India is a land of epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Over the past century, ever since cinema and theatre gained prominence, multiple adaptations of these epics have been attempted—some succeeded, while others failed. Two of the most successful adaptations were Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan and BR Chopra’s Mahabharat. Now, following the underwhelming response to Adipurush and with Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana in the works, starring Ranbir Kapoor, several people have shared their opinions about the film after catching its first glimpses in the trailer.While the trailer received a mixed response, actor Gajendra Chauhan, who played Yudhishthir in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat and Dashrath in 2001 Ramayan, has openly admitted that despite its scale and budget, he was not impressed by what he saw. According to him, excessive reliance on technology can take away from the realism of an epic.Speaking to Hindi Rush, he said, “Technology kills reality. Epics like Ramayan, Mahabharat, Vishnu Puran, when they get adapted, the kind of graphics they put, it becomes unacceptable. Kids today are accepting it because they are used to watching cartoons. These are not made like films. I can’t digest it. It takes away reality from it.”Speaking about Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, he said, “I recently watched the trailer of Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Ramayana. I was personally not impressed. I have played the role of Dashrath in B.R. Chopra’s Ramayan in 2002. In that, if you watch the scene between Dashrath and Kaikeyi, you will be spellbound. It took us one-and-a-half days to shoot that scene. Ravi Chopra strictly told us, ‘Nobody will move from their place. I want to shoot it in one go.’ That scene is the soul of Ramayan. That one scene broke an entire family. It should be the highlight of Ramayana.”He also commented on the controversial scene between Lara Dutta and Arun Govil, saying he did not find it convincing enough.“The biggest learning from our epics is that we shouldn’t be naive. It was Manthara who misguided Kaikeyi. The same thing Shakuni did. And so did Shurpanakha. The biggest lesson is never be brainwashed,” he said.While acknowledging the money invested in the project, Chauhan said he was not satisfied with the visual treatment.Story continues below this ad“These people have spent a lot of money and the producer has attempted to make it on a big scale, but I personally think that the graphics are not impactful. I believe if they had depended on reality over graphics, it would have been a great choice. There are also some characters in the film who are not relatable. They are not giving us such a vibe. They are not impactful. I will openly tell you, the scene of Kaikeyi is not impressive at all. They have dressed her up in a modern saree. Kaikeyi wasn’t like this,” he said.ALSO READ | Mallika Sherawat says Tom Cruise has a crush on her: ‘I would show you videos of us’He then recalled the 2001 Ramayan directed by BR Chopra and Ravi Chopra for Zee TV, in which he played Dashrath.“If you look back at our Ramayan, you will see Kaikeyi was sitting in the kop bhavan in a black saree. There was a dedicated place in palaces called kop bhavan, where people would go when they were upset about something. They would go and sit in that space. People would then come there to talk them out of it—sometimes the ministers, other times the king himself. That impact needs to be created,” he said.Story continues below this adHe added, “Now, because we are yet to watch the film, we cannot comment. But the glimpses that were shown were not very convincing.”Chauhan also objected to the title of the film. “They are calling it Ramayana, it is Ramayan. It is not Rama, it is Ram. I had highlighted this at one of these events that we work in the Hindi language but use English,” he said.He further recalled an incident from a television set to highlight what he sees as a lack of familiarity with Indian mythology among younger members of the industry.“I was working on a serial and an assistant director, a Mass Media pass-out, came to narrate the scene to me. She said, ‘There is a scene between Hanumana and Lakshmana.’ I was shocked to hear that. I told her, ‘I haven’t ever heard these names.’ She kept explaining it to me. Then I asked her, ‘What is the relation between Hanuman and Lakshman?’ She told me, ‘I think they are cousins.’ I left the set. I told her, ‘I won’t work with you.’ The person who is not even aware of what they are shooting, what is the point of me working there? Why do they hire such kids who are not aware of their work? It is a very sad state of affairs. You are working on a story, and you are not aware about it.”Story continues below this ad“It is Ramayan and not Ramayana. I know you are making it for a global audience, but wasn’t Lagaan a global film too? You can release a film globally with a Hindi name. It is not impossible,” he added.Chauhan also reacted to Ranbir Kapoor being cast as Lord Ram. According to him, actors without an established star image were traditionally preferred for mythological roles.“Earlier, when we made Ramayan and Mahabharat, we took experienced actors but not the ones with an established image. And that’s how it should be whenever we adapt an epic into a film or a show. Nowadays, we are taking stars. The image is already formed. Long ago, we heard that Bollywood was making Mahabharat with Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Aamir Khan in lead roles. But two years later, the film was shelved,” he said.He added, “Similarly, Ranbir Kapoor has an established image. He looked good as Ram. It is difficult to comment. Arun Govil is a fantastic actor. He played Ram about 40 years ago, and now as a grown-up he is Dashrath. His casting is the best.”Story continues below this adRamayana stars Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash, Rakul Preet Singh, Lara Dutta and Sheeba Chaddha in key roles. The film is scheduled to release around Diwali, with its second part slated for Diwali next year. So far, the film has faced criticism over the modernisation of the characters’ costumes.