EXCLUSIVE: Vijay Sethupathi in talks to play Vibhishana in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana with Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram

Pinkvilla has been the first to give multiple updates on the casting of Nitesh Tiwari’s magnum opus Ramayana. While Ranbir Kapoor was cast as Lord Ram, the makers roped in Sai Pallavi to play Sita and Yash to play Ravana. Shortly after, we reported that the creators had started a conversation with sunny deol to play Lord Hanuman in the epic trilogy, followed by the next update of Lara Dutta signed to play the role of Kaikeyi. And now we have another exclusive update on Ramayana.

Nitesh Tiwari narrates Ramayana to Vijay Sethupathi

According to sources close to the matter, Nitesh Tiwari is in talks with Vijay Sethupathi play the role of Ravana’s brother Vibhishana in Ramayana. “Nitesh Tiwari recently met Vijay Sethupathi and explained the script and the world he is looking to create with Ramayana for the show. Vijay was impressed by the narration and visuals and it showed his interest in the film,” revealed a source close to the development. However, Vijay is yet to sign the dotted lines as he is figuring out the logistics and finances with the Ramayana team.

Talking about Ramayana, the film will release in March 2024 with Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi. The duo, along with other ensemble members, will start the film in March and shoot it until the end of May. “Yash, who plays Ravana, will join the sets of Ramayana in June/July 2024 and will complete his role in the first part of the epic in 15 days,” the source added. Ramayana: Part One will end in July and the makers will spend a year and a half in the post-production of the film.

500 days allotted to VFX for Ramayana

“While DNEG already previews the world, the team will spend around 500 days perfecting the images, as their idea is to offer a global product without compromise. The vision of Ramayana is not to make an Indian film, but a global project that creates a legacy for Indian cinema. A dedicated team of top VFX artists will work exclusively on Ramayana for 500 days starting from July,” informed the source. If everything goes as planned, Ramayana will hit the big screen during the Diwali 2025 weekend, but being a VFX-heavy legacy film, the makers are doubly sure before committing to release lines anytime. The film is produced by Nitesh Tiwari with Namit Malhotra (DNEG).

The makers of Ramayana had approached Bobby Deol for the role of KumbhKaran, however, Jr. Deol politely declined the offer as he did not want to be a negative force in a film that his brother, Sunny Deol, is discussing for positive benefit and divine role. Casting for all other characters is underway and we will provide more updates on Ramayana over the next 50 days.

After the completion of Ramayana, Ranbir Kapoor will begin filming Love and War, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, with Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal. Meanwhile, Yash will complete Toxic and then start filming Ramayana: Part 2, which mainly narrates the story of Ravana, Sita and Hanuman, leading to the great war in part 3. Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates.