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

Ranbir Kapoor, Mukesh Khanna

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.