There is ragebaiting and then there is whatever was going on with the first promo of Ramayana. The amount of backlash that the movie and Ranbir Kapoor got was impossibly large.
People were using AI to morph other actors' faces onto Ranbir just to prove that he wasn't the right choice and it only escalated from there. However, what if all that bad pr was purposeful?
Ranbir Kapoor's Rama Glimpse Isn't Complete
Prime Focus Studios
Dhruv Parikshit took to Instagram after the cast and crew of Ramayana kept a creators' day on set. He revealed that the story was only half told with the teaser and that there was a lot more to Ranbir Kapoor's Rama glimpse than anything else.
"Yes, it was incomplete. But the vision they have, I genuinely can't put it into words. The scenes I witnessed there were on the level of Avatar. I'm not exaggerating, they're truly cooking something wonderful. The character designs and the world of Ramayana feel incredibly immersive."
Instagram/dhruvanium
He continued, "I also got a chance to talk to one of their VFX artists. He told me that the creators deliberately uploaded a nerfed version of the Rama glimpse. They had better versions of those scenes, yet they intentionally chose to release the incomplete one. Why? Because discussions and criticism across the internet translate into free marketing."
Dhruv had later deleted his reply and added a whole new post, "VFX pe kaam chal raha hai, and kaafi accha kaam ho bhi Gaya hai. Humko kuch incomplete footages bhi dikhaye the and i believe vo already complete ho chuke hain mahino pahle hi (Work on the VFX is ongoing and it is good. We were shown some incomplete footage but I believe it is all complete).
He concluded, "And bhai, character designs!! They're gorgeous! They're absolutely wonderful. It is more like a very beautiful fantasy world, but in an Indian setting. It is going to be a great theatrical experience."
According to him, the incomplete look was shared purposefully to create negative buzz. This way, there is a high chance that everyone starts talking about the film and even if they weren't aware of it at first, they certainly would be now. Ramayana Part 1 and 2 are both set to release on Diwali 2026 and 2027, respectively. The cast also includes Yash, Sai Pallavi, Sunny Deol and more. The movie is directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra.
Lead Image Credits: Prime Focus Studios