Director Nitesh Tiwari Shares Years of Prep Behind Upcoming Ramayana Film

Director Nitesh Tiwari and the cast of the upcoming film Ramayana have shared new details about the massive technical effort and years of preparation behind the project. During a recent promotional event in India following a premiere in Los Angeles, the team discussed the long development timeline, visual effects work, and design challenges.

The Making Of Ramayana

Nitesh Tiwari explained that finding the right story structure took the most time. The team wanted to stay true to Valmiki's Ramayana while also including popular stories from other versions of the epic. The director noted that a single action sequence, the battle between Ravana and Jatayu, took six and a half years to complete from the first artist briefing to the final work. Actor Ranbir Kapoor pointed out that thousands of people worked day and night on visual effects frames.

Designing The Pushpak Vimaan

The team also spent nearly two years finalising the design of the Pushpak Vimaan, creating forty to fifty different versions before choosing the final one. Tiwari noted that changes to the aircraft design required the team to completely rework the Ravana and Jatayu fight choreography. Ranbir Kapoor added that the fictional aircraft was designed with underlying scientific principles rather than pure imagination.

Cast And Release Details

Yash, who serves as a producer and actor on the project, explained that the team chose to take a major creative risk to share the cultural story with a global audience. Ramayana is a two-part adaptation directed by Nitesh Tiwari, with Part 1 scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on November 5 during Diwali, and Part 2 planned for Diwali 2028. The cast includes Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash, Sunny Deol, and Ravi Dubey, with music composed by Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman.

Context

Large-scale mythological adaptations in Indian cinema often require extended pre-production and advanced visual effects to recreate ancient epic settings. The project brings together multiple prominent actors and international technical studios for a two-part theatrical release schedule.