Nitesh Tiwari, the director of the two-part Indian epic Ramayana, has said he believes the ancient Greek poet Homer may have drawn inspiration from the Ramayana while writing The Odyssey. His comment came during a joint interview with Ranbir Kapoor, who plays Lord Rama in Tiwari’s film, for Screen Rant. The conversation focused on one striking similarity between the two epics: a scene built around a bow. The director’s remark and the actor’s response have since started a wide debate online about whether the two ancient stories are connected or whether the resemblance is simply a coincidence.
What Nitesh Tiwari Said About Homer and Ramayana
Tiwari spoke to Screen Rant’s Liam Crowley about the parallels between Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and his own Ramayana: Part One. When asked whether he noticed the similarities or intentionally leaned into them, Tiwari said he believes the Greek epic may have taken inspiration from the Indian one.
“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 which belongs to the West side, and it’s going to make it very easier for the people to also connect with what we were trying to bring to the West also.”
The filmmaker also said the similarities could help international audiences connect with the Indian story. His view is that the Ramayana predates The Odyssey, and that the shared bow sequence is one sign of a deeper link between the two texts.
Ranbir Kapoor Calls the Bow Scene a “Sweet Coincidence”
Ranbir Kapoor acknowledged the same resemblance but described it differently. The actor said he noticed the parallel while watching Nolan’s The Odyssey.
“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.”
Kapoor also spoke about the experience of filming Rama’s bow-lifting moment for the Indian epic. He said the scene gave him goosebumps and that he felt a strange sensation while lifting the bow, even though the prop was not actually heavy.
“So it was just goosebumps when we were performing that scene, when we were doing the whole lifting of the bow, even though it was not that heavy and I was acting like it was, but I could feel it when I was lifting it above my head. I just had some weird current going up and down just to be part of such an iconic moment.”
The Bow Scene in Both Epics, Explained
The comparison centres on a single story beat that appears in both works.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, the hero Odysseus has been away from home for years and is widely presumed dead. His wife, Penelope, faces pressure from suitors who want to marry her. She sets a challenge: the suitors must string Odysseus’s powerful bow and shoot an arrow through twelve axe heads. The test is built around a feat that only Odysseus has previously managed.
In Valmiki’s Ramayana, the bow scene appears at Sita’s swayamvar in Mithila. King Janaka sets a challenge for suitors who wish to marry his daughter, Sita. They must lift the Shivadhanush, a mighty bow belonging to Lord Shiva. Rama not only lifts the bow but also breaks it while stringing it, proving his worthiness and winning Sita’s hand.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey adaptation, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus and Anne Hathaway as Penelope, brings the bow challenge to the screen in its climax. The sequence reminded many Indian viewers of the Ramayana even before Nolan’s film arrived in theatres.
Why the Comparison Sparked a Debate
The two scenes share a clear visual and narrative idea: a bow that only the true hero can handle, used to decide a marriage or reclaim a home. That overlap is what led Tiwari to say Homer may have known the Ramayana and what led Kapoor to call the resemblance a coincidence.
The debate has two sides. One side sees the parallel as evidence that the Ramayana reached Greece in some form and influenced Homer. The other side points out that two cultures can arrive at a similar story idea without direct contact. The similarity is striking, but it does not by itself prove that one text copied the other.
Tiwari’s comment carries weight because he is the director of a major Ramayana adaptation. Kapoor’s response carries weight because he plays Rama and performed the bow scene himself. Their exchange has turned a scholarly question about ancient texts into a mainstream entertainment story, and it has brought fresh attention to both films.
What Scholars and Historians Say
Most historians and Sanskrit scholars say there is no evidence of direct contact between the Greek and Indian epic traditions. The Ramayana and The Odyssey grew in different languages and different regions, and no historical record shows that Homer read or heard the Indian epic.
Some early scholars did argue for a connection. The 19th-century French academician Hippolyte Fauché, who studied Indian literature, suggested that Homer was probably influenced by the tale of the Ramayana. Modern scholars debate that claim, and there is no settled agreement on it.
One key difference is where the bow scene sits in each story. In the Ramayana, Rama lifts and breaks the bow at the beginning of his journey, during Sita’s swayamvar. In The Odyssey, Odysseus strings his bow at the end of his journey, when he returns home to reclaim his place. The scene serves a different purpose in each narrative, which is one reason many scholars treat the resemblance as a shared story pattern rather than a direct copy.
The broader point is that the two epics come from different worlds. Rama is revered as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and places duty and righteousness above everything else. Odysseus is a wandering warrior trying to get home after a war. The characters, the cultural values, and the shape of the stories are not the same.
Social Media Reacts to the Comparison
Social media has been buzzing about the Odyssey–Ramayana comparison since Nolan’s film arrived. Indian viewers pointed out the bow sequence and drew direct lines to Sita’s swayamvar. Some users called the resemblance a tribute, while others used stronger language and accused the Greek epic of copying the Indian one.
“Those Ramayana references in The Odyssey blew me away. Wonder how many people even noticed.”
“That bow challenge? Straight from the Ramayana.”
“What an utter shame that this entire thing is copied from ramayana.”
Not every reaction was one-sided. Some users argued that similar imagery does not prove copying and that ancient stories often share common ideas. Others said it was too early to judge Tiwari’s Ramayana because only promotional material had been released at the time of the Odyssey discussions.
Producer Namit Malhotra also responded to the comparisons. He said he wished audiences would see the film first before drawing conclusions, according to Bollywood Bubble.
Ramayana Box Office and Release Details
Ramayana: Part One released in theatres worldwide on November 5, 2026. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, and Ravi Dubey as Lakshmana. Nitesh Tiwari directed the two-part project.
The film opened with ₹155 crore gross at the worldwide box office on its first day, according to figures shared by the makers. In India, the film collected approximately ₹64.85 crore nett on day one across all languages.
Ramayana: Part Two is set for release on Diwali 2028. The first part arrived ahead of the Diwali weekend in India and drew large crowds to theatres from its opening day.
Related Stories
The bow scene in Tiwari’s Ramayana was shown in the film’s trailer and became one of the most discussed moments before release. The conversation around Nolan’s The Odyssey added extra attention to that sequence, and the director and actor have now addressed the comparison directly.
The debate over the Ramayana and The Odyssey shows how a single scene can connect two ancient stories across thousands of years. For more entertainment news and analysis, keep reading VvipTimes, where every story is checked and explained in plain language.
Leave a Reply