Part 1 — Diwali 2026
Ramayana
Our Truth. Our History.
Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana is the most expensive film India has ever attempted, and one of the most expensive ever made anywhere. Producer Namit Malhotra — founder of Prime Focus, CEO of the eight-time Oscar-winning VFX house DNEG — has put a reported $500 million behind a two-part adaptation of the epic, with Part 1 landing Diwali 2026 and Part 2 a year later.
The trailer arrived on 30 July 2026 at 4:15am IST, timed to Brahma Muhurat, across five Indian languages. It drew 10 million views in nine hours and immediately split the audience: Yash's Ravana was near-universally praised, while Ranbir Kapoor's dialogue delivery and the CGI on Kumbhakarna and the demon armies drew heavy criticism. That split is the story of this film's next hundred days.
This hub tracks every thread — the money, the cast, the VFX argument, the trailer records and the box-office maths — and links out to the deep dive on each.
The facts
- Director
- Nitesh Tiwari
- Producer
- Namit Malhotra
- Prime Focus Studios · DNEG
- Co-producer
- Monster Mind Creations
- Yash's banner
- Budget
- ~$500M
- both parts; ₹800–835cr reported for Part 1
- Part 1 release
- 8 Nov 2026
- Diwali 2026
- Part 2 release
- Diwali 2027
- Music
- Hans Zimmer & A.R. Rahman
- their first collaboration
- VFX
- DNEG
- 8 Academy Awards
- Format
- Worldwide IMAX
- Intl. distribution
- Sony
- Languages
- 5 Indian languages + global
- Day 1 projection
- ₹100–150cr net
- range of published estimates: ₹44–189cr
The cast
Ram
Ranbir Kapoor
reported dual Vishnu avatar
Sita
Sai Pallavi
Ravana
Yash
also co-produces
Hanuman
Sunny Deol
Lakshman
Ravie Dubey
Kaikeyi
Lara Dutta
Dashrath
Arun Govil
played Ram in the 1987 series
Surpanakha
Rakul Preet Singh
Jatayu
Amitabh Bachchan
voice
The road to release
2015
The idea
Namit Malhotra begins trying to mount a live-action Ramayana. It takes eight years to reach a floor.
2023
Cameras roll
Production finally starts, with Nitesh Tiwari directing and DNEG handling effects in-house.
30 Jul 2026
Trailer, at Brahma Muhurat
Released 4:15am IST in five languages on T-Series. 5M views in 6 hours, 10M in 9, top YouTube trend — and an immediate split verdict on the VFX.
8 Nov 2026
Part 1 — Diwali
Worldwide IMAX rollout. Competing for premium screens with Godzilla: Minus Zero in international markets.
Diwali 2027
Part 2
The war. Where the effects budget — and the audience's patience with it — really gets tested.
The trailer split the audience. Both sides have a point.
What's working
Yash's Ravana is the trailer's clear win — menace, stillness, scale. The production design and the Zimmer/Rahman cues land. For a mythological at this budget, the ambition is visible in every frame, and no Indian film has attempted a worldwide IMAX rollout on this scale.
What isn't
The CGI on Kumbhakarna and the demon armies was widely called flat — short on texture and depth for a DNEG picture that put Dune and Interstellar on screen. Ranbir Kapoor's delivery as Ram drew the sharpest criticism, with viewers arguing it lacked the divine authority the role carries. At $500M, 'it'll be fixed by release' is a costly assumption.
Go deeper
Ramayana trailer, shot by shot
Every reveal in the four-minute trailer, and what each one tells you about Part 1's structure.
CastFull cast — who plays who
All nine principals, the roles they take, and the casting choices worth arguing about.
MoneyThe ₹4,000 crore question
Why the budget is reported as both ₹835cr and $500M, and which number actually means something.
Box officeBox office projection tracker
What Part 1 needs to open at, and what it needs to make across both parts to break even.
ProducerNamit Malhotra: garage to eight Oscars
How a one-room Mumbai setup became DNEG, and why he bet everything on this.
VFXThe VFX backlash, explained
Is the criticism fair for an unfinished trailer? What DNEG can and can't fix in 100 days.
Compare2026 film vs the 1987 series
Arun Govil played Ram then and plays Dashrath now. What the new version inherits — and discards.
WatchRelease date & where to watch
Diwali dates, IMAX availability, languages, and the streaming window to expect.
Questions
When does Ramayana release?
Part 1 is set for Diwali 2026, with 8 November 2026 the widely reported date. Part 2 follows at Diwali 2027. Both get a worldwide IMAX rollout, with Sony handling international distribution.
What is Ramayana's actual budget?
Two figures circulate because they measure different things. Reports put Part 1 at roughly ₹800–835 crore. Producer Namit Malhotra has said the true combined figure across both parts is far higher — around $500 million, or roughly ₹4,000 crore. That would make it among the most expensive films ever produced anywhere.
Who plays Ram, Sita and Ravana?
Ranbir Kapoor plays Ram, Sai Pallavi plays Sita, and Yash — who also co-produces through Monster Mind Creations — plays Ravana. Sunny Deol plays Hanuman and Amitabh Bachchan voices Jatayu.
Did the Ramayana trailer break the YouTube record?
It went at record pace — 5 million views in 6 hours, 10 million in 9, and the top trend on YouTube. The mark to beat is Salaar's 113.2 million views in 24 hours, the most-viewed Indian trailer of all time and unbeaten since 2023.
Why are people criticising the VFX?
The trailer's demon armies and the giant Kumbhakarna were widely described as lacking texture and depth — a harsh verdict for DNEG, which has eight Academy Awards and did the effects for Dune, Interstellar and Inception. Trailer VFX is routinely unfinished, but at this budget the scrutiny is unusually sharp.
Is Ramayana one film or two?
Two. Part 1 covers the earlier arc and lands Diwali 2026; Part 2, expected to carry the war, arrives Diwali 2027.
Sources
Figures move fast on a film this size — budget and projection numbers are the published range as of 31 July 2026, not final.