The debate over Ranbir Kapoor playing Lord Ram in Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming two-part epic has drawn in one of Indian television’s most iconic faces. Dipika Chikhlia, who portrayed Sita in Ramanand Sagar’s legendary 1987 Ramayan, has come out in support of the actor, dismissing online criticism that has followed since the film’s trailer dropped.Speaking on a podcast, Chikhlia said “Someone who can do Animal can do Ram, too. Imagine his good luck—it’s his good fortune that he’s getting such a variety of roles.”Her comments come days after Nitish Bharadwaj, who played Krishna in B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat, publicly asked Ranbir to think about his cultural responsibility and steer clear of projects like Animal in the future.Chikhlia also weighed in on Sai Pallavi’s casting as Sita, saying she’d rather withhold judgment until the film releases, while praising Pallavi’s track record as a performer. She stressed that mythological retellings should stay faithful to source texts like Valmiki’s Ramayan or Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas, without inventing storylines unfamiliar to audiences.Reflecting on her own era, Chikhlia recalled the immense love she and co-star Arun Govil received from audiences. She also expressed her happiness that Govil, who played Lord Ram in the iconic television series, is now portraying Dasharath in the new film.Ramayana, reportedly budgeted around Rs 4,000 crore with music by A.R. Rahman and Hans Zimmer, releases in two parts – October 2026 and Diwali 2027.