Filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana is among the most-awaited films of the year. The film’s trailer, released on July 30, quickly became a talking point, with viewers divided over its visuals and VFX. While some praised the scale of the project, others criticised its CGI. Now, in an interview with Collider, actor Ranbir Kapoor has addressed the criticism and spoken about what he called the rise of “CG critics”.
Ranbir Kapoor on Ramayana’s VFX, CGI criticism
Ranbir said that viewers have become increasingly interested in the quality of CGI, particularly with the growing use of AI. “There has been a phenomenon right now. In the last few years, there are such a large number of people who have become these CG critics. They see the trailer, and they are always critiquing that it’s not good enough or it’s seemingly not done. So I think people are getting more aware, especially with the influx of AI. People are getting more interested in how good the CGI is and how good the CGI will finally look once the film releases,” he said.
He added, “I think it’s quite funny sometimes because people who know how CG is done think like someone’s just used some AI and released something. You know, there are countless hours of work where artists are working for years. I have seen Nitesh sir and Namit sitting on VFX calls ever since this project started, trying to get even a certain colour of the sky right. I think it’s tricky right now trying to impress the audience with authentic CGI.”
The film’s producer, Namit Malhotra, also addressed the criticism, arguing that much of it stems from viewers watching the trailer on phones rather than experiencing it in IMAX 3D. Calling the criticism “noise”, he said the team has been encouraging creators and influencers to assess the visuals in the format they were designed for. He cited Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey as an example of a film best experienced on a large-format IMAX screen, adding that judging visual and sound quality on a phone does not provide an accurate representation of the intended experience.
About Ramayana
Helmed by Nitesh Tiwari and backed by Namit Malhotra, Ramayana stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman, Yash as Ravana and Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman. The film also features Arun Govil, Vivek Oberoi, Rakul Preet Singh and Lara Dutta in key roles.
Mounted on a reported budget of ₹4,000 crore, the film will be released in two parts. The first part is scheduled to release during Diwali 2026, followed by the second part during Diwali 2027.