Ramayana's Supporting Cast: Arun Govil to Sonia Balani
Ramayana's supporting cast runs from Arun Govil as Dasharatha to Sonia Balani. Who plays whom, as reported, and what the makers have not yet said.
Beyond Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash, Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana carries a long supporting cast, and its most symbolic casting may be Arun Govil, who played Rama in the 1987 television series, as Rama's father, King Dasharatha. This guide lists who has been reported for which role, using the makers' reveals and the coverage of them.
Arun Govil as Dasharatha
Variety India describes Govil as best known for portraying Lord Rama in Ramanand Sagar's 1987 series Ramayan. The publication says he also voiced Rama in the 1993 animated film Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama. In Tiwari's film he plays Rama's father.
In an interview with Variety India on May 30, Govil said, "Yes, in Ramayana, I'm playing King Dashrath, Lord Rama's father." He added that he initially did not want the role, but "Nitesh Tiwari, the director, was insistent. They wanted some connect between our 'Ramayan' and this 'Ramayana.'" On Ranbir Kapoor, who plays Rama, he said, "he is a good actor, there is no doubt about that."
The family and the court
According to the Indian Express, Ravie Dubey plays Lakshman, Lara Dutta plays Kaikeyi, Rakul Preet Singh plays Surpanakha, Sheeba Chaddha plays Manthara and Adinath Kothare plays Bharat. Sunny Deol plays Hanuman.
The Times of India, in a Sept. 15 report on the film's first song, fills in more names. Adinath Kothare is Bharat, Nitish Sharma is Shatrughan, Surbhi Das is Shrutakirti, Sonia Balani is Urmila and Riya Kapoor is Mandavi. It also names Indira Krishan as Kaushalya, Sonal Jha as Sumitra and Vivek Oberoi as Vidyuthjeeva, Surpanakha's husband. It adds that Ranbir Kapoor is set to portray Parashuram as well as Rama.
Casting stories
Several actors have described how they won their parts. Kothare told PTI that he landed Bharat after auditioning at Mukesh Chhabra's office, calling it "a life-transforming journey." Balani told Mid-Day that she had wanted to play Surpanakha but was told the role was locked for Rakul Preet Singh, so she auditioned for Urmila. Das told Mid-Day that at first she "couldn't understand that this project was worth crores." These accounts come from interviews quoted by the Times of India.
The song and the reveal
The Times of India says the song Jai Jai Ram, composed by AR Rahman and sung by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal, was released on Ganesh Chaturthi and gave audiences their first look at several of these characters. Hanuman's look has been kept under wraps, and a Bollywood Hungama report cited by the paper says it may be saved as the film's closing reveal. That is a report and not an announcement.
The release
India Today and the Indian Express say Part 1 is due on Nov. 5, with Part 2 planned for Diwali 2027. The India Today listing of cast also names Sunny Deol, Arun Govil, Rakul Preet Singh and Lara Dutta among others.
What we could not confirm
We could not confirm every credit through a single official cast list, because the makers have revealed characters in stages. The Times of India piece lists Surbhi Das, while another search summary spells the name Surabhi Das, so the spelling of her name varies by outlet. We could not confirm the report that Hanuman will be saved for a final reveal. We did not see the film's trailer or song ourselves and relied on the outlets' descriptions. Govil's political role is outside this story and we have not covered it.
Sources
*Cover photo: Surajtiiwari, Wikimedia Commons, *[*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ArunGovil_2022.jpg*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ArunGovil_2022.jpg)* (CC BY-SA 4.0).*