Back in July, when Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey was released, it sparked conversations among Indian viewers, who spotted several similarities between the film and the mythological epic Ramayana. Now, months later, as Ramayana gets its own cinematic version, director Nitesh Tiwari has reacted to the similarities.
Nitesh Tiwari on similarities between Ramayana and The Odyssey
Talking to ScreenRant, Nitesh Tiwari said, “Ramayana is the oldest epic, and I believe Homer was inspired by Ramayana in some way, having written those bits in Odyssey. And yes, I did notice those equivalents, and I felt very happy that our greatest epic has got a tribute in another epic that belongs to the Western world, and it’s going to make it much easier for people to connect with what we were trying to bring to the West as well.”
For the unversed, one of the striking similarities in the two epics was the bow that serves as a competition in both tales. In The Odyssey, Penelope hosts a stringing-of-the-bow competition for her suitors, which none of them manage to achieve. However, the returning Odysseus, who is disguised as a beggar, succeeds. Similarly, in the Ramayana, a similar competition is held at Sita’s swayamvar to lift the bow. Several men are unable even to move Lord Shiva’s celestial bow. Rama arrives and not only manages to lift the bow but also breaks it into two halves while trying to string it, thus securing Sita’s hand in marriage.
Ranbir Kapoor also opened up about the bow-and-arrow scene and called it a sweet coincidence.
He said, “To be honest, it’s written in our text 4,000 years ago. So actually, when I saw Odyssey, I thought, ‘That’s from Ramayana.’ Exactly. But yeah, sweet coincidence. I love *The Odyssey*. I love Christopher Nolan. But yeah, doing Ramayana had a very different feeling.”
About Ramayana
Produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, Ramayana: Part 1 was released in theatres on November 5, 2026. The film stars an ensemble cast that also includes Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman, Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Anupam Kher lending his voice to Jatayu, among others.