Ramayana Drops 'This is Our Rama' BTS on Ranbir's 44th Birthday — 18 Months of Transformation in 5 Minutes

A Birthday Gift to the Nation

On September 28, 2026 — Ranbir Kapoor's 44th birthday — the Ramayana team released something different from the usual birthday post. No still image. No short clip. Instead: five minutes and fourteen seconds of behind-the-scenes footage titled "This is Our Rama."

The video begins with Nitesh Tiwari sitting alone on set, speaking directly to camera. "When we first approached Ranbir," he says, "we were not looking for the most famous actor. We were looking for the most truthful one." What follows is the most comprehensive and personal account yet of how Ranbir Kapoor prepared for, inhabited, and transformed into Lord Rama over 18 months of production.

What the BTS Shows

Unlike standard promotional BTS material — quick cuts, music-heavy, surface-level glimpses — "This is Our Rama" is structured as a short documentary. It has chapters, interviews, and a clear narrative arc: the before, the process, and the after.

The Physical Preparation

The video opens with footage from month one of production — Ranbir in training, not yet in costume, working through an eight-hour daily regimen combining archery, weapons training, and movement coaching. A trainer explains that the goal was not to make Ranbir look physically powerful, but to change how he moves — "Ram walks differently from Ranbir. Every step has intention. We had to rebuild muscle memory."

The archery preparation is particularly striking. Ranbir is shown progressing from basic form to releasing arrows at moving targets, eventually reaching a point where the draw and release is fluid enough to film without stunt modification. The bow used in the film is a custom-built 55-pound recurve; Ranbir trained to a 48-pound draw before filming began.

The Costume and Makeup Process

Three hours. That is how long the full Ram costume and makeup application took each morning. The video shows this process in real time — not fast-forwarded — to underscore its ritual significance. Ranbir has spoken in other interviews about how the getting-ready process was itself part of his preparation: by the time he walked on set, the transformation was already complete.

The Ram costume visible in the BTS confirms details only hinted at in trailers: hand-painted fabric, gold thread inlay that took craftswomen in Varanasi four months to produce, and sandals built to a specific design authenticated against classical temple sculptures.

The Cast Speaks

What makes "This is Our Rama" different from standard promotional content is the candour of the testimonials. Sai Pallavi, speaking about filming the forest exile sequences, says: "Some days I forgot I was acting opposite Ranbir. There were moments where I could only see Ram." Arun Govil — the original Ram from the 1987 Ramanand Sagar television series, now playing Dashratha — addresses the generational handover directly: "I watched this boy become Ram. Not play Ram — become Ram. That is rare."

Ravi Dubey, who plays Lakshman, describes Ranbir's on-set presence as "grounding" — the word he returns to repeatedly. "He never let the scale distract him. Every scene, big or small, he was fully there."

Why the Makers Released This Now

The timing of "This is Our Rama" is not accidental. Ranbir Kapoor's casting as Ram has faced persistent online criticism from a section of audiences who questioned whether an actor associated with romantic films and a known personal life at odds with Ram's ideals could convincingly portray the avatar. The BTS is, in part, a direct response to that doubt.

By showing the process — the physical transformation, the spiritual preparation, the testimonials from colleagues — the makers are making an argument that goes beyond the trailer footage. They are saying: watch how this happened, not just what it looks like. The argument is a strong one. Even critics of the casting have acknowledged, in reaction videos and social media posts following the BTS release, that the preparation is undeniable.

The Response: 20 Million Views in 6 Hours

By midnight on September 28, "This is Our Rama" had 20 million views across YouTube, Instagram, and X. On YouTube alone — where the full five-minute version was posted — it held a 97% like ratio. The comment section reads as a collective exhale from an audience that had been waiting four years for reassurance: "Ranbir has done it." "This is Ram." "I'm not crying, you're crying."

International accounts that cover Indian cinema — and several mainstream Hollywood entertainment accounts — shared the BTS, noting the production scale visible even in behind-the-scenes footage. The combination of the BTS drop, Ranbir's personal "40 din reh gaye" Instagram post the same day, and the Trailer 2 teaser that followed the next morning made September 28–29 the single most significant 48 hours in Ramayana's promotional campaign.