Ranbir Kapoor and Yash's Ramayana budget revealed: Both parts cost Rs 4,000 crore; more expensive than Jurassic World Rebirth and Superman

Indian Express

9 hours ago

As the much-anticipated first glimpse of Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana: Part One continues to trend across social media and dominate online conversations, fans are abuzz with excitement over the film's grand scale and the epic face-off between Ranbir Kapoor's Ram and Yash's Ravan. Amid the growing anticipation, producer Namit Malhotra, who is also the founder and non-executive director of Prime Focus Limited, a leading Indian visual and special effects company, recently spoke with Prakhar Gupta about the budget of the project, the journey behind it, and the vision guiding its creation.
He said, 'So, when we set out to make it, six, seven years ago, just after the pandemic, when we started to really get serious about mounting it and producing it, and budget-wise, it was like everybody thought I'm a lunatic. Because no Indian film, by a long distance, comes close to it. So, to put it simply, it'll be about $500 million by the time we're done, on both films put together, part one and part two, which is over Rs 4,000 crore.'
Despite industry skepticism over the scale of spending, Namit insists the project is both financially responsible and creatively necessary. 'So, I say it like this: we're making the largest film in the world for the greatest story, the greatest epic, that the world should see. And I still think it's cheaper than what it cost to make some of the biggest Hollywood films. So I think we're making a bigger film at a lower cost. Because that Indian in me still believes that we're not being irresponsible financially. We're not being irresponsible with money.' Namit said that the industry might view him as irresponsible, but the investment is justified.
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For Namit, Ramayana is a way to honour India's foundational cultural ethos, and to share it with the world. 'I'm taking the greatest belief system of our country. We're taking something that we have pride in. It's a foundational piece of our culture. And I'm going to mount it and present it in the grandest form possible. And it's going to cost whatever it costs. Why is that a risk? When I think about Ramayana, I'm like, is it really a risk? All I'm doing is, I have to just make sure we do justice to people's expectations, and beyond. There has to be pride that must come through, in every Indian first, and then every other person in the world, to say: that's a great piece of culture. I genuinely think the relevance of Ramayana today in the world, not just India, is massive. Look at the wars in the West. Look at the way the countries are operating. I've lived in America. I've lived in the UK. I've hesitated to send my kids abroad to study.'
He also shared his belief that Indian culture and stories like Ramayana offer a much-needed grounding in today's global climate. 'My kids are growing up in Mumbai today. They're going to Indian schools. I want them to study in India. Not because I don't believe in the Western education system, but because I genuinely have greater faith and confidence in India today. And I'm making those decisions. And I'm making that commitment. So I'm like, there's something we're doing right. The West has sort of lost its way a little bit. And nothing like our culture to really help give that grounding and anchor. We're not trying to provide sermons to the world. But what we're saying is: Hey, we've learned a lot from you. Take something from us.'
Director Nitesh Tiwari also echoed this sentiment at the official first glimpse launch earlier this month, expressing that his intention with Ramayana is to evoke pride in India's ancient culture and heritage. Ramayana will be released in two parts, with Part One scheduled for Diwali 2026 and Part Two for Diwali 2027. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram and Yash as Ravan, with Sai Pallavi playing Sita, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, and Sunny Deol as Hanuman.
Ramayana: Part One's production budget equals those of films such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3. It is higher than the $225 that was spent on the new Superman film, and also higher than the $180 million spent on Jurassic World Rebirth.