Nov 12, 2026 11:35am IST
Lara Dutta on Her Role in ‘Ramayana’: ‘I Was Meant to Play Kaikeyi’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Lara Dutta’s 23-year screen journey spans her glamorous Bollywood debut in “Andaaz” (2003) all the way to her dramatic turn as Queen Kaikeyi in “Ramayana: Part 1” (2026). Over two decades, she evolved from a pageant-winning romantic lead into a versatile comedy star, producer, and character actor.
Did you expect this kind of response to your role as Kaikeyi?
The greatest praise I can receive as an actor is people coming up to me during the interval and saying, “You made us cry, and we hate you at the same time.” Knowing the emotions people feel in the theatre, for me, as an actor, is the greatest form of praise. Did I expect this kind of response? No, to be honest. Kaikeyi is such a complicated, complex character to play on screen. A woman who’s probably been the most misunderstood, hated and possibly the most vilified woman in history.
How did you see Kaikeyi?
I wouldn’t have picked any other character to portray. It came with an immense responsibility, and I wanted to humanize her as much as possible. I wanted to show the conflict that existed within her – motherhood, love, ambition, pride, remorse, guilt – all of it. And it was challenging. Obviously, with the scale of the story that needed to be told, I didn’t have a lot of scenes in which to depict a mother going from being a completely selfless person who doted on her children, including Ram, to being somebody who manipulated a situation and stood up for what she thought was her duty as a mother towards her own son. To go from doting mother to villain in a very short span of time, convincingly, was a challenge.
How did the role come your way?
I obviously knew that the “Ramayana” was being planned for a very long time before it actually came to fruition. From the first time I heard that it was being thought of as a cinematic experience, I wanted to be part of it. I didn’t know in which way, I just wanted to be part of it. Maybe it’s the fervent wish I put out into the Universe that got answered. When I got the call to meet director Nitesh Tiwari at his office, I wasn’t told the part that I was meeting him for. I didn’t even know that it was for the “Ramayana.” I just thought Nitesh was making something and considering me. Within the first 30 seconds of that meeting, he said, ‘Lara, I want you for a part in the “Ramayana,” and I want you to play Kaikeyi.’ I almost jumped out of my seat and hugged him because I never expected to play Kaikeyi.
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You seem to have enjoyed yourself thoroughly.
I loved it! I love being directed by Nitesh as well. It would be absolutely impossible to portray this kind of Kaikeyi on screen if I didn’t have the incredible Sheeba Chadha working alongside me as Manthara. And they both go hand-in-hand. I mean, you can’t separate the two. What makes that entire emotion, that entire scene, the entire manipulation so powerful is both these characters together. So to work with Sheeba, to work with Arun Govil, I mean, what an incredible blessing! What a wealth of experience he brought to the scenes, the set and the emotions as well.
And Ranbir Kapoor?
I have admired Ranbir Kapoor in quite a few of the films that he’s done, some more than others. But watching him perform and embody Rama was an absolute revelation for me. I mean, it is the hardest thing for an actor when you strip them of their ability to emote. I’m talking about the ability to use all their facial muscles to show anger, joy, and sadness. As Lord Rama, he was a mere mortal, but he was still divine within himself. And divinity is beyond all forms of extreme anger, sadness or joy. To have pure serenity in your eyes, to have that restrained performance, and to express divinity when all your tools are taken away, is the hardest thing an actor can deliver. I saw him live that, embody it, breathe it, be it on set every single day. There is an immense amount of respect and admiration for what he was undertaking and his sheer dedication to what he was doing every day on shoot.
Would you say this is the most rewarding shooting experience of your life?
I’ve never worked on something like this ever before. Just the scale of it, the technology that was used every single day, was an education on set. It was credible. I mean, the sets were massive. They were vast. A lot of it was built with real sets. Even the simplest things, like dubbing, like making, I mean, the Brahma AI interface that was used for the different languages that the movie came out in. Even though we were shooting for it every day, we never imagined what it would actually turn out like. And for that, I would give Namit Malhotra so much credit and the 10,000-plus crew members and technicians who worked on this film from every department, whether it was costumes, makeup and hair, props. I mean, action, stunts, direction, lighting, just so beautiful. The music was incredible.
Would you say it opens a new chapter in your career?
For sure. This kind of recognition is a bit overwhelming. I think it will change the public’s perception of me as an actor. I’m grateful for that. I have been waiting for a very long time for characters and roles that give me the opportunity to go beyond what I have always been cast in and seen as. There is a hunger to perform roles with the right kind of direction, guidance and presentation. Such roles come by so few and far between.
What kind of roles are you looking for?
What I am looking for is how it’s presented, if it’s well-paid and has a good director. So I’m constantly on the hunt to find that combination. And I am very hopeful that with the success of “Ramayana” and the love and appreciation coming my way for the character of Kaikeyi, it will open up avenues for me. People will see me differently, take those chances. I’ve always taken those chances on myself. I just need other people to be willing to take that chance on me as well. And I’m super, super excited for what the future is bringing my way.
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