‘Ramayana’: Sonia Balani On Playing Urmila And Working With Ranbir Kapoor (EXCLUSIVE)

Sonia Balani, who played a pivotal role in “The Kerala Story,” will portray Lord Lakshmana's wife Urmila in the upcoming ancient epic “Ramayana.”

Sharing her excitement to play this important role, Sonia says, “Urmila, as we all know, is Lord Lakshmana's wife and Sita's sister. I was particularly excited to work with Ranbir Kapoor and Nitesh Tiwari and I just hope the audience loves my work and sees the sacrifice that she made, which often goes unnoticed.”

Known for her dedication to her husband, Urmila is considered to be an avatar of Nagalakshmi, the serpent goddess. She was born as the daughter of King Janaka of Mithila and Queen Sunayana.

As per the holy text “Valmiki Ramayana,” Urmila slept continuously for 14 years, so that her husband could stay awake throughout those years, protecting Rama and Sita during the exile.

Touted as one of the biggest Indian film productions to date, “Ramayana” stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Mata Sita, “KGF” star Yash as Ravana, Ravie Dubey as Lord Lakshmana and Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman. The pan-India ensemble cast also includes Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi, Rakul Preet Singh as Surpanakha, Arun Govil as King Dashrath, Indira Krishnan as Queen Kaushalya, Sheeba Chaddha as Manthara, Addinath M Kothare as Bharat and Kunal Kapoor as Lord Indra, among others.

Related Stories

‘Ramayana’ Box Office: IMAX Contributes 27% of Advance Revenue With Just 13% of Ticket Sales

Composer Max Richter on Why He Would Have Refused ‘Ramayana’ Had He Been Offered: ‘I Decline Projects with Local Music Culture’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari of “Dangal” and “Chhichhore” fame and produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios, in association with Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, “Ramayana” retells the classic story of the battle between good and evil.

Shot for IMAX with cutting-edge visual effects, this two-part saga aims to bring the Rama–Ravana story to audiences worldwide as an ambitious spectacle. The first part of the duology is scheduled to release in theatres on November 5, during the Diwali weekend.