Why Is Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana Being Released In Two Parts?

Ranbir Kapoor, the legendary actor of the Kapoor family and known for classics like ‘Yeh Jawani hai Deewani’ and ‘Bhramasthra’ is back with another film. This one is straight out of Hindu mythology as he is playing the role of lord Rama in the new film Ramayana.
The film is directed by Nitesh Tiwari (known for Dangal) who envisioned this not as a typical Bollywood mythological film but as a global cinematic adaptation which could compete alongside films like “ The Lord of The Rings”. The concept reportedly started around 2017-18 and after nearly 7+ years of development the teaser was released. They claim the focus of the film is on authenticity combined with modern storytelling.

Reasons for film development

The film was developed to reimagine mythology for modern cinema. Indian mythology has massive audience appeal but recent attempts like Adipurush faced criticism for its weak visual effects (VFX), poor dialogues and lack of authenticity overall. Ramayana aims to correct that by doing deep effective research into the scriptures, being culturally sensitive and with their high-end production quality.

Another reason was that the producers wanted a film that appealed to international audiences and matches Hollywood in scale,computer generated imagery(CGI) and storytelling while also positioning Indian mythology on the global stage.

Budget and Cast

This is one of the most expensive Indian films ever made with an estimated budget of around 600-800 crores for part 1 alone as is planned as a two part franchise. It is backed by top studios including Namit Mahlothra’s VFX company (DNEG).

The cast is designed to balance star power with character fit and we see Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Yash as Ravana and Sai Pallavi as Sita. The idea is to take actors who can embody archetypes, not just play roles.

Ramayana Teaser Highlights

The teaser was finally released and reveals Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama in a golden, divine avatar. His portrayal focuses on calmness, dharma and inner strength. Ranbir himself said he is not there to represent Lord Ram but to learn from him showing a respectful approach.

Yash as Ravana is also a match made in heaven as he is shown as an intense, powerful antagonist, something which Yash does very effectively almost as if it comes to him naturally.

Other characters revealed were Arun Govil as Dashrat and Ravi Dubey as Lakshman. These appearances created strong buzz alongside Ranbir.

The teaser was of 2 minutes 38 seconds and showcases grand cinematic scale with massive Ayodhya sets, war glimpses and Mythological grandeur with viewers calling it out of this world and mind-blowing.

The tagline is ‘Our hero, Our protector’ and focus is not only on action but also on morality, sacrifice and emotional depth of Lord Ram’s journey.

The part 1 is expected to release on Diwali 2026 and is expected in IMAX and other large formats. The public was highly impressed by the teaser and are now highly anticipating this movie.

Why 2 parts

Many fans are wondering why Ranbir is releasing it in 2 parts, well the first reason is that the original Ramayana is not a short story and spans across multiple chapters like Ram’s birth, his exile.forest life etc. and trying to compress it all would be a bad idea as it would either rush the story or cut out important parts which is not was the director and cast want.

Key characters like Rama, Sita and Hanuman have complex emotional journeys which are helped by a two part movie as it helps show their characters depth and helps the audience relate more to them.

The film requires high end visual effects and putting it in 2 parts helps with the VFX feel less rushed and also allows higher production value per scene. Structured storytelling is also expected by many reports and part 1 is expected to end on a cliffhanger like search for Sita and this mirrors how the story is generally told.