Ramayana: Rise of a Legend released in theatres on November 5. Producer Namit Malhotra is not worried about the ₹4000 crore budget. He said, "If we don't make money with the movies, we'll make it in the merchandise." He plans to use theme parks to ensure the project succeeds.
Ramayana, or as it is internationally titled Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, released in theatres on November 5 ahead of Diwali 2026. Starring Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana, the film opened on a decent note but picked up momentum as the first weekend concluded. With the two-part epic, mounted on a whopping ₹4000 crore budget, one would think that producer Namit Malhotra would be stressed about how the movie will fare at the box office. However, that does not seem to be the case.
The producer is looking beyond ticket sales for his ambitious two-part adaptation and believes there are several ways to make the massive investment work.
What Namit Malhotra had to say about the box office collection
While the scale of the movie is massive, Namit is confident that the Ramayana has enough potential to find an audience across different formats. In an interview with CNN, the producer said, "I'm not motivated by the bean-counter logic of, 'How much money did we make or not make'. If we don't make money with the movies, we'll make it in the merchandise. If we don't make it in the merchandise, we'll make it in the theme park. If we don't make it in the theme park, we'll make it some other way."
Namit Malhotra is confident about Ramayana's success
During an earlier conversation with the same publication, he spoke about the film with the conviction of someone who believes the story itself gives the project a strong foundation. "I don't want to sound spiritual as a businessman," he said. "But honestly ... you can't do this right and not succeed. To me, there's one fundamental truth: that if we do 'Ramayana' well, and if people like it, financially we'll be fine. That's my fundamental belief. There's no way to argue it. There's no way to debate it. And I don't think anybody in the world is smart enough to counter it with scientific or commercial logic."
Ramayana is planned as more than a two-part film
It is not the first time he has spoken about the adaptation and that he has several plans for the epic. At the film's Telugu pre-release event in Hyderabad, he explained that the larger ambition was always to create something that could continue engaging audiences long after the two films have been released.
He had said, "The word Ramayana, as we all know, is really a philosophy. It is a word that we have grown up with. All of us have, from our fathers, our grandfathers, our multi-generations have known the story of an epic called the Ramayana. When we were conceiving this, this was not meant to be just a film. This was meant to be much more than that."
He added that the intention is not to bring the story to a close after two films but to use them as a starting point for exploring the larger world of the epic: "The idea is not to make one or two movies and stop the journey of Rama. In fact, it is to start this journey. On the back of this movie, we can actually start to open up the different areas of engagement."
Video games, merchandise and a Broadway musical on the cards
At the same event, the producer had also presented a behind-the-scenes video that offered a glimpse into the proposed expansion of the Ramayana universe. The plans include video games based on the epic, along with merchandise spanning apparel, toys, gadgets and home furnishings.
The team is also looking at developing spin-off stories through origin films, television shows and animated projects. The plans include theme park experiences and a Broadway musical adaptation. Virtual reality, augmented reality and metaverse experiences are also part of the larger vision.
About Ramayana
The two-part epic, which is directed by Nitesh Tiwari, also stars Ravie Dubey as Lakshman, Addinath Kothare as Bharat, Rakul Preet Singh as Surpankha, Vivek Oberoi as Vidyutjihva, Arun Govil as Dashrath, Indira Krishnan as Kaushalya, Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi among others. The film is closing in on ₹400 crore net at the box office net. The second part is scheduled for 2028 release.