Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming adaptation of the Ramayana is the biggest Indian film ever. Naturally, it features some of the biggest names from across Indian cinema, including Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, and Sunny Deol. But alongside them, several actors new to the industry are also waiting to make their mark in the film. Among them is Nitish Sharma, a debutant who plays Lord Rama’s younger brother Shatrughana in the film. Although the trailer showed only a glimpse of the actor, he himself revealed the ‘divine’ story of how he got the role.
Nitish Sharma recalls his Ramayana tale
Earlier this week, Nitish took to Instagram to share a video detailing how he landed the role of Shatrughana in the film. The video opens with an archival clip of Arun Govil (who plays Dashrath in the film and famously played Lord Rama in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan) talking about how Lord Rama himself selects you for his work. Nitish then says in Hindi, “It’s my good fortune that Lord Rama chose me to play Shatrughana in Ramayana and that too, then, when I was replaced overnight from my career’s biggest role.”
Nitish elaborated, “It’s a divine story. In 2023, after hundreds of auditions and rejections, I got a big role in a big film backed by a very big production house. I was very happy to have begun my journey. The entire process was complete, and we were to begin shooting in a few weeks, when I suddenly received a message: ‘You have been replaced with a senior actor, and we are sorry for that’. No explanation, no justification, nothing.” Nitish added that he cried for days after that and went back to his hometown, heartbroken. The actor said that his home has a Hanuman shrine where his parents routinely perform the Sundarkand path. One day, he decided to do it. “I thought I’d ask Lord Hanuman why he stopped such a good opportunity for me. And believe me, I was reading the Bharat milaap scene (where Lord Rama briefly reunites with Bharat and Shatrughan) when I got a call from Mukesh Chhabra sir (the film’s casting director).”
The accompanying caption to the video read: “The Ramayana trailer is finally here, and so is a story that’s very close to my heart. Sometimes, what feels like your biggest setback becomes the beginning of something far greater. Here’s the story of how I was blessed with the opportunity to play Shatrughna in Ramayana. Forever grateful to Namit Malhotra sir, Nitesh Tiwari sir, Mukesh Chhabra sir, the entire team, and above all, Prabhu Shri Ram.”
Nitish Sharma’s career before Ramayana
According to his IMDb bio, Nitish Sharma played Sameer Verma in Pyaar Paisa Profit, streaming on Amazon Prime and MX Player. He has over seven years of theatre experience, and has also been the face of campaigns for top brands like Toyota, Blackberrys, Manyavar, Swiggy, and Tata Tea. Nitish has also written and directed two short films, Escape and The Date.
Ramayana marks his first feature film. He is expected to appear chiefly in Part One, which hits the screens on November 6.
All about Ramayana
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra, Ramayana stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, and Yash as Ravana. The film also features Ravie Dubey, Sunny Deol, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Arun Govil, Lara Dutta, and Kunal Kapoor in pivotal roles. The film boasts music by AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer, with the latter scoring an Indian film for the first time.