Ramayana: Is This India’s Biggest Film Budget Yet?

Ramayana's Reported Budget

Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana is arriving at the big screen on November 5, 2026. Expectations are sky-high, specifically after the hype created by the trailers and the discussions related to other things from the film.

Notably, the film’s budget has been a topic of discussion for a long time. The project was initially supposed to be made at Rs. 500 crores, and it kept on increasing, with the final figure touching the mark of Rs. 4,000 crores. Notably, the number is combined with two parts, and the first part’s budget is Rs. 2,000 crores.

Keeping the criticism and everything else aside, Ramayana is undoubtedly one of the most expensive films so far from Bollywood. The last movie to have a record-breaking budget was Brahmastra, which was made with Rs. 400 crores, and people are looking forward to the sequel. Before this one, Thugs of Hindostan was the most expensive, with a budget of Rs. 310 crores.

The history of big-budget films dates back to 2001, when Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham was released, and its reported budget was Rs. 40 crores. This was followed by Devdas, with a budget of Rs. 44 crores.

In 2006, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna was made with Rs. 48 crores, followed by Jodha Akbar with Rs. 55 crores. Akshay Kumar’s Blue, which emerged as a disaster, was also a high-budget film, with an investment of Rs. 80 crores. Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra One is also on the list; it was made with Rs. 130 crores.

Yash Raj Films upgraded a lot of things in Dhoom 3 with a budget of Rs. 175 crores. Sooraj Barjatya experimented with the same thing in Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo, whose budget was reported to be Rs. 180 crores. Tiger Zinda Hai was made at Rs. 210 crores, followed by Padmaavat at Rs. 215 crores.

Considering the investment made in the other films, Ramayana has set a figure that will be hard to break for a lot of producers in the upcoming years, and that too for a very long time. No other production company has planned a film of this scale so far, and the ones that are being made have touched the mark of Rs. 500 crores or less.

However, trade experts have said that in case Ramayana breaks all the records, it will give confidence to other filmmakers to pursue similar projects. But netizens have pointed out that each one of them cannot be expected to be successful, and the wait might be longer since a lot of care has to be taken in terms of content.

After the success of Drishyam The Conclusion, theatre owners and distributors are entirely depending on Ramayana to bring some good news for all of them. Advance bookings are already open, and it remains to be seen if the film will have a long run at the theatres while bringing some extraordinary collections at the same time.