World apart from cheap fantasy dramas: Chinese viewers awed by Ramayana teaser, but want Ranbir replaced by this TV star

THe Ramayana teaser, unveiled on th, sparked various reactions among audiences for its surmount and Ranbir Kapoor’s portrait of nobleman Rama. Many were stunned by the film’s visuals and grand scale, but others criticised the VFX. But even as the reactions in India were mixed, those in China seem to be overwhelmingly in favour of the film’s teaser, with almost unanimous positive reactions.Chinese viewers react to Ramayana teaserThe Rama glimpse, as the video was called by the makers, was shared on YouTube and other platforms on Thursday, including one for China. The comments on that were largely positive. A Redditor compiled some of the comments and shared screenshots on Saturday. “Chinese audience on Ramayana, that's diff b/w them and us, they are praising despite they have biggest cinema market in the world and we are hating,” stated the post.One comment read, “Those visuals are stunning. Truly a world apart from those cheap fantasy dramas with green screen.” Another added, “You can always trust Indian mythological movies.” Ramayana is popular in China through the Jataka tales, with the heroics of Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman part of Chinese folk tales. Several adaptations have been dubbed and released in China with titles such as Sacred Lord. Chinese audience wants Sourabh Raaj Jain as Lord RamaWhile there were a few complaints from Chinese viewers about the Ramayana teaser, many argued that actor Sourabh Raaj Jain, best known for playing Lord Krishna on TV, would be perfect for Rama. One comment read, “They are all avatars of Vishnu. Why not cast SRJ to play.” Another echoed, “It’s still most suitable for SRJ to play.” Sourabh Raaj Jain famously played Lord Krishna in Mahabharat (2013-14) and Lord Vishnu in Mahadev (2014). Both shows were extremely popular in China.About RamayanaRamayana is a two-part film mounted on a massive budget of ₹4000 crore, making it the most expensive Indian film ever made, and one of the costliest film productions worldwide. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman, and Ravie Dubey as Lakhsman. The Rama glimpse focused only on Lord Rama but also gave fleeting glimpses at other characters, including Lakshman and Sita. The teaser also showed Yash’s Ravana getting out his fabled flying machine, Pushpak Vimana, at the end.Ramayana Part One, produced by Namit Malhotra, is slated to release in theatres in October 2026, with the second part arriving in 2027.