{"id":2804,"date":"2026-08-05T11:57:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T11:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/?p=2804"},"modified":"2026-08-05T11:57:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T11:57:29","slug":"dipika-chikhlia-backs-sai-pallavi-amid-sita-casting-backlash-says-audiences-will-accept-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/?p=2804","title":{"rendered":"Dipika Chikhlia Backs Sai Pallavi Amid Sita Casting Backlash, Says Audiences Will Accept Her"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veteran actor Dipika Chikhlia has stepped in to support Sai Pallavi amid the ongoing backlash over her casting as Sita in Nitesh Tiwari\u2019s <em>Ramayana<\/em>. Chikhlia, who remains closely associated with the role after playing Sita in Ramanand Sagar\u2019s iconic <em>Ramayan<\/em>, said she believes audiences will eventually accept Sai Pallavi once the film is released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The debate around Sai Pallavi\u2019s casting has been intense on social media, with viewers comparing her to Chikhlia\u2019s widely loved portrayal from the television classic. Addressing the discussion, Chikhlia said the strong emotional connection people still feel with the original cast naturally makes it harder for them to imagine anyone else in those roles. Even so, she expressed confidence that the audience response will change after the film reaches theatres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chikhlia said that the affection for the original <em>Ramayan<\/em> cast, including Arun Govil and Lalit Tiwari, has created a lasting benchmark in the public imagination. That, she explained, is why some confusion is expected whenever a new adaptation reinterprets such beloved characters. But according to her, once viewers see the film in full, they will be able to accept Sai Pallavi\u2019s version of Sita.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The actor also clarified that she has no intention of speaking negatively about Sai Pallavi\u2019s work. She said she has watched the actress\u2019s South Indian films and considers her a strong performer. In her view, being a good actor matters more than matching public expectations before a film is even released. She added that it would not be right to criticise another artist\u2019s project in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chikhlia\u2019s support is notable because she had earlier expressed some hesitation about Sai Pallavi\u2019s appearance in the role, sparking further debate online. Those earlier comments were interpreted by some as a comparison between the traditional image of Sita and Sai Pallavi\u2019s natural look. In her latest remarks, however, Chikhlia made it clear that her earlier observations were not meant as a dismissal of Sai Pallavi\u2019s talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The larger conversation around <em>Ramayana<\/em> has also turned into a wider debate about how mythological characters are reimagined for modern audiences. With big names like Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi attached to the film, expectations are already high. Chikhlia\u2019s comments suggest that while comparisons are unavoidable, the final judgment should come only after the audience watches the finished film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Veteran actor Dipika Chikhlia has stepped in to support Sai Pallavi amid the ongoing backlash over her casting as Sita in Nitesh Tiwari\u2019s Ramayana. Chikhlia, who remains closely associated with the role after playing Sita in Ramanand Sagar\u2019s iconic Ramayan, said she believes audiences will eventually accept Sai Pallavi once the film is released. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2804"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2805,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804\/revisions\/2805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/todaynewshours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}