The story of Bollywood's first Ramayana is a fascinating tale of how the epic has been portrayed on the big screen over the years. In 1934, filmmaker Debaki Bose made Seeta, a film on the Uttar Kaand of Ramayana, which became one of the first major films to cross language barriers.
Seeta premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 1934, becoming the first Indian talkie to do so, and won a diploma award for its director. The film starred a young Durga Khote in the lead role, who went on to establish herself as a leading character artist in Bollywood.
The Kapoor who played Lord Rama was 28-year-old Prithviraj Kapoor, who had already found success with Alam Ara. He was the first from the Kapoor family to enter films, and his sons Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, and Shashi Kapoor would go on to be superstars in their own right.
Ranbir Kapoor, the newest Lord Rama, is Raj Kapoor's grandson. The new Ramayana film is directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra, and it also stars Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravie Dubey as Lakshmana, and Sunny Deol as Lord Hanumana.
