Ranbir Kapoor's flying car remark: 'India did it 5,000 years ago' before Elon Musk
Promoting Ramayana, Ranbir Kapoor said India had a flying car 5,000 years before Elon Musk. What he said, what the Pushpak Viman is, and the jokes.
Ranbir Kapoor is three days away from the release of Ramayana, his biggest film yet, and the line everyone is talking about has nothing to do with the trailer. In a promotional interview, the actor compared Elon Musk’s flying car to the Pushpak Viman of the Ramayana and said India got there first.
“Elon Musk recently invented a flying car. I think India did it 5,000 years ago,” Ranbir said, in a group interview with the Ramayana team on the Star Talks channel. Sitting with him were Yash, who plays Ravana, Ravie Dubey, Rakul Preet Singh and director Nitesh Tiwari. The clip spread over the weekend and by Monday “Ranbir Kapoor flying car” was among the most-shared entertainment topics in India.
What is the Pushpak Viman?
In the Ramayana, the Pushpak (or Pushpaka) Viman is a flying chariot, often described as a flying palace. In the story, the divine architect Vishwakarma built it for Brahma, who gave it to Kubera, the god of wealth. Ravana later seized it after defeating Kubera, and it is the vehicle he uses to carry Sita to Lanka. After Ravana’s defeat, Ram flies home to Ayodhya in it.
Ranbir plays Ram in the film, so the Viman will be on screen, and the conversation had turned to the weapons and vehicles of the epic when he made the comparison.
Which Elon Musk flying car?
Musk has been teasing a flying car for a year. On the Joe Rogan podcast last year he promised an “unforgettable” demo, and on 15 October he showed Tesla’s next-generation Roadster at an event in Texas, with rocket-style thrusters that let it lift briefly off the ground. Tesla has not said when, or if, that feature will reach customers.
Why social media is laughing
The reaction online was mostly jokes. Many users called the remark “WhatsApp gyaan” and “uncle talk”, the kind of claim that circulates in family group chats. Others asked why, if India had flying cars, people travelled by bullock cart for the next few thousand years, and a wave of memes joked that India simply forgot to file the patent.
Not everyone mocked him. Some fans defended Ranbir, saying he was speaking about the film’s mythology with enthusiasm, not making a scientific claim, and that the comment was clearly meant in the spirit of promotion. Ranbir has not responded to the criticism.
Why it matters for Ramayana
The film can do without a distraction this week. Ramayana: Part 1 opens on 5 November, timed for Diwali. Sai Pallavi plays Sita and Yash plays Ravana, and the second part is planned for Diwali 2027. Advance bookings are already strong, so a viral clip may sell even more tickets, whether people are laughing or not.
For viewers in Pakistan, Indian films are not released in cinemas here, but Ramayana is the most searched Indian film of the season, and the debate over the Pushpak Viman line has spilled onto Pakistani timelines too.
