Alia Bhatt

Shagun Roy (HINDUSTAN TIMES; September 13, 2026)

Dipika Chikhlia, who became synonymous with Sita after Ramanand Sagar’s TV hit Ramayan, says she is no longer rattled by new actors taking on the role. Reacting to Sai Pallavi playing Sita in the upcoming adaptation, Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, she says, “If it’s Sai Pallavi, she’s a fab actress,” adding that she has no doubt the actor “will perform well”.

But asked which contemporary actor she would have liked to see as Sita, Chikhlia picks Alia Bhatt. “She’s very spontaneous, and that’s the kind of person I am,” she says, adding, “She would have looked lovely as Sita.”

Having spent decades being identified with Sita in Ramanand Sagar’s 1987 television series Ramayan, actor Dipika Chikhlia admits that stepping into another character from the epic would not be easy.

If she had to choose, though, Kaushalya would be her “best next option”, largely because she sees the character as a positive one. But entering another Ramayan remains emotionally complicated for someone whose identity has been so closely tied to Sita.

For Chikhlia, the bigger goal now is to be seen beyond the role that defined her career. Having played Sita convincingly at 18, she believes there is no reason she cannot take on a wide range of characters today. “I want to discover myself as an actor,” she says. She now wants to explore films and OTT, particularly unconventional roles beyond the stereotypical parts she feels may come her way. A judge, lawyer, doctor or NGO worker are among the characters she would like to play — “something off-beat” that excites her and makes her happy to return to work.