Yash as Ravana in Ramayana Part 1.

Cinema is an inherently political medium. Its politics resides as much in the stories one chooses to tell as in the manner in which one chooses to tell them. And so, to take on a mythological epic as revered as the Ramayana in 2026 is, inevitably, a political undertaking. The intent may be devotional, but its implications are dictated by the moment it inhabits. Perhaps that is why one walks out with the curious feeling of having witnessed not so much a creative engagement with an epic as a rather straightforward exercise in storytelling. The Ramayana has lived many lives across centuries, its stories accommodating interpretations, contradictions and imaginations. To approach such a text without the appetite for creative risk feels like a missed opportunity. What remains is a safe, largely by-the-book retelling, content with the modest ambition of entertaining. Just because it doesn’t seek to offend, it relishes in its sincerity.…