Filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari has kicked off the shooting of his much anticipated film ‘Ramayana’, which reportedly features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Goddess Sita, and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. While it was earlier speculated that Yash would be playing Ravana in the film, now a report in Zoom suggests that he has now joined the film only as a producer.
"Yash resisted the offer to play Ravana for a long time. He agreed finally only as a producer. Rather than accept a fee (of around ₹80 crore), he agreed to come on board as a producer,” Zoom quoted a source as saying.
As per news agency ANI, Bobby Deol too has been approached for the film to play Kumbhkaran. There are also rumours that Vijay Sethupathi might be cast to play Raavan’s youngest brother, Vibhishan. The film also stars Lara Dutta and Sheeba Chaddha. While Lara will be seen in the role of Lord Rama's stepmother, Kaikeyi, Sheeba will play Manthara in the film, which might release around Diwali 2025.
Meanwhile, photos of Lara Dutta and Arun Govil from the film’s sets went viral on social media recently, and Nitesh has been "very upset" about the leaked images which revealed the cast's outfits and characters. Hence, he has now imposed a strict no-phone policy on the sets of the film.
Earlier this month, Ranbir's fitness coach shared a glimpse of the actor's intense training session for the film, and the actor was seen without a shirt, running alongside his trainer, lifting weights, and engaging in several exercises. He was also seen indulging in swimming, cycling, and hiking as part of his training regimen. The video was captioned as, "Went to the countryside for a decompression week. WIP with Ranbir."
Coming back to Yash, he is soon expected to start shooting the highly anticipated film ‘Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups’, which is directed by Geetu Mohandas and produced by Venkat K Narayana's KVN Productions and Yash's Monster Mind Creations. The action-oriented film has the backdrop of the drug mafia, and is slated to hit the screens on April 10, 2025.
