Yash confirms playing Ravan in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayan: Exciting character to play

Actor Yash has officially confirmed that he will play the role of Ravana in Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming film Ramayan, starring Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama and Sai Pallavi as Sita. After months of speculation, Yash cleared the air in a recent interview, also revealing that he is co-producing the film, with plans to present it internationally.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, the KGF actor shared how he became involved with Ramayan. He revealed that while in Los Angeles working on the VFX for Toxic, he was approached by Namit Malhotra from VFX company DNEG and Prime Focus. During their meeting, as they discussed ideas, Namit introduced him to the Ramayan project.
“He spoke about Ramayan. They had been working on it since many years and he said I have this vision, this is what is happening and I am not able to put it together with the cast and all of that,” Yash revealed and added that upon further conversations, they both realised that they have the common goal of putting a film like this on “the international platform”.
Yash recalled that Namit “hesitantly” asked if he would be interested in playing Ravana, to which the actor responded, “If the character is treated like a character, if this doesn’t happen today, then the film won’t happen. To make a film with that kind of budget, you need those kind of actors to come together and work on the project. It has to be beyond yourself and your stardom. We have to place the project and the vision first.”
Yash shared that he was then told that they had been working on it for a few years and he met director Nitesh Tiwari for more discussions on how to take the project forward.
When asked about Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi being cast as Lord Rama and Sita, Yash mentioned that Ranbir was already attached to the project when he joined. “Sai Pallavi, we took a collaborative decision. I believe this film has to have everybody from south and north for it to be a Nitesh ji always wanted Sai Pallavi. I also said that it’s a great choice,” he said.
Yash is the first lead actor to officially announce his role in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayan.
“It’s a very fascinating character. I wouldn’t have done it for any other reason. In Ramayan, if you had asked me ‘would you play any other character?’ Probably not. For me, Ravana is the most exciting character to play as an actor so I really like the shades and the nuances of particular character. There’s vast scope to present it in a very different way. As an actor, I am very excited. Hopefully, it’s going to be a very unique approach to it,” he added.
Earlier, sources told India Today Digital that this news was reportedly not true and Yash would not take on a negative role at this point in his career. It was Hrithik Roshan who was apparently approached for the Ravan role before Yash.