What Is Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, India's Costliest Film?

"Ramayana: Rise of a Legend," a two-part retelling of the Hindu epic, opened in theaters worldwide this week ahead of the Diwali festival, drawing what the BBC calls India's costliest production and a divided critical response, according to BBC News, Delhi, Nov. 5, 2026.

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the film is the first of two planned parts and is among the most anticipated Bollywood releases of the year, the BBC reported. It brings together some of Bollywood's best-known stars with Hollywood-level visual-effects work and two Oscar-winning composers.

What is Ramayana: Rise of a Legend about?

The film follows the familiar arc of the Ramayana. Lord Ram, prince of Ayodhya, is banished from his kingdom for 14 years. He retreats to the forest with his wife, Sita, who is then kidnapped by Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka, according to the BBC. The confrontation between Ram and Ravana is being saved for the second film, scheduled for release next year, the outlet reported.

Why has the film drawn so much anticipation?

The Ramayana is one of Hinduism's foundational epics. It has been passed down through poetry, temple sculpture, shadow puppetry and folk theater for centuries, and has repeatedly been adapted for television and film, according to the BBC. The report noted the story has outlasted kingdoms and empires and inspired both religious devotion and political movements across generations. The film's release was timed days before Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights that celebrates Ram's return to Ayodhya after his exile, the BBC said.

Who stars in the film, and who worked behind the camera?

Ranbir Kapoor plays Ram. Sai Pallavi plays Sita. Yash, one of South India's biggest stars, plays Ravana, according to the BBC.

Producer Namit Malhotra heads the visual-effects company DNEG, which has worked on Hollywood films including "Dune" and "Interstellar," the BBC reported. The score is a collaboration between A.R. Rahman, the Oscar-winning composer behind "Slumdog Millionaire," and Hans Zimmer, who scored "Gladiator," "The Dark Knight" and "Dune," according to the outlet.

Why is this being called India's costliest film?

The BBC reported that the combined cost of the two-part production makes it the most expensive film made in India, pairing the country's biggest stars with Hollywood-level effects and the Rahman-Zimmer score. The outlet cited a reported dollar figure for the project. Sony Pictures, which is releasing the film, and DNEG have not published their own confirmed budget figures, and HTT News is not republishing the unconfirmed number here.

What are critics saying about the film?

Reviews have been mixed. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film three out of five stars, writing that its scale "remains, for the most part, the only thing that stands out," and that the acting is "wildly inconsistent," according to the BBC.

Rishabh Suri of the Hindustan Times was more enthusiastic, awarding four stars. "I am happy to report, all that money shows on screen," he wrote, according to the BBC, though he also said the first half felt sluggish and the music underwhelming.

Shubhra Gupta of the Indian Express gave the film three stars. She wrote that she had misgivings about the film's scale going in but was won over, calling it the "perfect epic," the BBC reported.

What happens next, with part two?

The second film will depict the battle between Ram and Ravana and is scheduled for release next year, according to the BBC. No premiere date has been announced. For now, audiences in India and overseas are left with the first installment, and with critics still sorting out whether the spectacle matches the story at its center.

How does the story connect to Diwali's meaning?

The BBC's image caption for the film describes Diwali as a celebration of "the victory of good over evil," tying the holiday directly to Ram's return from exile after defeating Ravana. That connection is part of why Sony Pictures and the filmmakers timed the release for the days just before the festival this year, according to the BBC. For many households in India and in the Indian diaspora, Diwali already involves retellings of the Ramayana through lamps, performances and family readings, the outlet noted, making the film's release window a natural fit with existing holiday traditions rather than a marketing coincidence layered on top of them.

In a video interview released alongside the BBC's coverage, Ranbir Kapoor discussed the production's use of artificial intelligence in moviemaking, along with the film and his own experience of fatherhood, according to the BBC.

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