Ramayana: ‘Money Laundering, Marketing Tactic’ Redditors Feel Namit Malhotra Inflated Budget To Rs 4000 Cr And Just Fooling People

Ramayana producer Namit Malhotra has set social media on fire after revealing a staggering budget for the upcoming mythological epic. Speaking on The Prakhar Gupta Xperience podcast, Malhotra said the total cost for both parts, including marketing, will reach $500 million (Rs 4000 crore). If true, this makes Ramayana the most expensive Indian film ever, nearly seven times costlier than any previous Bollywood project and double the lifetime earnings of Dangal.

Why Namit Malhotra’s Rs 4000 Cr Budget Claim Is Causing A Stir

During the podcast, Malhotra explained, “When we set out to make it 6-7 years ago, everyone called me a lunatic. No Indian film comes close to this budget. By the time we are done with both films, it will be about $500 million.”

The statement went viral on Reddit, triggering massive scepticism. Many users accused Malhotra of inflating numbers for publicity. Some even claimed it could be a “money laundering tactic”.

Ramayana’s budget for both parts surpasses $500 Million (Over 4,000 Crores), Producer Confirms
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Check out the user reactions below!

“I guess since hes paying himself here , easy to bloat the finances of the movie and draw a huge publicity. Hes the sole producer of the film and he owns dneg vfx company aswell which is involved in high budget Hollywood films. Its essentially an in-house film and can quote whatever amount he wants. If dneg usually charges 100 mil for a big budget Hollywood film, he can quote they spent 200 million for this movie.”

“Sounds like black money laundering scam.”

“All I hear is ticket price will be 1000rs on day one.”

“I think it's a marketing tactic. Avatar 2 had state of the art tech to acheive that budget. This is just a gimmick or the actors have charged exorbitant amount of remuneration. There's no other way it costs this much!”

“There is no way. This is definitely inflated.If it's real,then india doesn't have the capacity to recover that budget.”

“That’s one way to loot money from people by hiking ticket prices under the guise of an inflated budget. I’m not buying this.”

“One word: IMPOSSIBLE. Obviously fake marketing to create unprecedented hype.”

What We Know About Ranbir Kapoor Starrer Ramayana So Far

Despite the controversy, Ramayana is said to be one of Bollywood’s most ambitious projects. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the epic will release in two parts, with Part 1 scheduled for Diwali 2026 and Part 2 in 2027.

The cast features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. On the music front, the film boasts a historic collaboration between AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer, marking Zimmer’s Bollywood debut.