Namit Malhotra opens up on mounting Ramayana at global scale: ‘Hollywood saw us as poor and victims’

With the Ramayana, producer Namit Malhotra seeks to elevate Indian storytelling globally, moving beyond traditional narratives.

Producer Namit Malhotra opened up about what inspired him to bring India’s greatest epic, the Ramayana, to life on a scale the world has never seen. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Raavan.

Starring Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi, this two-part epic, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, features a groundbreaking score from A.R. Rahman and Hans Zimmer.

Namit on Ramayana's grand scale

Speaking candidly during a podcast with Prakhar Gupta, Namit shared how a childhood fascination with films, particularly Jurassic Park, sparked his dream to create something equally grand. “When Jurassic Park came out, I was in awe. How did they come up with something so massive and immersive? It made me want to be a filmmaker, to build worlds,” he recalled.

But it was during the recent Hollywood writers’ strike that Namit found the space to re-examine not just his career, but how Indian stories have been told globally.

“When I looked at the kind of Indian stories that had broken through internationally — Slumdog Millionaire, Gandhi, Lion, even RRR, which is a great testament to (SS) Rajamouli’s success of making a film that resonated with Hollywood for the first time, but until then, I realized most of them portrayed us as victims. We were poor and always less fortunate. I was like, no, that’s not who we are. That’s not where my core strength and energy come from. Ramayana became that story for me. How do I take this and present something that is the evolution of the planet, that’s the first civilisation in the world? That’s the greatest in the world,” Namit said.

About Namit Malhotra

Namit Malhotra has long been a behind-the-scenes giant in global cinema. Through Prime Focus and DNEG, his companies have powered the visual effects of Dune, Oppenheimer, Inception, Interstellar, and numerous other Hollywood blockbusters — earning multiple Academy Awards along the way. But with Ramayana, Namit is stepping firmly into the creative spotlight, aiming to not only tell India’s story to the world but to redefine how the world sees Indian cinema.

About Ramayana

Ramayana is set to unfold as a two-part cinematic epic, with Part 1 releasing on Diwali 2026, followed by Part 2 in 2027. The film boasts a powerhouse cast, featuring Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravie Dubey as Laxmana, and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. Adding to the scale is an extraordinary musical collaboration between A.R. Rahman and Hans Zimmer, with Zimmer making his much-anticipated Bollywood debut on the score.