In the name of Rama: Fresh Ramayana spins face box office test
Ramayana, Varanasi and Alpha aim to recast elements of the epic. But recent experiments with the epic have strived to find takers among a deeply reverential audience.
Let's go alt with the epic: That seems like an operative mantra lately when it comes to creating Ramayana for the big screen. Suddenly, the Indian mainstream is out hunting for 'something fresh' when it comes to reimagining the epic for cinema. Is it working? Now, that's the story.
Recent outcomes of such a fixation have ranged from Adipurush to Singham Again, but more of that later. Let's first look at major productions lined up that will try to tap the legend of Rama, and what tweaks they'll try to offer to the epic.
From July 2026 to Diwali 2027, notable instances include YRF's Alpha, SS Rajamouli's Varanasi and the two-part Ramayana. Each of these films has high stakes for big-ticket casts and crew, which brings to focus an interesting fact. Historically, except Ramanand Sagar's Doordarshan mega serial Ramayana of the late eighties, no film or series based on or interpreting the epic has quite managed to capture the nation's imagination. The audience in India can be deeply protective when it comes to their favourite sacred text.
RAMAYANA: OF VFX TWEAKS AND A LAYERED RAVANA
Ask the makers of the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Ramayana, who've faced the heat ever since the film's first glimpse dropped. Social media has been dissecting every bit of director Nitesh Tiwari and producer Namit Malhotra's ambitious two-part endeavour, from the inconsistent colour of an extra's turban to Ranbir Kapoor's casting as Lord Rama. Users noted that Ayodhya Kaand of the epic mentions Rama had "the complexion of a dark lotus flower". Conversation in the media also dwelt upon how Tulsidas in the Ramcharitmanas describes Rama as "Tanu ghana shyama (cloudy dark body)" while Kapoor is fair-skinned. Finicky cyber commentators have not stopped at skin colour. Many have observed Kapoor's gym-toned physique looks too western to pass off as an Indian God, just as Prabhas' did in Adipurush.
These, though, don't define an alternative vision of the epic. These merely reflect casting calls aimed at boosting box office chances with star power, for a two-film production rumoured to cost around Rs 4,000 crore.
Much of that staggering budget has been allocated to what promises to be cutting-edge visual effects, being handled by Oscar-winning VFX studio DNEG. In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, producer Malhotra described Ramayana as an "Avatar meets Gladiator moment". Reportedly, a major part of the effort to redefine how we perceive the epic lies in how the two films look and sound on screen – VFX extravaganza becomes a vital character in the two films while Oscar-winning composers Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman collaborate to create the films' score.
But Ramayana's challenge lies beyond looking good. Director Tiwari has described the creative battle as "intimidating, challenging and inspiring," during a conversation with Ranbir Kapoor a while back. On a narrative level, Tiwari's tweaks will include interpreting Ravana as a layered antagonist. The character, portrayed by Kannada superstar Yash, won't be a one-dimensional villain but an intelligent leader and a devout disciple of Shiva. The idea is to position Ravana as a morally complex man who was ultimately done in by his ego.
The challenge could be more intimidating than Tiwari and Malhotra think. For a Rs 4,000-crore franchise, an alt vision to redefine the mighty Ravana might just be a risk, more so because there have been questions about the casting of Rama. This is a film that needs to comprehensively reach out to the masses, for a large part of the core Ramayana audience in India still identifies with the melodrama of Ramanand Sagar's serial of the eighties. Also, will the experiment of spreading a well-known story over two films click?
ALPHA: SITA DECLARES SHE'LL SET LANKA ON FIRE
Meanwhile, Alpha, the latest addition to YRF's Spy Universe, has added a Ramayana spin to its action drama. The film is not strictly a reimagination of Ramayana the epic, for there is no actual Ravana to slay. However, the essence of the epic drives the plot – or so the trailer suggests.
The story of the epic and its tropes play a vital role in Alpha's effort to highlight women's empowerment, as the film asserts that today's Sita doesn't need Rama to destroy Ravana and burn down Lanka.
In the film's recently-released trailer, Alia's character, an assassin, is introduced as Sita. We get to know that Sita is kidnapped by the villain (played by Bobby Deol). As the trailer introduces the villain, Sita's voiceover declares: "Ek raakshas tha, ghamand uska shastra tha (there was once a demon, his weapon was arrogance)." The trailer then reveals the "raakshas" kidnapped the princess, before adding: "Itihaas jaanta hai yeh kahaani kaise khatm hui. Par iss baar Sita khud Lanka jalaane aayi hai (History knows how this story ended. This time, though, Sita is here to burn down Lanka by herself)."
While Alia fans look forward to seeing their star strike Alpha mode, many on social media are not amused by the Ramayana parallel.
"Alia Bhatt's 'Is Baar Lanka Sita Jalayeegi' dialogue in Alpha has triggered a massive controversy! While some praised the bold twist, critics accused the YRF Spy Universe of mocking the Ramayana and hurting Hindu sentiments. Social media is now divided over the viral dialogue," posted FILMO MANIA on Facebook.
"This is unacceptable and it is done to hurt Hindu sentiments. A spy does many disgusting things and goddess Sita's name can't be used. Boycott Alpha at any cost," wrote user @rncunc on X.
Producer Aditya Chopra and director Shiv Rawail's brainwave of pitching an assassin named Sita as the destroyer of the villain's 'Lanka' clearly needs to find more fans for the film to score at the box office.
VARANASI: LEGEND OF RAMA AMID TIME TRAVEL
While the Alpha trailer has been accused of giving away the film's story. SS Rajamouli has so far been as secretive as ever with his upcoming mega project, Varanasi. Despite early international campaigns and extensive social media hype, next to nothing has officially been declared about the film.
From what has methodically been revealed so far, the legend of Rama forms an important part of the Varanasi screenplay. Rajamouli stated during the film's launch that Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu plays Lord Rama in the film, though we know his character's name is Rudhra.
Unconfirmed reports state Mahesh Babu has a dual role in the film. While Rudra is the protagonist, the actor also plays Lord Rama through a significant portion of the film. The idea got a boost a while back when a digital hoarding appeared in Guntur showing Mahesh Babu as Lord Rama, bow in hand. "Mahesh Babu as Sri Ram," the hoarding said.
Here's what we know about the plot: The film follows the story of Rudhra even as an asteroid strike threatens the city of Varanasi. The larger story unfolds over several yugas from Treta Yuga to Kali Yuga and across multiple continents, including Asia, Africa and Antarctica. Lord Rama, we know, belongs to Treta Yuga.
"On the first day, when Mahesh came in Lord Rama's get-up for the photo shoot, I got goosebumps. I was torn. Mahesh has the charm of Krishna but the calmness of Rama," Rajamouli said at the launch, adding that a segment pertaining to Ramayana had been shot over two months for the film.
Varanasi, co-starring Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj, aims to capture the essence of Ramayana amid a larger sci-fi action storyline. Rumoured to have a massive budget of more than Rs 1,200 crore, the film's pre-release hype has not surprisingly been global so far, including exclusive behind-the-scene showcasing at international events such as the Mexico ComicCon and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. That's high-pitch hardsell for high-risk vision.
STORY OF RAMA REMAINS A TRICKY BOX OFFICE DEAL
Can adding something extra to a Ramayana core help these films win at the box office? We'll know in due time. Meanwhile, trying to bring alive the epic with unconventional or novel spins has mostly not been a happy experience for Bollywood. Think Adipurush and Singham Again.
Om Raut's Adipurush (2023) tried going the Hollywood way with the epic, in terms of look and characters. But writing and VFX – two biggest essentials of a good mythological drama – were way below international standards. The Prabhas and Kriti Sanon starrer had a reported budget of Rs 500 crore but managed around Rs 300 crore at the global box office. Social media reactions mostly opined that the film failed to inspire despite being the story of Lord Rama, underlining the humongous expectation any film based on Ramayana comes with.
In 2024, Rohit Shetty tried something unconventional utilising the Ramayana plot. He structured Singham Again, the third adventure of the popular Bollywood character, Bajirao Singham, along the lines of the epic's storyline. In the film, Ajay Devgn as Singham must rescue his wife Avni (Kareena Kapoor) from the gangster Danger Lanka's (Arjun Kapoor) den in Sri Lanka. Shetty weaved in contemporary references to terrorism and drugs in the screenplay, with characters corresponding to Hanuman and Jatayu among others. There were the expected ad-ons from Shetty's Cop Universe – Veer Sooryavanshi (Akshay Kumar) and Sangram 'Simmba' Bhalerao (Ranveer Singh) pitched in to aid Singham, plus a cameo by Salman Khan as Chulbul Pandey from the Dabangg franchise. Despite all this, Shetty's ode to Ramayana managed to gross Rs 372.41 crore against a budget of around Rs 325 crore, per Sacnilk.
Ironically, the only Ramayana on the Indian screen that has worked in the past half a century is the one that had no ambition beyond narrating the story traditionally as we know it. That's Ramanand Sagar's Doordarshan show.
At the core of Ramayana is a hero's tale that continues to inspire generations of Indians, which is what sustains the epic's relevance. Alt visions cannot afford to tamper with that essence.
Let's go alt with the epic: That seems like an operative mantra lately when it comes to creating Ramayana for the big screen. Suddenly, the Indian mainstream is out hunting for 'something fresh' when it comes to reimagining the epic for cinema. Is it working? Now, that's the story.
Recent outcomes of such a fixation have ranged from Adipurush to Singham Again, but more of that later. Let's first look at major productions lined up that will try to tap the legend of Rama, and what tweaks they'll try to offer to the epic.
From July 2026 to Diwali 2027, notable instances include YRF's Alpha, SS Rajamouli's Varanasi and the two-part Ramayana. Each of these films has high stakes for big-ticket casts and crew, which brings to focus an interesting fact. Historically, except Ramanand Sagar's Doordarshan mega serial Ramayana of the late eighties, no film or series based on or interpreting the epic has quite managed to capture the nation's imagination. The audience in India can be deeply protective when it comes to their favourite sacred text.
RAMAYANA: OF VFX TWEAKS AND A LAYERED RAVANA
Ask the makers of the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Ramayana, who've faced the heat ever since the film's first glimpse dropped. Social media has been dissecting every bit of director Nitesh Tiwari and producer Namit Malhotra's ambitious two-part endeavour, from the inconsistent colour of an extra's turban to Ranbir Kapoor's casting as Lord Rama. Users noted that Ayodhya Kaand of the epic mentions Rama had "the complexion of a dark lotus flower". Conversation in the media also dwelt upon how Tulsidas in the Ramcharitmanas describes Rama as "Tanu ghana shyama (cloudy dark body)" while Kapoor is fair-skinned. Finicky cyber commentators have not stopped at skin colour. Many have observed Kapoor's gym-toned physique looks too western to pass off as an Indian God, just as Prabhas' did in Adipurush.
These, though, don't define an alternative vision of the epic. These merely reflect casting calls aimed at boosting box office chances with star power, for a two-film production rumoured to cost around Rs 4,000 crore.
Much of that staggering budget has been allocated to what promises to be cutting-edge visual effects, being handled by Oscar-winning VFX studio DNEG. In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, producer Malhotra described Ramayana as an "Avatar meets Gladiator moment". Reportedly, a major part of the effort to redefine how we perceive the epic lies in how the two films look and sound on screen – VFX extravaganza becomes a vital character in the two films while Oscar-winning composers Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman collaborate to create the films' score.
But Ramayana's challenge lies beyond looking good. Director Tiwari has described the creative battle as "intimidating, challenging and inspiring," during a conversation with Ranbir Kapoor a while back. On a narrative level, Tiwari's tweaks will include interpreting Ravana as a layered antagonist. The character, portrayed by Kannada superstar Yash, won't be a one-dimensional villain but an intelligent leader and a devout disciple of Shiva. The idea is to position Ravana as a morally complex man who was ultimately done in by his ego.
The challenge could be more intimidating than Tiwari and Malhotra think. For a Rs 4,000-crore franchise, an alt vision to redefine the mighty Ravana might just be a risk, more so because there have been questions about the casting of Rama. This is a film that needs to comprehensively reach out to the masses, for a large part of the core Ramayana audience in India still identifies with the melodrama of Ramanand Sagar's serial of the eighties. Also, will the experiment of spreading a well-known story over two films click?
ALPHA: SITA DECLARES SHE'LL SET LANKA ON FIRE
Meanwhile, Alpha, the latest addition to YRF's Spy Universe, has added a Ramayana spin to its action drama. The film is not strictly a reimagination of Ramayana the epic, for there is no actual Ravana to slay. However, the essence of the epic drives the plot – or so the trailer suggests.
The story of the epic and its tropes play a vital role in Alpha's effort to highlight women's empowerment, as the film asserts that today's Sita doesn't need Rama to destroy Ravana and burn down Lanka.
In the film's recently-released trailer, Alia's character, an assassin, is introduced as Sita. We get to know that Sita is kidnapped by the villain (played by Bobby Deol). As the trailer introduces the villain, Sita's voiceover declares: "Ek raakshas tha, ghamand uska shastra tha (there was once a demon, his weapon was arrogance)." The trailer then reveals the "raakshas" kidnapped the princess, before adding: "Itihaas jaanta hai yeh kahaani kaise khatm hui. Par iss baar Sita khud Lanka jalaane aayi hai (History knows how this story ended. This time, though, Sita is here to burn down Lanka by herself)."
While Alia fans look forward to seeing their star strike Alpha mode, many on social media are not amused by the Ramayana parallel.
"Alia Bhatt's 'Is Baar Lanka Sita Jalayeegi' dialogue in Alpha has triggered a massive controversy! While some praised the bold twist, critics accused the YRF Spy Universe of mocking the Ramayana and hurting Hindu sentiments. Social media is now divided over the viral dialogue," posted FILMO MANIA on Facebook.
"This is unacceptable and it is done to hurt Hindu sentiments. A spy does many disgusting things and goddess Sita's name can't be used. Boycott Alpha at any cost," wrote user @rncunc on X.
Producer Aditya Chopra and director Shiv Rawail's brainwave of pitching an assassin named Sita as the destroyer of the villain's 'Lanka' clearly needs to find more fans for the film to score at the box office.
VARANASI: LEGEND OF RAMA AMID TIME TRAVEL
While the Alpha trailer has been accused of giving away the film's story. SS Rajamouli has so far been as secretive as ever with his upcoming mega project, Varanasi. Despite early international campaigns and extensive social media hype, next to nothing has officially been declared about the film.
From what has methodically been revealed so far, the legend of Rama forms an important part of the Varanasi screenplay. Rajamouli stated during the film's launch that Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu plays Lord Rama in the film, though we know his character's name is Rudhra.
Unconfirmed reports state Mahesh Babu has a dual role in the film. While Rudra is the protagonist, the actor also plays Lord Rama through a significant portion of the film. The idea got a boost a while back when a digital hoarding appeared in Guntur showing Mahesh Babu as Lord Rama, bow in hand. "Mahesh Babu as Sri Ram," the hoarding said.
Here's what we know about the plot: The film follows the story of Rudhra even as an asteroid strike threatens the city of Varanasi. The larger story unfolds over several yugas from Treta Yuga to Kali Yuga and across multiple continents, including Asia, Africa and Antarctica. Lord Rama, we know, belongs to Treta Yuga.
"On the first day, when Mahesh came in Lord Rama's get-up for the photo shoot, I got goosebumps. I was torn. Mahesh has the charm of Krishna but the calmness of Rama," Rajamouli said at the launch, adding that a segment pertaining to Ramayana had been shot over two months for the film.
Varanasi, co-starring Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj, aims to capture the essence of Ramayana amid a larger sci-fi action storyline. Rumoured to have a massive budget of more than Rs 1,200 crore, the film's pre-release hype has not surprisingly been global so far, including exclusive behind-the-scene showcasing at international events such as the Mexico ComicCon and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. That's high-pitch hardsell for high-risk vision.
STORY OF RAMA REMAINS A TRICKY BOX OFFICE DEAL
Can adding something extra to a Ramayana core help these films win at the box office? We'll know in due time. Meanwhile, trying to bring alive the epic with unconventional or novel spins has mostly not been a happy experience for Bollywood. Think Adipurush and Singham Again.
Om Raut's Adipurush (2023) tried going the Hollywood way with the epic, in terms of look and characters. But writing and VFX – two biggest essentials of a good mythological drama – were way below international standards. The Prabhas and Kriti Sanon starrer had a reported budget of Rs 500 crore but managed around Rs 300 crore at the global box office. Social media reactions mostly opined that the film failed to inspire despite being the story of Lord Rama, underlining the humongous expectation any film based on Ramayana comes with.
In 2024, Rohit Shetty tried something unconventional utilising the Ramayana plot. He structured Singham Again, the third adventure of the popular Bollywood character, Bajirao Singham, along the lines of the epic's storyline. In the film, Ajay Devgn as Singham must rescue his wife Avni (Kareena Kapoor) from the gangster Danger Lanka's (Arjun Kapoor) den in Sri Lanka. Shetty weaved in contemporary references to terrorism and drugs in the screenplay, with characters corresponding to Hanuman and Jatayu among others. There were the expected ad-ons from Shetty's Cop Universe – Veer Sooryavanshi (Akshay Kumar) and Sangram 'Simmba' Bhalerao (Ranveer Singh) pitched in to aid Singham, plus a cameo by Salman Khan as Chulbul Pandey from the Dabangg franchise. Despite all this, Shetty's ode to Ramayana managed to gross Rs 372.41 crore against a budget of around Rs 325 crore, per Sacnilk.
Ironically, the only Ramayana on the Indian screen that has worked in the past half a century is the one that had no ambition beyond narrating the story traditionally as we know it. That's Ramanand Sagar's Doordarshan show.
At the core of Ramayana is a hero's tale that continues to inspire generations of Indians, which is what sustains the epic's relevance. Alt visions cannot afford to tamper with that essence.
