- Ranbir Kapoor initially rejected the Ramayan role but accepted after his daughter's birth in 2022
- Ramayan's first teaser will release tomorrow in India after a New York IMAX preview
- The film's budget is around Rs 4,000 crore, making it one of the most expensive Indian projects
Nitesh Tiwari's big-ticket project Ramayana, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles, will unveil its first teaser tomorrow in India. In New York, the makers hosted a special teaser preview of the film a few days ago. During a Q&A session, Ranbir Kapoor shared that he initially rejected the Ramayana offer. But after his daughter Raha's birth, Ranbir changed his mind.
Speaking at a Q&A during the New York special IMAX teaser screening, Ranbir said the offer came to him four years ago.
"Coming to play Lord Ram, I remember when Namit offered me this part around four years back. My instant reaction was: 'I am not fit enough, good enough.' I felt I wouldn't be able to do full justice. But that fear quickly turned into gratitude because opportunities like this were something I truly needed in my life," he said.
He added that playing Ram coincided with a deeply transforming phase in his personal life.
"There was a period when I needed to change my lifestyle. I had just become a father for the first time. The sweet coincidence of playing Lord Ram and becoming a father became a turning point in my life, he said.
Ranbir Kapoor and his wife Alia Bhatt welcomed their first child, daughter Raha, in November 2022.
Preparation
"For me, the preparation began the day I watched Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana. It is so deeply etched in our subconscious and rooted in us that we feel immense pride in Lord Rama's journey. When I got the opportunity to portray him, I knew the preparation had to go beyond the physical—it had to be emotional and spiritual. One has to be truthful to the character because he is loved by billions across centuries and will continue to be long after we are gone," Ranbir said how he stepped into the role.
"The responsibility is something I take very seriously. I have immense love and respect for this part and for the story of Ramayana. When that conviction is in place, everything else falls into place," he concluded.
Budget
Ramayan has been made 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. And 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."
Music
AR Rahman and Oscar-winning Hans Zimmer have collaborated on this project for the first time.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Rahman discussed his high-profile collaboration: "It's terrifying for both of us. We're scoring something so iconic and so important to the world. So in the promo, I think he had a soundscape; then I took that and added the Sanskrit words at the end and everything. What's complicated is that we're taking something so epic, which every Indian knows, and we have to give them something new. We have to give something to the world—from India to the world."
Ravi Dubey, Yash, and Sunny Deol are also part of this mega project.