Mukesh Khanna disapproves of Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram: ‘He’s just done ‘Animal’...’

Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna isn’t down with the casting of Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram in Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming two-part adaptation of the Indian epic. Khanna, prone to controversies, argued that the casting of Lord Ram should be synchronous with the actor’s real-life personality, and that Ranbir Kapoor, coming off the success of ‘Animal’, doesn’t fit the bill

Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna isn’t down with the casting of Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram in Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming two-part adaptation of the Indian epic. The film, currently in post production, is mounted on a large scale and also features Sai Pallavi as Sita.

In an interview with Mid-Day, Khanna declared Arun Govil’s work in the 1987 DD National TV series the “gold standard” of a Ram performance. The Shaktimaan actor pointed out that Prabhas, who played a version of Ram in Adipurush, wasn’t accepted by the public.

In quotes that have gone viral, Khanna displayed self-awareness of his outspoken nature. “I won’t say anything about this, if I do, they’ll accuse me of commenting about everyone and everything. They’ve ruined my reputation. I recently commented about Jackie Shroff’s son… I’m not rude, but I speak my mind. If they’re making a Ramayana, comparisons with Arun Govil will be inevitable,” he was quoted as saying.

On the the casting of Ranbir in the lead role, Khanna expressed, “All I can say is that whoever plays Ram must embody Ram; he shouldn’t look like Raavan. In their real life, if they are a “lampat chhichhora” (lewd hooligan) then it will show on screen. If you’re playing Ram, you’re not allowed to party and drink. But who am I to decide who plays Ram?”

Ranbir Kapoor starred in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s violent blockbuster Animal last year. Khanna, airing his apprehensions about the switch in image, added, “(Ranbir) is a fine actor… But I will look at his face, and he should look like Ram. He’s just done Animal, and his negative personality was highlighted in that movie. I hope that doesn’t disturb this…”

Khanna was recently embroiled in another Ramayana-related controversy, culminating in a war of words with actor Sonakshi Sinha. The incident dates back to 2019 when Sonakshi struggled to identify for whom Hanuman brought the Sanjeevani booti in the Ramayana. Khanna, in a recent interview, blamed Shatrughan Sinha for this slip up, claiming he had failed to teach his daughter about Indian mythology.