Ranbir Kapoor’s first look as Rama in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana is out, and it makes the scale of this film immediately clear. Released on Hanuman Jayanti, the teaser runs nearly three minutes and shows Kapoor across multiple phases of the character: the prince in Ayodhya’s palatial corridors, the exile navigating moonlit waters, and the warrior drawing his bow against a dust-choked sky. The visual effects work, handled by eight-time Oscar-winning studio DNEG, is front and centre.
“I don’t think I’m here to represent Rama. I’m here to learn from him,” Kapoor said. “There is a simplicity and purity to him that is very rare, and trying to understand and imbibe that has been a deeply humbling experience.”
Ramayana is produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios, the same outfit behind DNEG’s visual effects empire, in association with Yash’s Monster Mind Creations. Malhotra has been the driving creative force on the project, and the two-part franchise reportedly carries a combined budget in the range of $500 million, making it comfortably the most expensive Indian film production to date.
Director Nitesh Tiwari, whose credits include Dangal and Chhichhori, framed the film’s approach in human terms. “Ramayana’s greatness lies in its emotional richness. It is not just about good and evil, but about choices, consequences, and the weight of doing what is right. Rama’s journey is deeply human and that is what we have tried to stay true to.”
The cast reflects the ambition. Yash plays Ravana opposite Kapoor’s Rama, Sai Pallavi is Sita, Sunny Deol takes on Hanuman, and Ravi Dubey plays Lakshman. The score is split between Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman. Screenwriter Shridhar Raghavan adapted the script from Valmiki’s text, while production design by Ravi Bansal and Ramsey Avery reconstructs ancient India at a scale the Indian film industry hasn’t attempted before. Action sequences are designed by Hollywood stunt coordinators Terry Notary and Guy Norris.
Ramayana: Part 1 opens worldwide during Diwali 2026. Part 2 is currently in production and scheduled for Diwali 2027.