India, Nov. 5 -- My first memory of watching a film adaptation of Ramayana was Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama - an excellent Indo-Japanese anime that told the classic tale of good vs evil with such sincerity that it stayed with me long after. A lot has happened since then. Countless shows and films have retold the epic over the decades, some more memorable than the others. Adapting something so deeply embedded in our collective consciousness is a unique challenge. How does one make viewers invest in the story all over again?

Nitesh Tiwari-directed Ramayana, marketed as a big-ticket visual spectacle with an A-list ensemble - Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash, Ravi Dubey, and more makes a bold attempt. The vision board had "Avatar mee...