Ramayana’s Timeless Magic: From Lava Kusa to Nitesh Tiwari’s Epic

The Ramayana is one of India’s timeless epics, continuing to captivate audiences even as generations and storytelling formats change. Over the decades, the legendary tale has been adapted and reimagined across films, television and animation. Telugu cinema’s Lava Kusa, starring N. T. Rama Rao and Anjali Devi, became a landmark mythological classic, with its story based on the Uttara Kanda of the Ramayana. Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, which premiered on Doordarshan in 1987, subsequently became one of the most influential television adaptations of the epic.

The story has also travelled beyond conventional live-action cinema. The India-Japan animated production Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama introduced the epic to audiences through animation, while films such as Ram Setu explored stories inspired by the Ramayana tradition rather than serving as a direct adaptation. Adipurush, starring Prabhas, brought key episodes of the epic to the big screen in a contemporary cinematic format. The latest major attraction is Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part Ramayana, featuring Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana. With its grand scale and international ambitions, the film has once again placed the timeless epic at the centre of national cinematic attention.