Jatayu vs Ravana epic fight steals the show in Ramayana: Who plays the characters and why did Nitesh Tiwari take 6.5 years to create the battle sequence

Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash's much-awaited film of the year arrived in theatres on November 5. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra, the epic saga opened to positive responses from critics and audiences. While several viewers praised the film's visual effects and the performances of its ensemble cast, one particular sequence has emerged as a major talking point. The epic battle between Jatayu and Ravana has caught everyone's attention.

For the unverserd, actor Anupam Kher has lent his voice to Jatayu, while Yash plays Ravana in the film. The confrontation takes place when Ravana abducts Sita in his flying vehicle, the Pushpaka Vimana. Jatayu, a mighty bird and a devoted protector of righteousness, tries to stop the demon king and rescue Sita. The sequence has received considerable appreciation from viewers, particularly for its scale, action and visual effects.

Why is Jatayu's fight with Ravana important in Ramayana?

The battle between Jatayu and Ravana is one of the major episodes in the Ramayana. When Ravana takes Sita away to Lanka, Jatayu witnesses the abduction and immediately decides to intervene.

Jatayu puts up a brave fight and tries everything he can to stop the demon king. However, Ravana eventually overpowers him and cuts off his wings, leaving him severely wounded. Before dying, Jatayu manages to tell Lord Ram about Sita's abduction.

His attempt to save Sita becomes an important moment in Lord Ram's search for her.

Nitesh Tiwari took 6.5 years to create the Jatayu-Ravana battle

While the sequence lasts only a few minutes on screen, bringing it to life required years of planning and work. In an interview with Shreyas Media, director Nitesh Tiwari revealed that the Jatayu-Ravana confrontation took around six and a half years to complete.

The filmmaker explained, "One action sequence. I can go on and on about it for an hour just to tell you how much effort went into making everything from scratch. And thousands of people have worked on it."

Pushpaka Vimana design took nearly two years

One of the biggest challenges was designing Ravana's flying vehicle, the Pushpaka Vimana. According to Tiwari, the team spent close to two years working on its design. They explored around 40 to 50 different versions before deciding on the final look.



The director said in the same interview, "We took close to two years to arrive at that. And then a lot of things changed, which is why it took us so long to shape the Ravana and Jatayu fight. Because previously, we assumed the design of Pushpak Viman would be something like that, and we shaped the sequence around it. And when we loved the final design, which was completely different from what we had first thought, we had to do a lot of iterations. Because I believe, we all believe there was science behind everything that happened at that time."

About Ramayana

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra in collaboration with Yash's Monster Mind Creations, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Goddess Sita and Yash as Ravana. The ensemble cast includes Sunny Deol, Ravi Dubey, Arun Govil, Lara Dutta, Shobana, Vivek Oberoi and others.

With music by AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer, the film released worldwide on November 5 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.