Quick summary
- Actor Dhanush says “you won’t find a Sita like her” in India, defending Sai Pallavi against online criticism of her casting in Ramayana: Part 1.
- He spoke at the audio launch of the Tamil gangster drama Om, in which he, Mammootty and Pallavi appear together, according to Khaleej Times.
- Part of the criticism targets a scene where her Sita fights demons with a sword; actor Indira Krishnan says she understands that reaction but backs the makers’ intent.
- Ramayana is a two-part adaptation. Part 1 opened worldwide on 5 November 2026, and part 2 is slated for 2028.
Dhanush says there is no better Sita
Dhanush has publicly defended Sai Pallavi’s casting as Sita in Ramayana: Part 1, saying the noise around her performance makes little sense to him. According to Khaleej Times, he made the remarks at the recent audio launch of Om, to cheers from the crowd.
“Even if you search across India, you won’t find a Sita like her,” he said, calling her “a great performer”. He added that he simply did not understand “a lot of noise” around her work in the film.
Dhanush has worked with her before, in the Tamil action-comedy Maari 2. His comments carry the weight of a long working relationship rather than a passing endorsement.
From Maari 2 to Om
Dhanush described a clear change in Pallavi over nine years. On Maari 2, he recalled, she was innocent, spoke very little and thought carefully before saying anything. He also said she is a firm believer in God and often prayed between shots.
By the time they met on the set of Om, he said, she had become “an entirely different person”, someone who had completely mastered cinema.
Om is directed by Rajkumar Periasamy and produced by Wunderbar Films and RTake Studios. Pallavi plays a police officer investigating timber smuggling. Sreeleela, Naseeruddin Shah and Indrans are also in the cast, Khaleej Times reports.
What the criticism is about
The debate began when action footage from Ramayana surfaced online showing Pallavi’s Sita fighting demonic creatures. Actress Dipika Chikhlia, who played Sita in Ramanand Sagar‘s 1987 television adaptation, told The Free Press Journal she had not seen such scenes in the Valmiki or Tulsidas versions she remembers.
She did not condemn the film outright. “There are more than 300 Ramayanas in our country,” she said, adding that the makers may have drawn on a version she is not aware of. Khaleej Times notes the film claims to be based on the epic attributed to Valmiki.
A cast member explains the scene
Indira Krishnan, who plays Kaushalya, offered a more personal take to News18, as reported by Hindustan Times. She said that, as a child watching the older television show, she never saw Sita as a warrior, and she “couldn’t connect” that part with her memory of it.
She still defended the choice. In her account, the makers wanted to show that Sita is not weak and comes from a family of warriors where girls learn the sword. In the film, Pallavi’s Sita wields a sword during a forest encounter with the demon army led by Khara and Dushana.
Krishnan said Sita is not the only woman whose strength the film highlights. She said her own Kaushalya is written as emotionally strong rather than perpetually sad, and that the film also explores Kaikasi, Ravana’s mother, as a warrior, a detail she said surprised everyone.
How Pallavi describes the role
Speaking at the film’s Pratham Sankalp event in New Delhi in July, Pallavi said she felt blessed to be offered the part. “It’s not easy for actors to get roles like this. Because it’s not easy to play a Goddess,” she said, adding that she would sit and meditate and ask Sita to act through her.
Ramayana is directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra. Ranbir Kapoor plays Rama, Yash plays Ravana and Ravi Dubey plays Lakshman, per Hindustan Times. Khaleej Times adds that the music is by AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer.
For earlier coverage, see our pieces on the sword-fighting Sita debate and her Sita look and the Om role. More film news is in our Movies section.
What happens next
Part 1 is already in cinemas, so the conversation is likely to continue as audiences weigh in. Part 2 is slated for 2028, according to Hindustan Times. Om does not yet have a release date in the sources reviewed, and Pallavi’s Tamil romance Inji Vellam is due on 29 January 2027, as covered in our earlier report.
Frequently asked questions
What did Dhanush say about Sai Pallavi’s Sita?
He said you would not find a Sita like her anywhere in India and that he did not understand the noise around her performance, according to Khaleej Times.
Why is Sai Pallavi’s Sita controversial?
Footage of her Sita fighting demons with a sword drew criticism from some viewers, including Dipika Chikhlia, who said she did not recall such scenes in the versions she knows.
When does Ramayana Part 2 release?
The second part is slated for 2028. The first part opened in theatres worldwide on 5 November 2026, according to Hindustan Times.
