In the history of Indian cinema, whenever mythological and religious epics are brought on screen, the audience's eyes remain fixed on each and every scene, costume and historical accuracy. The new film 'Epic Shri Ramayan Katha' starring social media sensation and actress Anjali Arora in the lead role has come into the center of discussion on the internet and various social media platforms for a strange reason. While promoting this film which was released on the big screen on September 25, the makers had recently released some new promotional posters. One of these posters surprised the audience when people's keen eyes fell on the face of monkey king Sugriva. In the poster, Sugriva, the lead character of Vanar Sena, could be clearly seen wearing modern style glasses. As soon as this poster surfaced on social media, internet users started cornering the makers by taking screenshots of it. The audience is not liking the sight of modern spectacles in a historical-religious epic based on the background of Treta Yuga. People are considering this as a huge and ridiculous negligence on the part of the editing and production team of the film. While on one hand film critics are debating its technical aspects, on the other hand social media is flooded with memes regarding this glaring mistake. Flood of memes on the Internet: Users raised serious questions on the editing of the makers. As soon as this poster of Sugriva's glasses went viral, netizens started making jokes on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook. Users are trolling the designers and directors of the film by making various funny and sarcastic comments. Expressing surprise, a user wrote whether people used to wear modern spectacles even in Treta Yuga or were optical shops open even in that period. Another user sarcastically commented that what is there to be surprised about, couldn't people's eyesight become weak in Treta Yuga. The process of trolling did not stop here. Another internet user quipped that are the glasses actually made in the poster or have my eyes become weak and I need to get new glasses made? Many cinema lovers expressed deep displeasure over the fact that when you make a film on a sensitive and revered subject like Lord Ram and Ramayana, how can such basic mistakes be ignored during post-production and visual artwork. People are saying this is a direct result of lack of research and negligence. Story and Modern Perspective of 'Epic Sri Ramayana Katha' If we talk about the basic plot of the film, the structure of 'Epic Sri Ramayana Katha' has been prepared a little differently from traditional Ramayana films. The story of this film progresses from the perspective of a modern-day young boy named 'Shashwat'. Shashwat is struggling with many moral and spiritual conflicts in his life. During this time, he meets an ascetic sage, who is actually a form of Lord Hanuman wandering in Kaliyuga. Lord Hanuman, appearing in the form of a sage, narrates to the modern youth the story of Lord Shri Ram's ideal life, his struggle, the path of religion and sacrifice. The main objective of the film is to connect today's new generation and youth with the values and life values of Lord Shri Ram. However, as positive as the core idea of the film was, this technical glitch in its poster has diverted the audience's attention away from the main message and towards the controversy. Starcast of the film: Anjali Arora became Mata Sita, Dev Sharma became Shri Ram. The casting of this film was also in the headlines even before its release. Social media influencer Anjali Arora has played the sacred role of Mother Sita, the mother of the world, in this film. There were mixed reactions on social media earlier also regarding his selection. Well-known TV and film actor Dev Sharma has played the central role of Maryada Purushottam Lord Shri Ram in this film. Talking about other lead characters, actor Sheel Verma has brought alive the role of Laxman, while Nirbhay Wadhwa, who has already gained popularity as a trouble-shooter on TV, has played the powerful role of Lord Hanuman. Bollywood and television actor Rajneesh Duggal is seen in the aggressive and arrogant avatar of Lankapati Ravana in this film. Directed by director Abhishek Singh, this film has been dubbed in Hindi as well as Chhattisgarhi language and released in theaters across the country on 25 September 2026. Importance of visual details and VFX in mythological cinema: In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the number of films being made on religious and mythological themes in Indian cinema. In such a situation, the audience now examines the production value, costume designing and VFX of any film very closely. Even before this, many big budget mythological films have faced strong opposition from the audience due to poor VFX and modern look. This spectacles controversy that happened with the epic Sri Ramayana Katha once again proves that whenever subjects related to history and faith are brought on screen, the makers should scrutinize every single frame, poster and props on multiple levels. In this era of social media, no small mistake gets a chance to hide and within a few minutes it becomes the cause of discussion and memes at the global level. Now it remains to be seen what clarification the makers give on this controversial poster and whether it is rectified immediately.
