Sunil Lahri, known to a generation of Indian viewers as Lakshman from Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, has shared a mixed review of Nitesh Tiwari’s big-screen Ramayana. In a video posted on November 11, he praised the film’s scale and craft but said it missed some of the devotional feeling he associates with the epic.
What impressed him
Lahri described the production as grand, expensive and visually rich, calling the VFX “world-class” and the cinematography beautiful. He said the film’s frames are genuinely pleasing to the eye. The cast features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana and Ravi Dubey as Lakshman.
He also credited the actors for their sincerity, saying they performed their roles with heart, and added that several scenes in the film are outstanding.
The emotional gap
His main criticism was that the adaptation did not pay enough attention to the emotional scenes and dialogue. Lahri named specific moments that fell short:
- The Parashuram sequence felt weak to him.
- The Ahilya episode is missing from the film.
- Shurpanakha’s exchange with Lord Ram did not sit well with him.
- Sita’s way of addressing Ram could have been handled with more care.
Summing up, Lahri said the film is “shakti-pradhan zyada hai, bhakti-pradhan kam hai” — more led by power and scale than by bhakti and divinity.
Why his words carry weight
The response matters because Lahri has a long association with the epic. Doordarshan’s Ramayan, aired in 1987 and 1988 with Arun Govil as Ram and Deepika Chikhlia as Sita, remains a cultural touchstone. His Lakshman is part of how many viewers still visualise the story.
This was not Lahri’s first comment on the new adaptation. Before watching the film, he had raised concerns about the music and said it could have reflected more of Ayodhya and Mithila’s cultural flavour. He had also wished the team well.
After watching it, he asked audiences to see the film and form their own opinion. The review feeds a wider conversation about modern mythological cinema: whether spectacle, scale and star power alone can satisfy viewers who come expecting reverence, emotional depth and cultural detail.
That is the tension at the centre of Lahri’s review. The scale can impress the eye, but for many viewers the Ramayana is an emotional and devotional experience first. Lahri’s verdict is a reminder that bigger sets and stronger VFX do not automatically close that gap.
Source: Filmibeat