Ramayana producer Namit Malhotra recently appeared on a podcast where he spoke about the ambitious film and its scale. While talking about the budget for the film, Namit said that when all production and marketing for both films is done (Ramayana is a two-part release), the budget will be $500 million (over ₹4000 crore). The figure is seven times higher than any Indian production ever made, and twice what Dangal - the highest-grossing Indian film - earned at the box office. Naturally, it has raised more than a few eyebrows.
Ramayana budget
Speaking on The Prakhar Gupta Xperience podcast, Namit said, "When we set out to make it, 6-7 years ago, when we really got serious about mounting it, everybody called me a lunatic, because no Indian film comes close to it budgetwise. To put it simply, it will be about $500 million by the time we are done with both the films - Part 1 and Part 2, which is over ₹4000 crore."
The clip of Namit discussing the budget was shared on Reddit, where social media users were stunned by the high figure. "This is bigger than the budget of Avatar lol," wrote one. James Cameron's Avatar, the highest-grossing film of all time, was made on a budget of $237 million.
Reddit is worried about Ramayana's profitability
But others were worried that the $500-million budget would mean that the two films would need to make close to $1 billion at the box office to be profitable, numbers that have been touched only by global hits like Avatar, Avengers, Fast franchise, etc. One Redditor argued, "They need to make some 800-900 million dollars box office to just break even. It will have to basically make an Avatar-level or an Avengers project money. And RRR level reception and some more sort of a reception overseas." Another added, "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, both movies combined."
{{/usCountry}}But others were worried that the $500-million budget would mean that the two films would need to make close to $1 billion at the box office to be profitable, numbers that have been touched only by global hits like Avatar, Avengers, Fast franchise, etc. One Redditor argued, "They need to make some 800-900 million dollars box office to just break even. It will have to basically make an Avatar-level or an Avengers project money. And RRR level reception and some more sort of a reception overseas." Another added, "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, both movies combined."
{{/usCountry}}That no Indian film has ever grossed over ₹2000 crore was also a point raised by many. One Redditor wondered, "Isn't the highest grossing film like ₹2000 (crore) and that was Dangal. They want 2 times that? In this economy? Just to break even?" Nitesh Tiwari's Dangal had grossed ₹2000 crore in 2017, but over ₹1300 crore of that came from one overseas territory - China. The highest-grossing Indian films outside of China are Pushpa 2: The Rise and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, both of which grossed over ₹1700 crore worldwide.
Many on Reddit were sceptical about the ₹4000 crore figure, too. "Am I the only one who feels that these are inflated numbers? Last week, the director said that the combined budget is nearly ₹800-1000 crores for both movies. I think that they are just trying to create hype," wrote one with some doubt.
All about Ramayana
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana is intended to be a two-part film with Part 1 releasing on Diwali 2026 and Part 2 in 2027. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. The score for the film sees AR Rahman collaborate with the legendary Hans Zimmer, who is making his Bollywood debut.
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