RAMAYAN Part 1 (movie review) - A Masterpiece!

Released - 5 November 2026

Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash, Vivek Oberoi, Ravi Dubey, Addinath Kothare, Rakul Preet Singh, Ajinkya Deo, Sheeba Chaddha, Lara Dutta

Rating- 3.5 stars

You set out to go to see a gigantic film like Ramayan in the first place with a bit of hesitation and trepidation especially since you have seen the tv serial Ramayan earlier and know every nuance of the story, when you walk out of the film, you heave a big sigh of relief because the film belies your expectations and  you are relieved that in spite of the fact that you already know the plot, the director takes you an a flight of imagination and you are still engrossed with the proceedings on the screen.

You are mightily impressed with the grandeur of the film and the grand spectacle that it sets out to unfold, despite its running time of over three hours.Though you are aware of the fact a lot of VFX and graphics have been employed, you are floored by what you see in the film.

As far as the performances are concerned, I should say that Ranbir Kapoor etches his role of Ram to perfection though Sai Pallavi tries her level best to rise up to her role as Sita. Ravi Dubey is good as Lakshman while Addinath Kothare as Bharat leaves his own deep impression though his role is very small.

Arun Govil is competent as Ram’s father Dasarath while Lara Dutta is good as Kaikayi. Rakul Singh Preet adds oomph to her character as Surpanaka, though there was no need at all to incorporate the scenes of her husband Vidyut just to show the superiority of Ravan.

To sum up, Nitish Tiwari’s Ramayan is indeed a blend of gorgeous visuals,powerful performances and invigorating medley of mind-boggling visuals, which you should not miss at any cost

By Jyothi Venkatesh

Cast of Ramayana Part 1:

Ranbir Kapoor as Rama

Sai Pallavi as Sita

Ravi Dubey as Lakshmana

Yash as Ravana

Arun Govil as Dasharatha

Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi

Credits of Ramayana Part 1:

Production companies - Prime Focus Studios, Monster Mind Creations, DNEG

Produced by Namit Malhotra, Yash

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari

Screenplay by Shridhar Raghavan, Nitesh Tiwari

Dialogues by Shreyas Jain, Nitesh Tiwari

Based on Valmiki Ramayana

Cinematography - Pankaj Kumar, Mahesh Limaye

Edited by Huzefa Lokhandwala

Music by Hans Zimmer, A. R. Rahman

BHOOL CHUK MAAF - movie review

Rating- **
Futile & Implausible Premise!

Inspired by Hollywood film Groundhog Day, Karan Sharma has written the story which is set in a non-metropolitan city. The sermon by Bhagwandas in the climax fails to have the desired impact or even half of it! While some comic portions are entertaining, the futility and implausibility of the drama hits the viewers, more so in the post-interval part.

If you ask me about the insipid story, I will only draw a blank. The film is about two hopeless romantics, Ranjan (Rajkummar Rao) and Titli (Wamiqa Gabbi) who are desperate to get married. When they pull all the strings to make it happen, Ranjan finds himself stuck strangely in an unbelievable time loop and keeps waking up on the same day, that too thrice -- a day prior to his wedding day.

Otherwise jobless and irresponsible, Ranjan promises his would-be father in law that he will find a government job in just about two months. This is her father’s only condition. Ranjan happily spends Titli’s money, which she borrows from her parents and doesn’t aspire to be self-sufficient until he is forced to. Having no care in the world, the couple resorts to ‘jugaad’ and succeeds until Ranjan finds himself tangled in the time loop which forbids him to proceed to his wedding day.

The first half takes rather too long to get to the point with innumerable songs added for no rhyme or reason and it really tests your patience a lot. Though the film has elements that are obviously strikingly different, especially those that set out to follow a different template, the film sets out to deliver a relevant message of its own too.

Though Karan Sharma fails in execution with repetitive scenes, performances wise, I’d give full credit to both Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi for lending a touch of sincerity to their roles as well as Raghubir Yadav for portraying the middle class father of Rajkyummar Rao and Yashpal Sharma for depicting the role of the father of Wamiqa Gabbi.

All said and done, I’d still say that Bhool Chuk Maaf isn’t a major groundbreaking film for Rajkummar Rao that way, though he ensures that he essays the role of Ranjan with all his flaws and heart intact.

- Review by Jyothi Venkatesh

Producer- Dinesh Vijan

Director- Karan Sharma

Star Cast- Rajkummar Rao, Wamiqa Gabbi, Raghubir Yadav, Seema Pahwa, Zakir Hussain, Vineet Kumar, Sanjay Mishra

Genre- Comedy

Platform of Release- Theatres