Ramayana Part One Got Its First Reactions in Los Angeles, and Yash's Ravana Is Stealing the Conversation

Photo: Prashant Kharote, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The first audience for Ramayana: Part One was in Los Angeles, not Mumbai. Nitesh Tiwari's film had a special screening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 27, about a week before it opens in India, and the first reactions started landing online the next morning. Most listings put the release at November 5, so this is the first time anyone outside the production has told us what the film actually feels like.

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The loudest praise is for Yash. Viewers keep calling his Ravana magnetic, and he is the name that comes up most often in the positive posts. Ranbir Kapoor's Rama got a more mixed reception. One reviewer called it sublime and another said they were moved to tears, while others felt the divine aura and emotional weight did not always come through on screen. Sai Pallavi's Sita is described as solid, and one early review compared the sheer scale to The Lord of the Rings, which is the kind of line studios love and audiences should take with a pinch of salt.

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The complaints are specific, which I find more useful than blanket praise. The music, from A.R. Rahman and Hans Zimmer, divides people. Some viewers found the second half slow because of long action sequences, and a few pointed at green-screen shots and the look of the asuras. None of that sounds fatal, but it does sound like a film that is very proud of its spectacle and a little less sure of its pace.

Photo: William Hodges, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This is a two-part story, with Part Two lined up for Diwali 2027, so Part One has to end somewhere that makes people want to come back. Gulf News also reported that Ranbir Kapoor has confirmed a surprise second role in the film. I have no idea what that means, and I would rather be surprised than spoiled.

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Early reactions from a premiere crowd are always warm, so I am waiting for the full reviews before deciding anything. Would you rather see it first in IMAX or in an ordinary screen with the whole family?