09 August,2026 08:26 AM IST | Mumbai | Junisha Dama
The 1993 Indo-Japanese animation, Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama
The weirdest thing about the Internet today is that it has made us entitled enough to think that everyone's opinion is worth sharing. But is an opinion devoid of any influence at all? To remain truly uninfluenced, you would need to be scrolling-free. The days of experiencing things firsthand or in isolation are long gone; there is a quite a dearth of original thought.
Take Nitesh Tiwari's upcoming multi-crore epic, Ramayana. I didn't care about watching the official trailer because, ever since Animal, I am not really a Ranbir Kapoor fan anymore. I have genuinely enjoyed his previous performances - the likes of Wake Up Sid! (2009), Tamasha (2015), and Rockstar (2011). But Ranbir as Ram? It feels like a complete mismatch.
But long before I even considered not pressing play, the memes had already told me everything I needed to know. It further discouraged me from watching the trailer, and maybe even the film - although that's a call I will save for later.
Having consumed the trailer in the form of memes, I agree with most of the jokes floating around. Ranbir Kapoor genuinely looks like he's about to turn to the camera and say, "Main udna chahta hu, main daudna chahta hu, Naina," (I want to fly, I want to run Naina) like he did in Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani (2013).
The cross over of Ramayan and Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani that has people in splits (right) Salman Khan for few is the better choice
And I think that disconnect is largely because we have spent years loving Kapoor in vulnerable, coming-of-age, contemporary, urban roles. Seeing those viral Internet jokes made me realise: Kapoor is a brilliant actor, no doubt, but lately, he's been picking up projects that leave me wondering who is actually enjoying seeing him in them? We need the Tamasha era Ranbir back.
Being in the cast of Ramayana demands a sort of looming physical presence. You know, the kind of heft only a God-king would have. Like the meme AI edits of Salman Khan as Ram, and honestly? He looked like a much better fit, likely because of his natural build. It's not Kapoor's fault, and this isn't body-shaming, but I would prefer a depiction of Lord Ram to be imposing yet somehow comforting.
Plus, Kapoor with a top-knot? Maybe not.
Beyond the casting, the visual execution of this film is supposed to be this grand declaration of Indian cinema's command over world-class VFX. The budget for the two-part film is a whopping Rs 4000 crores, making it India's most ambitious and expensive project yet. So, do the visual effects justify it? From the few that I have come across, not really.
The wider landscapes miss the mark. Raavan's army looks like a swarm of bees and the entire digital universe created here has never looked more unnatural.
Then there are the memes on the cat's appearance. Kapoor's makeup makes him look far too orange. While Sai Pallavi has that gentle, doe-like look one imagines Sita to possess but her saree blouse is definitely not era appropriate.
It makes me nostalgic for what we consumed as kids - Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama, the 1993 Indo-Japanese co-produced anime film that played on Cartoon Network as a series. Its art style leaned Japanese anime, with character's features that weren't entirely traditional, and yet it looked and felt infinitely more real than this hyper-rendered CGI soup.
It's entirely possible that social media is unfairly steering my opinion. And that my algorithm has kept the good stuff at bay. After all, it's the Ramayana, and we are yet to encounter a version of it that audiences fundamentally hate.
But couldn't this movie have been made better? Right now, it feels less like a narrative masterpiece and more like a point the producers are desperately trying to prove about their budget and VFX.
My suspicion is that these hyper-VFX spectacles will eventually carve out their own separate, isolated genre with a niche audience. But, I have yet to encounter a single person who has watched the trailer and genuinely liked it.
When people used AI to easily swap Ranbir Kapoor out for Salman Khan as the better Ram, it proved two things: either the original casting looks completely unnatural, or AI has gotten terrifyingly good. Take your pick.
Realistically, the memes might not actually hurt the film. If this type of relentless meme backlash happened to a small-budget film with little to no marketing, it could easily tank it. But in the case of a behemoth like Ramayana, it won't impact the box office at all.
It's a massive production with ample cash left for marketing, it tells the story of the Ramayana, and at the end of the day, people will still go. Some might argue that memes are just Internet opinions; and well we understand that it's hardly in favour of the subject.
But the memes aren't going anywhere. They have become the cultural lens or the first draft review of any film. We aren't watching trailers anymore; we are watching the Internet critique films before the popcorn even pops.
