3 minutes of readingBombayFebruary 2, 2026 08:59 am
Veteran actor Arun Govil, known for his iconic portrayal of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, praised the upcoming film adaptation of the Hindu epic and backed its lead Ranbir Kapoor, saying only a “good actor and a good human being” can play God convincingly on screen.
Touted as an ambitious cinematic event, the film features KGF star Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Goddess SitaSunny Deol as Lord Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lord Lakshman. It is directed by Nitesh Tiwari of ‘Dangal’ fame.
“Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana looks very good. It has been made with a lot of work by Nitesh Tiwari, the actors and the entire team. The lead actor Ranbir Kapoor looks great as Lord Ram. He is a good actor and a good human being.
“To play a God, you must have a good and pure soul, and you must also be a good human being,” Govil, who plays the role of King Dasaratha, Lord Ram’s father, in Ramayana, told PTI. He was speaking on the sidelines of a FWICE and Cine Artiste Welfare Trust (CAWT) event held last week.
The actor, best known for his portrayal of Lord Ram in the 1987 television epic, noted that comparisons between different adaptations were inevitable due to the lasting influence of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan.
The iconic series also stars Deepika Chikhalia as Sita, Sunil Lahri as Laxman and Dara Singh as Hanuman.
“Comparisons are always made when a standard is set and no one should feel bad about being compared. I think to play the role of God, you have to look like that. Appearance is very important. When people see you, they should see God in you and think, ‘God can be like that,'” he added.
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First look of Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram
That said, the 68-year-old ruled out any attempt to draw a parallel between the upcoming Ramayana and the 2022 film Adipurush,” starring Prabhas and criticized for its portrayal of iconic characters and visuals, describing them as two fundamentally different projects.
“There is a lot of difference between Ramayana and Adipurush,” he added.
Govil, who plays the role of King Dasaratha in Tiwari’s two-part film epic, said he had a “good” experience working with the entire team. “I finished working on the movie a long time ago. The experiences of that movie and that unit are good for me,” he concluded.
Ramayana is produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios and DNEG, in association with Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, the film is a two-part live-action saga set 5,000 years ago and rooted in one of the most enduring epics in Indian mythology.
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The first part is scheduled to release worldwide in IMAX during Diwali 2026, and the second part will follow in Diwali 2027.