# Varun Grover slams Ramayan TV actors over film criticism 2026-11-14T01:06:50+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 4 independent outlets Outlets counted: mathrubhumi.com, ndtv.com, thenewsminute.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com Writer and lyricist Varun Grover has criticised actors from Ramanand Sagar's 'Ramayan' for their comments on Nitesh Tiwari's film 'Ramayana: Rise of a Legend', calling their stance 'entitlement as if they are actual avatars' in a post on X on 12 November. His remarks follow reactions from the original TV cast, including Dipika Chikhlia and Sunil Lahri. Dipika Chikhlia, who played Sita, had earlier in July told Variety India she was unsure about Sai Pallavi's casting, saying 'Sitaji with curly hair is not mentioned in Ramayan', but later praised the film's box-office success after its release on 5 November. Sunil Lahri, who played Lakshman, gave a mixed video review, praising VFX but noting a lack of 'devotional sentiment'. Meanwhile, voice artist Sharad Kelkar said he dubbed for Yash's Ravana by portraying the character as 'a hero on the wrong side' rather than a conventional villain. The film, starring Ranbir Kapoor as Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana, has crossed Rs 1,000 crore globally. Update, 14 November 2026: Mathrubhumi now reports that voice artist Sharad Kelkar said he dubbed for Yash's Ravana by thinking of the character as 'a hero on the wrong side'. This adds a new production perspective to the debate over the film's portrayal of Ravana. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The coverage divides into two camps. Times of India, NDTV and Mathrubhumi report Varun Grover's critique and the actors' reactions as a straight celebrity news item, neutral in tone. Deccan Herald runs a premium piece accusing the film of a 'socialist' makeover of Ravana, carrying a right-wing framing that foregrounds alleged misrepresentation. The News Minute offers a left-leaning analysis arguing the film is a 'propaganda machine' that pleases neither liberals nor the right-wing ecosystem. Sharad Kelkar's comments, carried only by Mathrubhumi, add a pro-production perspective. The differing stances reveal that the film's depiction of Ravana has become a flashpoint, with each outlet using the controversy to advance its own ideological lens. ## Coverage Coverage: 5 sources, 1 left-leaning, 1 right-leaning, 3 neutral - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight reporting of Varun Grover's post and actors' reactions - thenewsminute.com (left leaning) Argues film is a propaganda machine, critiques both right and centre - ndtv.com (neutral report) Factual account of Grover's post and cast responses - mathrubhumi.com (neutral report) Syndicated wire piece on Sharad Kelkar's dubbing comments Background, not counted: deccanherald.com This brief was synthesised by AI from the 5 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Dipika Chikhlia, Nitesh Tiwari, Ramanand Sagar, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, Sunil Lahri, Varun Grover Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/varun-grover-slams-ramayan-tv-cast-over-reactions-to-ramayana-film/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/varun-grover-slams-ramayan-tv-cast-over-reactions-to-ramayana-film/#story-in-brief Gate decision: pass (pass: linked qualifying outlets 4 of 5, relevance 6) Freshness: pass (fresh: newest qualifying source 2026-11-13 15:22Z (feed), 9.9 h old) Image: photograph. Source: member: https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/msid-135802271,imgsize-629280,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4/varun-grover-slams-ramayan-tv-cast-for-entitlement-over-reactions-to-ranbir-kapoor-and-yashs-ramayana-rise-of-a-legend-entitlement-as-if-they-are-actual-avatars.jpg. 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/