Kamal Ghorui
Ranbir Kapoor has just given fans the most compelling reason yet to be excited about Nitesh Tiwari‘s ‘Ramayana‘ and the scale he is describing is unlike anything Indian cinema has attempted before. In a conversation with Collider, the actor revealed that the two-part mythological epic has a combined runtime of six hours, drawing a direct comparison to Peter Jackson‘s landmark ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and describing the project as India’s greatest epic spectacle. The revelation comes hot on the heels of the film’s teaser, which dropped last week to an enormous online response.
Ranbir Kapoor on ‘Ramayana’s extraordinary scale
Speaking to Collider, Ranbir Kapoor did not hold back when describing the ambition of what Nitesh Tiwari has built across the two-part saga. He said, “It’s nothing less than Lord of the Rings. It’s our greatest epic spectacle coming from our country, and this was just a teaser. We have six hours of epic visuals and epic action sequences, emotions. It teaches you to be a better son, a better husband, a better brother. It’s the triumph of good over evil. There are so many different layers of storytelling happening with this film that I’m really excited for people to sample it.”The ‘Lord of the Rings’ comparison is a significant one. Peter Jackson’s trilogy which ran to nearly nine hours across its extended editions and is widely regarded as the benchmark of large-scale fantasy filmmaking. Kapoor’s reference of it is not merely promotional. With six hours of footage across two films, and ensemble cast and a production that has been in the making for six to seven years, ‘Ramayana’ is clearly built to operate at a scale that Indian cinema has never previously attempted.
Ranbir Kapoor on ‘Ramayana Part Two’
Beyond the runtime revelation, Ranbir also offered a significant production update that will excite fans who have been wondering about the timeline for Part 2. In the same interview, Kapoor revealed, “We’re already halfway done filming part two, at least my portions. It’s even more exciting than what you guys have seen.”The update suggests that the production behind ‘Ramayana’ is moving at a pace that could keep the promised Diwali 2027 release for Part 2 firmly on schedule.
Producer Namit Malhotra on the budget of ‘Ramayana’
The six-hour runtime and ‘Lord of the Rings’ comparisons offer a peek into the financial scale on which ‘Ramayana’ has been constructed. Producer Namit Malhotra, speaking to journalist Prakhar Gupta confirmed, “When we set out to make this six or seven years ago, people thought I was a lunatic because no Indian film comes close to this scale. Put simply, the budget will be around USD 500 million for both parts combined, which is over Rs 4,000 crore.“
More about ‘Ramayana’
‘Ramayana’ features an ensemble cast including Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. Adding to its global appeal is a historic musical collaboration between Indian maestro AR Rahman and legendary Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer. Part 1 is scheduled for Diwali 2026 and Part 2 is expected to follow in Diwali 2027.
