Ahead of the release of Ramayana, the makers hosted a premiere at the Academy Theater in Los Angeles, where producer Namit Malhotra spoke about his journey.
As reported by The Indian Express, he said, "I wanted to host this evening at the Academy Theater because this is my Oscar moment. I am going to take a moment to speak without the bell ringing me out. My company, DNEG, and my team have won eight Academy Awards in total, seven in the last 11 years for visual effects, collaborating with some of the greatest filmmakers of our time, including Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, and many others."
Recalling his early days, when he worked on a start-up from a garage at the age of 19, Namit continued, "For a third-generation film family background and a garage start-up kid at 19 with an Apple computer, working with three of his teachers who were all of 21, this is what dreams are made of. And what better place to share this moment than the city of dreams, Los Angeles?"
He also shed light on the setbacks he faced in 2008, adding, "In my pursuit of building a global company and connecting the East and the West, I set foot in LA in 2007 and haven't looked back since. An immigrant who lost 90% of his wealth during the financial crisis of 2008, as I am sure some of you may remember, to bounce back today and bring the biggest independent production in the world... I can't even tell you what it feels like to stand here today and say this. We have been able to bring together some of the absolute best talent from India, as you have all seen, and have collaborated with some of the finest Western talent."
Malhotra also credited his father, filmmaker Naresh Malhotra, for encouraging him to enter film production. "I got into post-production and visual effects to get to make movies at some point, and that is what I am doing today," he said.
Ramayana has reportedly been mounted on a staggering budget of Rs 4,000 crore.
Speaking to Prakhar Gupta, producer Namit Malhotra revealed, "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 $500 million for both parts combined, which is over Rs 4,000 crore."
He added, "We're making the largest film in the world for the greatest epic that deserves to be seen globally. Yet, I believe we're doing it more efficiently than some of the biggest Hollywood films. We're not being irresponsible; we're being ambitious, but grounded."
The film will be released in two parts. The first installment is scheduled to arrive in cinemas worldwide ahead of Diwali 2026, while the second part is slated for release during Diwali 2027.
Apart from Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash, the film also stars Sunny Deol and Ravi Dubey in pivotal roles.
