Namit Malhotra, the producer of the Ramayana, discussed the film's magnitude and goals in a recent podcast. The budget for the movie, which is released in two parts, will be $500 million (over ₹4000 crore) when all production and marketing for both films is complete, according to Namit, who spoke about the budget. The number is twice what Dangal, the highest-grossing Indian movie, brought in at the box office and seven times what India has ever produced. It has, of course, drawn its fair share of attention.

The cost of the Ramayana

In an interview on The Prakhar Gupta Xperience podcast, Namit stated, "Everyone called me a lunatic" when we started seriously planning it six or seven years ago because no other Indian movie even comes close to its budget. In conclusion, by the time we've finished both Part 1 and Part 2 of the movies—which is more than ₹4000 crore—it will be around $500 million.

The video of Namit talking about the budget was posted on Reddit, and social media users were amazed by the enormous number. One said, "This is bigger than the budget of Avatar lol." With a production cost of $237 million, James Cameron's Avatar is the highest-grossing movie of all time.

The viability of the Ramayana is a concern for Reddit

However, others were concerned that the $500 million budget would necessitate the two movies to gross nearly $1 billion at the box office in order to turn a profit—numbers that have only been approached by worldwide successes like Avatar, Avengers, the Fast franchise, and others. "To simply break even, they need to generate about $800–$900 million in box office revenues," one Redditor said. It will need to make money at the level of Avatar or the Avengers project. And a reception at the RRR level, as well as a reception of a different kind from abroad. "You could make up to 1.5–2 Avengers movies with it, but the question is whether it has the potential to reach $1 billion in revenue, both movies combined," someone else said.

Another point made by several people was that no Indian film has ever made more than Rs 2000 crores. "Isn't the highest grossing film like ₹2000 (crore), and that was Dangal?" one Redditor asked. They want twice that amount? In this economy? Just to break even?" Nitesh Tiwari's Dangal earned over ₹2000 crore in 2017, but more than half of that sum came from China, an international territory. With worldwide revenues exceeding ₹1700 crore, Pushpa 2: The Rise and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion are the two highest-grossing Indian movies outside of China.

The ₹4000 crore number also raised doubts among several Reddit users. "Do I think these figures are exaggerated?" In a statement made last week, the director estimated that the total budget for both films is close to ₹800–1,000 crores. One person wrote with a little skepticism, saying, "I believe they are just trying to create hype."

Everything about Ramayana

Ramayana, which is directed by Nitesh Tiwari, is intended to be a two-part movie. The first installment will be released on Diwali 2026, and the second will be released in 2027. The movie features Sunny Deol as Hanuman, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, and Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram. The movie's score is a collaboration between AR Rahman and the renowned Hans Zimmer, who is making his Bollywood debut.

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