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    EYE ON BOLLYWOOD                                                          JULY 03, 2026    |  The Indian Eye 42

                 Can ‘Ramayana’ Rewrite

            Indian Box Office History?

              With a star-studded cast, unprecedented scale and a story deeply rooted in Indian culture,
                             Nitesh Tiwari’s epic could become the biggest Indian film ever made.

            OUR BUREAU                                                                                            gal” showed that Indian audiences
                                                                                                                  are willing to support large-scale cin-
            Mumbai
                                                                                                                  ematic events when storytelling, emo-
                ndian cinema has always been                                                                      tion  and spectacle  come together.
               drawn to mythology, but few                                                                            At the same time, audiences
            Iprojects have generated the kind                                                                     have become increasingly demand-
            of anticipation surrounding Nitesh                                                                    ing when it comes to adaptations
            Tiwari’s upcoming epic “Ramayana.”                                                                    of revered cultural texts. Chauhan
            Even before its release, the two-part                                                                 pointed to “Adipurush” as an exam-
            saga is being spoken of as a potential                                                                ple.  Despite  generating  significant
            record-breaker capable of surpassing                                                                  pre-release excitement and a strong
            some of the biggest commercial suc-                                                                   opening, the film struggled to main-
            cesses in Indian film history.                                                                        tain momentum because many view-
                The expectations are enormous.                                                                    ers felt it failed to connect emotion-
            The  film  stars  Ranbir  Kapoor  as                                                                  ally with the source material.
            Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash                                                                     “It just has to land properly and
            as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Hanuman                                                                      connect with the audience. Like Adi-
            and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. Pro-                                                                     purush couldn’t connect with people.
            duced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime                                                                       It missed the mark,” Chauhan said.
            Focus Studios and DNEG, the proj-                                                                        Yet even that experience rein-
            ect is reportedly being mounted on a                                                                  forces his optimism. “But still, it had
            combined budget of around Rs 4,000                                                                    an amazing opening,” he noted, ar-
            crore, making it one of the most am-  The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol   guing  that  the appetite  for  stories
            bitious productions ever attempted                                                                    from the Ramayana remains enor-
            in Indian cinema.                                   as Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman            mous.
                The first installment is scheduled                                                                    The filmmakers appear aware of
            for release during the Diwali holiday   the  film  will  break  records,”  Chau-  become the film’s greatest strength.  those expectations. Dubey stressed
            season on November 6, 2026, while   han said.                           Actor Ravie Dubey, who plays   that the project is being approached
            the second part is expected to arrive   His confidence stems from more   Lakshman, highlighted the deep   with sincerity rather than simply
            a year later. Adding to the scale of   than just the cast. He believes the   bond between the epic and Indian   commercial ambition.
            the project is a music score by Os-  story  itself  gives  the  film  an  advan-  society. “Bharat aur Ramayana ek   “We  are  making  the  film  with
            car-winning composer Hans Zimmer   tage few productions can match.  dusre se alag nahi hai... they are one,”  faith. You wait with faith,” he said.
            alongside A.R. Rahman, a collabora-  “And if that film is able to land,  he said while discussing the project.  Ultimately, the box-office fate of
            tion that has further heightened au-  you’ll see that it will smash Dhu-  Dubey described the Ramayana as  “Ramayana” may depend on a simple
            dience curiosity.                 randhar’s record. The range of that   India’s  heritage  and  said  the  film-  question: can it combine technolog-
                Trade analyst and exhibitor   film is crazy. People will come to the   makers are striving to do justice to   ical excellence with emotional au-
            Vishek  Chauhan  believes  the  film   cinemas from everywhere, even from   the material. “Yeh hamara itihaas   thenticity?
            possesses all the ingredients needed   villages,” he added.         hai, darohar hai... and the more we   If  it  succeeds,  the  film  could
            to achieve unprecedented box-of-      The potential audience for “Ra-  can work on it, the more we will try   attract family audiences, religious
            fice  success.  Speaking  about  the   mayana” is unusually broad. Unlike   to do justice to it within our abilities.  viewers, young moviegoers and inter-
            phenomenal  performance  of  Adi-  many modern blockbusters that pri-  It has been an amazing experience,”  national Indian diaspora communi-
            tya Dhar’s “Dhurandhar” franchise,  marily target urban multiplex view-  he said.                     ties on a scale rarely seen before. The
            which reportedly grossed more than   ers, the story of Rama, Sita, Laksh-  The challenge, however, is not   combination of cultural resonance,
            Rs 3,300 crore worldwide, Chauhan   man and Hanuman is familiar across   simply  attracting  viewers but meet-  star  power,  visual  spectacle  and  na-
            argued that “Ramayana” could go   generations, regions and languages.  ing their expectations.        tionwide appeal gives it a unique
            even further.                     The Ramayana is not merely a lit-     Recent history offers both en-  opportunity to transcend traditional
               “The buzz is very good, it is a sub-  erary work; it is one of the founda-  couragement and caution. Mytho-  box-office boundaries.
            ject very close to people’s hearts. The   tional  narratives  of Indian  civiliza-  logical and historical spectacles have   As Chauhan put it, “Sky is the
            way Ranbir is looking and the kind   tion, retold through television serials,  demonstrated enormous commer-  limit with Ramayana.”
            of star cast the film has – including   theatre, folk traditions and religious   cial potential in India. Films such   For Indian cinema, that may
            Sunny Deol, Yash, the director is   festivals for decades.          as “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion,”  prove less a prediction than a possi-
            also good. So, I have no doubt that   That cultural connection could  “RRR,” “Kalki 2898 AD” and “Dan-  bility.

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