Ramayana: Rise of a Legend Opens to Divided Reviews

What changed

Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, has opened worldwide as the first half of a planned two-film adaptation of the Hindu epic. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana, with a reported production cost of $500m; part two is planned for release next year.

Why it matters

This is a bet on scale carrying a story that already lives in poetry, sculpture, theatre, television and family memory. DNEG, producer Namit Malhotra’s visual-effects company, worked on the production, while Oscar-winning composers AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer share the music.

The timing gives the release extra weight. It arrives days before Diwali, the festival that celebrates Ram’s return to Ayodhya and the victory of good over evil. The film is therefore entering cinemas beside a story many viewers already know intimately, not introducing an unfamiliar fantasy world.

The early verdict is divided. Some critics praised the performances, effects and spectacle; others said the scale overwhelmed the story, or that the first half dragged. That makes the film’s central challenge clear: its vast budget can make the world look monumental, but it cannot decide whether the retelling feels emotionally convincing.

The reported cost has not been independently confirmed here, and the film’s commercial performance remains unknown. If the first part finds a broad audience despite the mixed reviews, it will strengthen the case for completing this unusually ambitious two-part version; if not, the second film will have to carry the burden of the entire experiment.