'We Have So Many Dilemmas' : Yash on Tapping Into Ravana’s Complexities For Ramayana

Taking on the mantle of the ferocious demon king Ravana was a challenge Yash readily accepted in Nitesh Tiwari's upcoming saga, Ramayana. The Kannada superstar also serves as a co-producer on Nitesh Tiwari’s epic through his banner, Monster Mind Creations.

Unpacking his process, Yash revealed that tapping into Ravana’s multi-faceted persona became the driving force behind one of the film’s most pivotal, standout sequences.

In a statement, Yash shared how he approached the role by focusing on subtle trait, such as dark humor, restraint, and maintaining a cool demeanor during tense exchanges. He noted that he particularly relished portraying the character's patient, calculating nature while others spoke.

Rather than leaning strictly on imposing theatrics, Yash sought to humanize the legendary figure. He explained that a commanding screen presence naturally follows when an actor dives deep into a character's mindset and world, sharing that unraveling Ravana's psychology was an absolute thrill.

Yash also drew a direct parallel between Ravana's versatility and his own multi-hyphenate lifestyle. Noting that friends often compare his multi-tasking drive to the ten-headed monarch, the Toxic actor shared that tapping into Ravana’s legendary mastery across diverse disciplines served as the perfect creative springboard for his performance.

Yash Breaks Down His Approach To Ravana

In an interview with Review Nation, Yash also opened up on what went into the scene where he's seen with ten heads. He confessed being vigilant as to what he can reveal. "When Nitesh sir and I were discussing it, we knew this is how the scene had to play out. Different characters had to come in because we all have those different personalities inside us. No matter how we present ourselves to the world, we have those dilemmas in our heads—sometimes we are very strong, sometimes we are very weak and doubtful about ourselves, and at other times we are overconfident. These varied thought processes exist in everybody, so we wanted our interpretation to be very unique and special."

He added, "The idea of that scene was to bring out that dilemma in the most natural way. The physical form was just a backstory, because Ravana is written as someone with ten heads, which means ten personalities within him. I wanted to have a different voice for each. I could have played it in the same voice, but I started imagining that each personality could speak like this or look like this. My makeup artist Prashant did a fantastic job, and my director was very supportive — he gave me that space and asked me how I wanted to play it."

Ramayana Cast, Synopsis, Release Details

Commanded by director Nitesh Tiwari, the sprawling production is a joint venture between Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations. The film anchors its narrative on a power-packed trio. Ranbir Kapoor steps into the role of the righteous Prince Rama, Sai Pallavi portraying Sita, and charismatic Kannada icon Yash taking on the antagonist Ravana for his Hindi cinema debut. Tiwari co-wrote the adaptation with Shridhar Raghavan.

Rounding out the ambitious cinematic effort is the supporting cast that includes Sunny Deol, Ravie Dubey, Anupam Kher, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Kunal Kapoor, Adinath Kothare, Arun Govil, Indira Krishnan, and Lara Dutta. Ramayana: Part One towers as one of the most extensive Indian theatrical releases of the year. The multi-lingual blockbuster is scheduled for a global release on November 5, 2026, across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam markets. The two-part saga is touted as one of India's most expensive productions ever.