The country’s costliest film cost about $500 million. Critics are split down the middle.
MUMBAI: It is the biggest movie India has ever made. Now it is finally in cinemas, and people are arguing about it.
Ramayana: Rise of a Legend retells one of Hinduism’s oldest and most loved stories. It reportedly cost around $500 million, which is about £370 million. The film is being released in two parts, and this is the first. Part two is coming next year. Nitesh Tiwari is the director.
Big stars, big tea
Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Ram, a kind and honest prince. He is sent away from his kingdom for 14 years and goes to live in the forest with his wife, Sita, played by Sai Pallavi. Then Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, the 10-headed king of Lanka. Ravana is played by Yash, one of southern India’s biggest stars. Their big showdown will come in part two.
Hollywood has helped out as well. Producer Namit Malhotra runs DNEG, the company that created the effects for Dune and Interstellar. The music comes from two Oscar winners, AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer. The film also opened just days before Diwali, the festival that celebrates Ram’s return home.
So, is it any good?
That depends on who you ask.
Rishabh Suri of the Hindustan Times gave it four stars. He said the money clearly shows on screen. He liked the acting and the effects, though he found the first half slow and the music a little weak.
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave three stars. She was worried about the film’s huge size at first, but slowly came around. In the end, she called it the perfect epic.
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian also gave four stars. He said the film reminded him of Shakespeare and Homer, and even of The Lord of the Rings and The Lion King.
But not everyone was won over. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave three stars. He felt the giant visuals pushed the story into the background, and he thought the acting went up and down. Siddhant Adlakha of IGN gave only four out of ten. He found the fight scenes clunky and the computer effects hard on the eyes. Giovanni Lago of Next Best Picture gave five out of ten. He loved Yash as Ravana and enjoyed the music, but thought a story this big might work better as a TV series.
There was one more complaint. For the English version, AI was used to change the actors’ lip movements so they matched the words. Tiwari said it would help viewers around the world connect with the film. Adlakha thought it looked like a silly comedy sketch.
A story that people grew up with
For many Indians, the Ramayana means one thing: the TV show from 1987. When Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan came on, Sunday mornings across India went quiet. Streets emptied. Shops shut. Neighbours squeezed around the nearest TV. Some families even lit incense and put garlands on the screen first, almost as if they were about to pray.
The most popular episodes pulled in an estimated 80 to 100 million viewers. That is a huge number, especially when few people owned a TV.
The actors became heroes too. Arun Govil, who played Ram, says fans cried when they saw him and touched his feet. Now he is back in this new film, playing Dasharatha, Ram’s father. It is a sweet nod to the past. A 1992 animated film from India and Japan also won many fans with its beautiful hand-drawn art.
A lot of pressure
The new film has technology the older versions could only dream of. But it also has to live up to the hopes of people who have loved this story since childhood.
The timing is tricky, too. In India today, Ram is a strong symbol of Hindu identity, so new versions of his story often cause arguments. In 2023, another costly film, Adipurush, faced a wave of anger. Some Hindu groups wanted it banned because they felt it disrespected sacred figures. Critics also did not like its dialogue and effects.
The actors felt this weight as well. Ranbir Kapoor told the BBC he was “filled with fear.” He worried he was too old and might not do the role justice. He still called it a chance of a lifetime. Sai Pallavi said playing Sita felt spiritual, not just creative. For her, it was a chance to grow as a person.
In the coming days, as more people watch the film, we will get a clearer picture of how India really feels. But whatever happens, it is a big moment for Indian cinema.
