an opportunity to celebrate a familiar story together.
For viewers from other cultural backgrounds, it offers a window into one of the world's most influential epic traditions.
And for cinema enthusiasts, the film's ambition, visual design and performances provide reasons to experience it as a large-screen production.
There is something special about sitting in a cinema surrounded by people who are all experiencing the same emotions.
The excitement of a grand sequence, the silence of a moving moment and the collective response to a powerful performance are difficult to reproduce on a phone.
That shared experience remains one of the great pleasures of cinema.
★★★★☆ | 4/5
Ramayana: Rise of a Legend stands out in the review material for its ambitious visual world, compelling central characters, emotional storytelling and immersive cinematic presentation.
Ranbir Kapoor's composed portrayal of Rama and Yash's commanding interpretation of Ravana provide two contrasting dramatic forces.
The visual environments help distinguish their worlds, while the film's music and emotional themes give the spectacle greater meaning.
Most importantly, the production offers an opportunity to introduce the Ramayana to audiences who may know little about the story, while inviting those who grew up with it to rediscover its emotional power.
For Webfit News, the strongest message is that the appeal of the Ramayana has never depended solely on its extraordinary events.
Its lasting strength comes from the values, relationships and choices at the centre of the story.
The cinematic ambition simply gives audiences a new way to experience them.
Webfit News Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
For families, mythology enthusiasts and lovers of grand cinematic storytelling, this is a film to consider experiencing on the biggest screen available.
Because some stories are more than entertainment.
They are part of a cultural inheritance.
And the Ramayana remains one of the most powerful examples of how a story can continue to inspire people across centuries, countries and generations.
Stay connected with Webfit News for more movie reviews, entertainment coverage and stories from Auckland, New Zealand and beyond.
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