India's most expensive film retells Hindu epic Ramayana

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 5 Nov, 11:03 · Archive

India's most expensive film, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, has opened in cinemas worldwide. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the lavish production is the first of two planned films, reported to have cost $500m in total. The film brings together some of India's biggest stars, Hollywood visual-effects expertise from DNEG (which has worked on Dune and Interstellar), and music by Oscar-winning composers AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer.

The story follows the ancient Hindu epic's familiar narrative of love, duty, exile and war. Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Ram, the virtuous prince of Ayodhya, who is banished for 14 years and retreats to the forest with his wife Sita, played by Sai Pallavi. Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka, portrayed by Yash, one of southern India's biggest stars. The epic battle between Ram and Ravana will be depicted in part two, set to release next year.

The Guardian described it as a 'thoroughly engaging, rousing and spectacular Indian epic melodrama', though BBC News reports the film has sparked mixed reviews among critics. The production aims to take one of Hinduism's most revered stories, which has inspired religious devotion and political movements across centuries, to a global audience.

How it is being reported

• India's costliest film retells a beloved Hindu epic - but divides criticsEasily the most anticipated Bollywood film of the year, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend is the first of two parts.BBC News · 5 Nov, 09:04
• Ramayana: Rise of a Legend review – India’s most expensive film ever becomes spectacular, huge-scale epicBased on the ancient classical poem about Rama, the avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, this three-hour blockbuster is highly enjoyable Here is a thoroughly engaging, rousing and spectacular Indian epic melodrama from director Nitesh Tiwari, with music by Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman, based on the ancient classical poem about Rama, the avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. It has often been adapted for live-action and animated movies in the past, though surely not on this scale, the current three-hour blockbuster being only the first half. (There are no musical numbers though.) The idea of aristocrats…The Guardian · 4 Nov, 13:00

In this story: Nitesh Tiwari · Ranbir Kapoor · Sai Pallavi · Yash · AR Rahman · Hans Zimmer · DNEG · India

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