With Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part cinematic take on the epic just weeks away from its November 5 theatrical release, Ramayana: Part 1 has become the story of the moment — from a tax-free announcement in West Bengal to Dussehra celebrations with the cast. Here are five things to know about the year’s most-anticipated Indian film.
1. It just went tax-free in West Bengal. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced during Vijayadashami celebrations that the film will be exempt from entertainment tax in the state, name-checking The Kerala Story, The Kashmir Files and The Bengal Files alongside it. The exemption should make tickets cheaper across Kolkata and the rest of Bengal — and give the film’s opening a real lift in a key market.
2. The casting is genuinely star-studded. Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Rama opposite Sai Pallavi’s Sita, with Kannada superstar Yash as Ravana and Ravi Dubey as Lakshmana. The ensemble goes deep: Sunny Deol as Hanuman, Arun Govil — television’s beloved Rama — as King Dasharatha, plus Anupam Kher, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Lara Dutta, Vivek Oberoi and Kunal Kapoor.
3. The music is a Hans Zimmer–AR Rahman collaboration. Two of the world’s most decorated film composers are scoring the film together — a pairing that has never happened at this scale in Indian cinema, and a big part of why the film is being talked about internationally.
4. It’s a planned two-parter with serious muscle behind it. Part 1 arrives on November 5, 2026, with Part 2 targeted for Diwali 2027. The film is mounted by producer Namit Malhotra — the DNEG visual-effects chief — and Yash, with a screenplay by Tiwari and Shridhar Raghavan, and is built around large-scale VFX and an expansive cinematic treatment of Valmiki’s epic.
5. The Dussehra build-up has been electric. The makers marked the festival with Yash’s fierce “Rise of Asura” Ravana Tandav reveal, while Ranbir, Yash, Namit Malhotra and Tiwari appeared alongside the Bengal CM at the Kolkata celebrations. Advance bookings have reportedly already crossed ₹4.78 crore for opening day — a sign the epic’s opening could be historic.
