Veena maestro. Consummate war strategist. Shiva superfan. Toxic lover of a cosmic order. There are countless facets to Ravana, the ultimate antagonist of Indian epic literature, the final boss of mythic storytelling. He is a character of near-limitless potential: vain, scholarly, all-powerful, hubristic. Burned in effigy every Dussehra, he is also celebrated in several cultures, a demon king who battled the mighty gods and challenged social hierarchies.
In Hindi cinema and television, actors as far-ranging as Arvind Trivedi and Saif Ali Khan have taken a stab at Ravana. Beyond literal adaptations of the epic, we've seen some fascinating reimaginings and reinterpretations, from Ravana as feudal overlord to Ravana as video-game antagonist.
In Nitesh Tiwari's upcoming Ramayana, it's the turn of Kannada star Yash to embody the timeless character. The trailers have emphasised an expansive mining of Ravana's backstory, from his siege of Kubera's kingdom to his battle with Indra. Introduced as an ambitious ruler seeking dominion over all three cosmic realms, Yash’s Ravana will likely be the centrepiece of Part One, which opens in cinemas ahead of Diwali on November 5.
Here, we look at the many Ravanas of Hindi cinema, from traditional portrayals to contemporary revivals:
B. M. Vyas in Sampoorna Ramayan (1961)
Actor B. M. Vyas was among the early Hindi film actors to play Ravana on screen. He appeared in Babubhai Mistry’s Sampoorna Ramayan (1961), a mythological production featuring grand sets and elaborate costumes. The film starred actors Mahipal as Rama and Anita Guha as Sita, with Vyas as the regally dressed Lankesh. His portrayal belongs to an era of devotional cinema built on theatrical performances and simple but imaginative effects trickery. There is a charming moment, in Mistry’s film, where Ravana consults his ten heads before the battle with Rama. Some encourage conflict, others caution. Though confident of victory, Ravana weighs every option. The monolithic villain is suddenly cast in a human light, more politician than demon.
Arvind Trivedi in Ramayan (1987–1988)
The definitive Ravana. Gujarati actor Arvind Trivedi’s portrayal in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan became one of the most recognisable portrayals of the character. His booming voice, outraged expressions (including his unforgettable hand gesture) and imposing persona set the visual template for Ravana for generations. Interestingly, Trivedi had initially auditioned for a different character — that of the boatman Kevat — before being cast as Ravana. His performance became so iconic that he continued to be identified with the role long after the serial’s run. One lovely archival photograph shows Trivedi, in costume, clasping hands with Arun Govil’s Rama — a pop-cultural friendship for the ages.
Amrish Puri in Nishant (1975)
In Shyam Benegal’s Nishant, set in 1940s Telangana and based on a play by Vijay Tendulkar, the great Amrish Puri reinterpreted the Ravana archetype as a feudal oppressor. He played Anna, a powerful rural landlord or jagirdar, whose family controls the local populace. The abduction of a schoolteacher’s wife by the Anna’s sons sets the plot in motion. A tough, scowling figure with a baton, Puri’s performance drew out Ravana’s tyranny as an extension of rural class and patriarchal power. Against him stood an honest but persecuted Ram, defenceless and unheeded until the point of a violent uprising.
Abhishek Bachchan in Raavan (2010)
In Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, Abhishek Bachchan gave us an unconventional, sympathetic interpretation of Ravana. The actor played Beera Munda, a charismatic rebel and tribal leader who abducts Ragini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), the wife of a police officer played by Vikram. The film and his performance slotted into a long tradition of revisionist readings of Ravana. Bachchan, tall and snarly in black garb, played the character as lovelorn and darkly seductive. The film juxtaposed Beera’s wildness with the rule-bound and performative heroism of the Ram figure. In the Tamil version of the film, Vikram took on the role of the protagonist Veera, while Prithviraj Sukumaran played the cop.
Arjun Rampal in Ra.One (2011)
In Anubhav Sinha’s ambitious but uneven sci-fi superhero film, Arjun Rampal played the titular Ra.One, a virtual antagonist within a video game. Via a software malfunction, the computer-generated villain escapes the confines of the game and enters the real world. The character mines the po-faced coolness of a futuristic Ravana, with a bald look and red exosuit. In one scene, a hooded Rampal quizzes some street kids about Dusshera, asking who the ten-headed demon is and why he is burned in effigy every year. “He never dies,” Ra.One declares, drawing a startling parallel between video-game indestructibility and the enduring invincibility of evil.
Saif Ali Khan in Adipurush (2023)
In a film full of disastrous choices, perhaps the most outlandish was Saif Ali Khan’s Lankesh. In Om Raut’s mega-budgeted failure, the actor chewed scenery as a ghoulish, bearded, kohl-eyed Ravana, far removed from his popular understanding as a learned king and accomplished scholar. The character was shown riding a giant bat-like creature instead of the traditional Pushpak Vimana. The character’s design drew criticism for what many saw as an Islamised depiction of the Hindu mythological figure. In all, it was a missed opportunity for Khan, who is usually on the money playing complex and large-than-life antagonists.
Arjun Kapoor in Singham Again (2024)
Rohit Shetty’s Singham Again built a Ramayana-inspired obstacle course in lieu of a plot. The cop universe film had Arjun Kapoor as the antagonist Danger Lanka, presented as a contemporary take on Ravana. Kapoor’s character, a violent smuggler operating out of Sri Lanka, abducts Avni (Kareena Kapoor Khan), the wife of Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgn), setting up the film’s central chase. The movie stretched itself thin retro-fitting the Ramayana parallels. Kapoor held his own against a starry ensemble, but the character quickly lost any grounding in the Ravana mythos. The chaotic, cameo-choked climax was mean and derivative, closer to budget Marvel than epic literature.