‘Ramayana’ makers deliberately released weaker VFX teaser for buzz, claims creator after set visit

A content creator who recently visited the sets of director Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming epic Ramayana has claimed that the makers intentionally released a toned-down version of Ranbir Kapoor’s Lord Rama glimpse to generate online discussion and free publicity.

Dhruv Parikshit, who creates content on films and cinema, attended a special creators’ day hosted by the film’s team earlier this week. The event was attended by director Nitesh Tiwari, producer Namit Malhotra, and actors Ranbir Kapoor and Yash.

After sharing photos and videos from the visit on Instagram, Dhruv responded to a follower’s question about the film’s visual effects. He acknowledged that some of the VFX shown during the visit were incomplete but praised the overall vision.

“Yes, it was incomplete. But the vision they have, I genuinely can’t put it into words. The scenes I witnessed 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,” he wrote.

Dhruv then made a more striking claim, saying he had spoken to one of the film’s VFX artists, who allegedly told him that the team had deliberately released an inferior version of the Lord Rama teaser.

According to his now-deleted comment, the makers had better-quality versions of those scenes but intentionally chose an unfinished cut because online criticism and debate would serve as “free marketing.”

By Thursday, however, Dhruv had deleted the comment and replaced it with another, saying the VFX work was progressing well and that the footage shown to creators had likely been completed months ago.

“Work on the VFX is ongoing and it is very good. We were shown some incomplete footage, but I believe it has already been completed. And the character designs—they’re gorgeous. It feels like a beautiful fantasy world in an Indian setting. It is going to be a great theatrical experience,” he wrote.

Despite the deletion, screenshots of his original comment quickly circulated on social media.

VFX criticism after first teaser

The controversy comes months after the makers released the first Ramayana teaser, introducing Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama.

While the teaser was widely praised for its scale and ambition, it also drew criticism over its VFX, CGI quality and the design of some of the rakshasas featured in the footage. The filmmakers later assured audiences that the visual effects would be refined before the film’s release.

Ramayana stars Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Sai Pallavi, Ravie Dubey and Sunny Deol in key roles. The first instalment is scheduled for release ahead of Diwali 2026, followed by the second part in 2027.

Note: The claim that the teaser was deliberately “nerfed” originates from a content creator’s since-deleted social media comment and has not been independently verified or confirmed by the makers of Ramayana.