The debate surrounding the visual effects of Nitesh Tiwari’s ambitious epic Ramayana has resurfaced after a content creator claimed the makers may have intentionally released a lower-quality version of Ranbir Kapoor’s Lord Rama glimpse to generate online discussion. The allegation, which has not been confirmed by the film’s team, quickly went viral after screenshots of the creator’s now-deleted comment began circulating across social media.
The controversy began after filmmaker and content creator Dhruv Parikshit attended a special creators’ day organised on the sets of Ramayana. During the event, several digital creators were invited to meet director Nitesh Tiwari, producer Namit Malhotra and actors Ranbir Kapoor and Yash, besides getting a preview of the film’s ongoing production and visual effects work.
Following the visit, Dhruv shared photographs and videos from the set on Instagram. While responding to questions from followers in the comments section, he praised the scale of the project and claimed that the visuals he witnessed were on par with international productions. He described the world-building and character designs as highly immersive and said the footage he saw left him convinced that the makers were working on something extraordinary.
However, it was another reply that triggered widespread discussion. According to screenshots shared online, Dhruv claimed he had spoken to a member of the film’s VFX team, who allegedly told him that the makers deliberately uploaded a “nerfed” version of Lord Rama’s teaser. He suggested that better-quality shots already existed but were intentionally withheld because criticism and online debates would provide the film with free publicity.
The comment quickly spread across social media platforms, reigniting discussions about the teaser that was released earlier this year. When the first glimpse of Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama was unveiled, many viewers praised the film’s scale, music and overall ambition. However, others criticised portions of the VFX and CGI, particularly the design of some of the rakshasas and certain visual effects, arguing that they looked unfinished despite the film’s reported massive budget.
Soon after the screenshots went viral, Dhruv deleted his original reply and replaced it with a fresh comment. In his revised statement, he clarified that the visual effects shown during the visit were still a work in progress. He reiterated that the film’s vision remained impressive and that much of the footage was already significantly more polished than what had been publicly released. According to him, the makers were continuing to refine the visual effects and he remained optimistic about the final product.
Despite the clarification, the earlier screenshots continued circulating online, prompting fresh speculation among movie enthusiasts. While some users believed the claim that the teaser may have been strategically released in an unfinished state, others questioned the logic behind intentionally inviting criticism for one of India’s most expensive film projects. Many pointed out that there is no official confirmation from the makers supporting the allegation.
Neither director Nitesh Tiwari nor producer Namit Malhotra has responded to the viral claim. The film’s team had previously acknowledged that work on the visual effects was still underway and assured audiences that the final version would reflect the project’s intended scale and quality.
Ramayana stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana, with Sunny Deol and Ravi Dubey playing pivotal roles. Produced by Namit Malhotra, the two-part epic is among the most expensive Indian films ever made, with the first instalment scheduled for a Diwali 2026 release and the second expected a year later.