# NT Rama Rao to Yash: Actors who played Ravana on screen 2026-10-20T00:04:38+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets As Dussehra approaches, two outlets have compiled lists of actors who have portrayed Ravana on screen over the decades. Hindustan Times notes that NT Rama Rao is the only actor to have played both Lord Ram and Ravana, essaying the demon king in ‘Bhookailas’ (1958) and ‘Sita Rama Kalyanam’ (1961). Times Now highlights BM Vyas’ expressive portrayal in ‘Sampoorna Ramayana’ (1961) as a landmark performance. Both lists include Arvind Trivedi from the 1987 ‘Ramayan’ TV series, Akhilendra Mishra from the 2008 series, and Saif Ali Khan from ‘Adipurush’ (2023). The next major on-screen Ravana will be Kannada star Yash in Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part ‘Ramayana’, with the first instalment titled ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’ releasing on November 5. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both outlets compile actor lists ahead of Dussehra with a neutral, celebratory framing: Hindustan Times leads with NT Rama Rao being the only actor to play both Ram and Ravana, while Times Now leads with Yash as the upcoming Ravana. Neither source carries a political or critical slant. The coverage is straight lists drawn from film and TV history, with no differing framings to compare. The key common thread is the November 5 release of Ramayana: Part 1, which both outlets flag as the next big screen Ravana portrayal. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Neutral chronology-led list of actors - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Neutral list with focus on upcoming Yash film This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: NT Rama Rao, Ramayana, Saif Ali Khan, Yash Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/nt-rama-rao-to-yash-actors-who-played-ravana-on-screen/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/nt-rama-rao-to-yash-actors-who-played-ravana-on-screen/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/