Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana is one of the highly-anticipated movies that fans are eagerly waiting for. The reports of the ensemble cast including Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash and Sunny Deol among others have already elevated the excitement even though makers haven't yet confirmed it officially. While fans are eagerly waiting to see Ranbir, Sai, Yash and Sunny as Lord Ram, Devi Sita, Ravana and Lord Hanuman, respectively, in the cinematic adaptation of the Indian epic, recently it has been learnt that Yash won't be a part of Ramayana: Part 1.
As per earlier reports, the magnum opus is a planned trilogy. Reportedly, the first part of the trilogy will present Prince Ram's life before his exile. Speculations were rife that Sunny and Yash will have cameos in the first part and would have full screen-presence in part 2 and part 3.
However, recent reports suggest that Yash will not be seen as Demon King Ravana in the first part.
The latest report in Bollywood Hungama suggests that it has been confirmed that Yash has agreed to play Demon King Ravana's character, but he will not be seen in part 1.
The report quoted a close source as saying, "Namit Malhotra (producer) wanted to start the shooting on his birthday (April 2). So, they kind of rushed the shooting. It is only minor scenes with junior artistes.”
Reportedly, shooting for the magnum opus has already begun but none of the supposed stars of the movie were a part of the inaugural shooting.
Further, the source added, "There is no clarity as yet on that, except for the fact that Yash has finally consented after months of dilly-dallying. He is playing Ravana. But he will make an appearance only in the second feature film. They plan to release three separate films, and Ravana will not be part of the first part.
The source concluded by saying that Yash will shoot for Ramayana after he wraps up shooting for Geetu Mohandas’s film Toxic: A Fairytale For Grownups.
Pic of shooting set goes viral
Since the announcement of Ramayana, several pictures of Ranbir Kapoor's prep sessions have gone viral on social media. However, recently, a picture of a shooting set surfaced on social media and it is being speculated that it is from the sets of Tiwari's Ramayana.
An Instagram user, Akruti Singh shared a picture of a set. Sharing the picture on her Insta story, she wrote, “Ramayana Day 1”.
Though it is not clearly visible, the under-construction set has several pillars and wooden walls. Not much could be seen in the picture as the set is well-covered. But a temple-like dome structure can be seen.
However, the caption for the post has caught everyone’s attention. Now, the picture has sparked different speculations.
As reported by Pinkvilla, a close to the film revealed that a set has been created at Film City. As per the source, the journey of this divine film has already begun. It is said to be a set-up of a Gurukul, which has been combined with a green screen for enhancement in the post-production process. Further, the source added that the first schedule began with the child artists playing the part of Lord Ram, Bharat, Laxman, and Shatrughan.
The source said, "Nitesh Tiwari will be shooting for the childhood portions of Lord Ram, where Guru Vasishtha gives life lessons to Lord Ram and his brothers. Shishir Sharma has been cast to play the role of Guru Vasishtha, whereas the names of child artists have been kept under wraps for now."
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As per the source, it is a pure and honest take on Ramayana, and the makers are being very cautious to do justice to every part that's written in the books.