Pushpak Vimana existed long before Musk's flying car, Ranbir Kapoor says while promoting 'Ramayana'

Although technology billionaire Elon Musk has recently claimed to have invented a flying car, Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor has commented that India's mythological history witnessed such a thing thousands of years ago. In his view, the 'Pushpak Vimana' described in the 'Ramayana' was in fact the world's first flying vehicle.

He made the comment while taking part in 'Star Talks', a special promotional interview programme for the upcoming film 'Ramayana'.

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the much-awaited film is set to release in cinemas worldwide on November 5 on the occasion of Diwali.

Besides Ranbir Kapoor, the interview was attended by co-stars Yash (Ravana), Ravi Dubey (Lakshmana) and Rakul Preet Singh, along with director Nitesh Tiwari.

During the programme, the host mentioned the astonishing weapons and technology of the Ramayana era and praised the work of the Academy Award-winning VFX studio DNEG.

In reply, Ranbir Kapoor said in a tone of humour and pride: 'Elon Musk has recently invented a flying car. But I think India made and showed that almost 5,000 years ago!'

The topic arose around the recent exhibition in Texas of the new 'Roadster' model from Musk's company Tesla. During the exhibition at SpaceX's rocket test centre, the new e-sports car took off from the runway, spun in the air and landed safely. Musk said commercial production of the car could begin in 2028.

Ranbir compared that vehicle with the ancient 'Pushpak Vimana' of the Ramayana.

According to the mythological story, the divine architect Vishwakarma built the Pushpak Vimana for the creator Brahma. Brahma later gifted it to Kubera, the god of wealth. But Ravana, the king of Lanka, defeated Kubera and seized the aircraft.

In the epic, the Pushpak Vimana is described as an aerial vehicle that could travel at the speed of human thought or imagination and could expand in size or capacity as needed. In the new film, this huge flying palace has been brought to life through state-of-the-art visual effects.

Southern superstar Yash added in the interview: 'Watching this modern adaptation of the Ramayana is truly a wonderful experience. Even after so many years, one can realise how relevant the core ideas of this story still are to human life.'

In Nitesh Tiwari's two-part big-budget film, Ranbir Kapoor plays Rama and Sai Pallavi plays Sita. Yash appears as Ravana and Sunny Deol as Hanuman.

Produced jointly by Namit Malhotra and Yash, the film's music has been composed jointly by A. R. Rahman and Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer. The first part of the film will be seen in cinemas on November 5 during the Diwali festival season.