- Gajendra Chauhan criticized the anglicized spelling of Ramayana and Rama in the film's title
- Ramayana's production budget is approximately Rs 4,000 crore or $500 million for both parts
- Producer Namit Malhotra claims the film is the largest Indian project and more efficient than Hollywood
Mahabharat actor Gajendra Chauhan took a subtle dig at the title of Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana, accusing the makers of anglicizing the word "Ramayana" to cater to a global audience.
During a conversation with Hindi Rush, Gajendra Chauhan said that the makers have changed the English spellings of the word Ramayan and of Lord Ram's name.
"What is Ramayana? It is Ramayan. What is Rama? It's Ram," Gajendra Chauhan told Hindi Rush.
"We work in Hindi films, but we speak in English. Even we say 'thank you' in English. If we have to express our gratitude to the guru (master), we convey that in English," the senior actor added.
"Lagaan also went to the Oscars. But it's not Lagaana. It's Lagaan," he reinforced.
Budget
Ramayana 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."
The film is set to be released in two parts, with the first instalment scheduled to release worldwide in October 2026 ahead of Diwali, while the second part is slated for Diwali 2027.
