Green screen meant building the battlefield in his head
Kunal Kapoor, who plays Lord Indra in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, is clear about what surprised him most on set. The film’s large-scale action sequences, including his character’s fight with Yash’s Ravana, were shot almost entirely against green screens.
For the actor, that removed every usual anchor. “There’s no real palace or sunrise. Everything is out of your imagination,” he told SCREEN. He added that the constraint was also liberating: it took him back to childhood make-believe and to the core of acting.
Terry Notary brought a different kind of action direction
The man guiding those sequences was Hollywood movement coach Terry Notary. Notary has trained actors for the Planet of the Apes franchise and has credits on X2 (2003), Superman Returns (2006) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). He is also part of the Russo Brothers’ upcoming Marvel film Avengers: Doomsday.
Kunal’s praise pointed to a specific distinction. Notary, he said, was “not just an action director, but a body language expert directing action.” For a story as cherished as the Ramayana, that approach mattered: the scenes were not just spectacle but narrative beats.
What Terry Notary brings to the project
- Planet of the Apes franchise: trained actors to inhabit non-human physicality
- Comic-book and superhero credits: X2, Superman Returns, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
- Avengers: Doomsday: the upcoming Russo Brothers Marvel film
Ramayana opens this week, sequel shifts to 2028
Ramayana is a two-part adaptation directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra. It stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman, with Kunal Kapoor as Indra.
The first part releases worldwide on November 5, 2026. Part 2, earlier planned for Diwali 2027, has moved to 2028, Namit Malhotra recently said.
For Hindi film fans, the detail is a small but telling sign of scale: a cast working with a Hollywood movement specialist to make mythological action feel less like wirework and more like character. As the first part arrives, that craft is about to meet its biggest test: the audience.
Source: Hindustan Times