Ramayana: Ranbir Kapoor Starrer Has A Budget Of Rs 4000 Cr, But Producer Namit Malhotra Says ‘It’s Cheaper Than…’

Ramayana, starring Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, is all set to make history. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra, the film is being made on a massive budget of Rs 4,000 crore across two parts. That’s around $500 million, officially making it the most expensive Indian film ever.

Despite the huge cost, producer Namit Malhotra isn’t worried. In fact, he feels the price is fair for a story as iconic as Ramayana. He even believes it’s a better deal than what Hollywood spends on similar epic productions.

Ramayana Set To Be India’s Most Expensive Film

The star cast of Ramayana includes some of the biggest names like Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Amitabh Bachchan (voiceover), Sai Pallavi, and Sunny Deol. The film is being shot for IMAX and will release in two parts: Part 1 in Diwali 2026 and Part 2 in Diwali 2027.

In a podcast with Prakhar Gupta, Namit Malhotra shared his inspiration behind the project. He said, “I want the entire world to see what I consider the greatest epic of all time.”

Malhotra founded Prime Focus and worked on global hits like Inception, Dune, and Interstellar. He spoke about how Indian stories are often shown in a negative light internationally. The producer shared, “All the films they saw us as were victims and we were poor and always less fortunate and treated poorly by the world. And I was like, no, that’s not who we are. That’s not the country I come from.”

Budget Of Ranbir Kapoor Starrer Explained By Producer Namit Malhotra

Talking about the massive Ramayana budget, Malhotra clarified that they are self-funding the project. He confirmed, “We’re funding it ourselves. We’re not taking anybody’s money.”

He revealed that the idea came to him around six to seven years ago, just after the pandemic. He added, “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.”

Even with the high numbers, Malhotra feels it’s worth it. He said, “We are 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 it costs to make some of the biggest Hollywood films.”

With top-notch VFX from the Oscar-winning DNEG team and support from Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, Ramayana is aiming not just to be a big Indian release, but a film that makes global impact.