Who will play Lakshman in Ramayan?

Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayan has made Bollywood fans excited since its announcement.

The film is set to star Ranbir Kapoor in the central role of Ram while Sai Pallavi will portray Sita.

While several cast members have been confirmed, the actor to play Lakshman was not revealed.

In the story of Ramayan, Lakshman is Ram’s younger brother who is extremely loyal to the latter.

He accompanies Ram and Sita to their exile of 14 years and is instrumental in many of the victories of Ram.

Casting director Mukesh Chhabra opened up on who would play Lakshman in Nitesh’s adaptation.

He said: “Nitesh had decided to cast Ranbir very early in the process, and once you watch the film, you’ll see why it’s such apt casting.

“I think the actors I’ve worked with the most in my career are Ranbir and Rajkummar Rao.

“Nobody can beat Ranbir when it comes to acting. He’s very neutral about it.

“He doesn’t bother too much about hits and flops. All he is concerned about is acting.”

Mukesh revealed that a newcomer had been cast as Lakshman in Ramayan.

He continued: “We’ve found a lovely actor for Lakshman. A lot of people auditioned for the role.

“But I’m very happy with the actor we’ve gone with. This is going to be his first film in Bollywood.

“It was the last role we cast. We’ve chosen a young actor who has worked a lot in television. He’s a lovely guy.

“We couldn’t have found a better Lakshman. I’m very happy that the people we’d initially approached all said no.

“Two or three people said no because they think that Ram and Lakshman will always have to be together.”

There have been many film and television adaptations of Ramayan. However, the most popular one was Ramanand Sagar’s television series.

The show ran from 1987 to 1988 and featured Arun Govil as Ram and Sunil Lahri as Lakshman.

In June 2024, Sunil expressed doubts about Ranbir’s casting as Ram after he appeared in Animal (2023).

Animal was criticised for its alleged depiction of misogyny. 

Sunil explained: “I don’t know how much people will accept [Ranbir] as Ram.

“I feel that you should take someone that has no image or baggage. It works better.

“No doubt Ranbir is a great actor with a big legacy of his family and the work he has done.

“I’m sure he will do justice, but again, it is the perception of people that you can’t change.

“He has to crush his earlier performances and come out with this.”

“And especially, after doing something like Animal recently, it will be very difficult for people to see him in such an opposite role as Ram.”

Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming adaptation will also star Arun Govil, Lara Dutta, and Sunny Deol.

Ramayan is expected to be released in 2027.