Nitesh Tiwari chokes up, holds back tears at Ramayana teaser launch, says 'seven years making this film were worth it'

The Ramayana teaser was unveiled on Thursday morning, giving the first look at Ranbir Kapoor's avatar as Lord Rama.

The ‘Rama glimpse’ of Ramayana, Nitesh Tiwari’s adaptation of the epic, was unveiled today, on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. The teaser introduced Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, giving fans the first glimpse of the actor’s portrayal of the revered Hindu deity. The teaser was launched in eight cities across India, with the director Nitesh Tiwari and producer Namit Malhotra themselves present at the Mumbai launch.

Nitesh Tiwari has directed Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Ramayana.

Nitesh Tiwari talks at Ramayana teaser launch

The duo interacted with the audience present at the screening, with Nitesh getting visibly emotional and holding back tears as he spoke. After the teaser was screened and the applause subsided, Nitesh said, “Iss moment tak pahuchne me mujhe saat saal lage hain (It has taken me seven years to reach this moment). Filmmaking is a very speculative and lonely process. Every moment in these seven years, I have imagined this moment and wondered what the reaction (of the audience) would be. Aaj aap logon ka reaction dekh kar mujhe lag raha hai (Judging by your reactions, I feel) those seven years were worth it.”

The director then touched upon the extensive production of the film and added, “A lot of people have worked very hard to help the film reach here. I hope we get an equal amount of love from all of you. Thank you.”

All about Ramayana

Ramayana is a two-part film mounted on a massive budget of ₹4000 crore, making it the most expensive Indian film ever made, and one of the costliest film productions worldwide. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman, and Ravie Dubey as Lakhsman. The Rama glimpse focused only on Lord Rama but also gave fleeting glimpses at other characters, including Lakshman and Sita. The teaser also showed Yash’s Ravana getting out his fabled flying machine, Pushpak Vimana, at the end.

Ramayana Part One is slated to release in theatres in October 2026, with the second part arriving in 2027.