Kunal Kapoor, who plays Lord Indra in ‘Ramayana’, has spoken about shooting large-scale action scenes on a green screen for the first time. The actor, who is seen fighting Yash’s Ravana in the film, credited Hollywood action director Terry Notary for helping the cast with their movement and body language.
Kunal Kapoor talks about his first-time green screen experience in ‘Ramayana’
Speaking to SCREEN, Kunal Kapoor described what it is like to act without a real set around you. He said, “The thing with the green screen is there’s nothing available to you. There’s no real palace or sunrise. Everything is out of your imagination. You’ve to create pretty much everything in your head. But that can be a lot of fun as well. Because it takes you back to the most important thing as an actor — your imagination. It also takes you back to your childhood, where you’d play with imagination. That was a lot of fun.”
Kunal Kapoor’s praise for Terry Notary
Kunal Kapoor said Terry played a key role in guiding the actors through the action sequences. Terry is widely known as a movement coach on Hollywood projects such as the ‘Planet of the Apes’ franchise, ‘X2’ (2003), ‘Superman Returns’ (2006) and ‘Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer’ (2007). He has also worked on the Russo Brothers’ upcoming Marvel film ‘Avengers: Doomsday’.Explaining what set Terry apart, Kunal Kapoor said, “We got very lucky because we had somebody like Terry. He trained all the actors in the Planet of the Apes to imbibe that body language. What I found really fascinating about working with him was he was not just an action director but a body language expert directing action. That’s very different from working with an action director. Just having that kind of a talent on the film makes it incredibly easy for everybody else. Because you’re shooting not only an action sequence but also an important part of a story that’s close to all our hearts. So, when you find talent that looks at it and approaches it like that, it really elevates the work.”
About ‘Ramayana’ and its sequel
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra, ‘Ramayana’ is a two-part retelling of the epic. The cast includes Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. The first part is set to release in theatres worldwide on November 5, 2026.‘Ramayana Part 2’ was earlier planned for Diwali 2027. However, Namit recently revealed in an interview that the sequel has been postponed to 2028.