Mumbai: The team of ‘Ramayana’ was in Kolkata on Tuesday, October 20, to promote the upcoming film on the occasion of Dussehra.
Lead actors Ranbir Kapoor and Yash attended an event in Salt Lake, which was also attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
During his speech about the triumph of good over evil, Ranbir made a verbal gaffe, with clips of the moment now circulating on social media.
Ranbir addressed the gathering in Hindi, beginning his speech with “Jai Shri Ram”.
“My greetings. It gives me great pleasure, and it’s an honour to celebrate Dussehra with all of you in the holy land of Kolkata. I thank the CM and everyone present here from my heart,” he said.
He then appeared to misspeak while explaining the significance of Dussehra, saying, “Dussehra reminds us of something beautiful. That no matter how strong evil is, at the end, it is goodness and honesty that perishes.”
He appeared to intend to say that goodness and honesty ultimately triumph over evil.
Those on stage exchanged glances and responded with applause as Ranbir continued his speech.
“So, spread love and happiness. And always try to walk a righteous path. I wish you all a happy Dussehra from the team of Ramayana,” he added.
Clips of the speech have since circulated widely on social media, prompting mixed reactions from users.
At the event, Adhikari announced that Ramayana would receive tax-free status in West Bengal.
He said the film would join other movies granted similar exemptions and spoke about the possibility of films based on other Indian epics and mythological figures.
“The Ramayana film has been made tax-free. The Kerala Story, The Kashmir Files and The Bengal Files, all of these will be or have been made tax-free, and the same will apply to Ramayana. In the days to come, we will see films on Shri Krishna and Arjuna, as well as the Mahabharata,” the chief minister was quoted as saying by ANI.
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra and Yash, Ramayana stars Ranbir Kapoor as Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Ravi Dubey as Lakshmana and Sunny Deol as Hanuman.
Lara Dutta, Rakul Preet Singh and Kajal Aggarwal also feature in key roles.
The first instalment is scheduled to release in theatres on November 5, 2026, coinciding with Diwali, while the second part is slated for 2027.
