Income Tax Department Raids Offices of Ramayana Producer Namit Malhotra

The Income Tax Department has searched the Mumbai offices of Prime Focus Ltd, owned by filmmaker Namit Malhotra, just weeks before the release of his major film Ramayana. The searches began on October 7 and continued into Wednesday morning, extending to the premises of individuals linked to the company. Officials are examining certain foreign remittance transactions, though specific details about these financial deals remain undisclosed. This development affected market trading, causing Prime Focus shares to drop around 8 percent in morning trading on October 7. Founded in Mumbai in 1997, Prime Focus Studios provides visual effects, post-production, animation, and technology services globally. The company is closely associated with DNEG, an Oscar-winning visual-effects studio that has won eight Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for films such as Inception, Interstellar, and Dune: Part Two. Prime Focus is now backing Ramayana alongside Yash, with the production billed as a global-scale cinematic spectacle directed by Nitesh Tiwari based on Valmiki's Sanskrit epic. The film features a star-studded cast including Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman, and Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, alongside Anupam Kher, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Kunal Kapoor, Adinath Kothare, Arun Govil, Indira Krishnan, and Lara Dutta. Produced by Prime Focus Studios, Monster Mind Creations, and DNEG, the project has a reported budget of 4,000 crore rupees, making it one of the most expensive films in Indian cinema. The movie will release in two parts, with the first part scheduled to hit theatres on Diwali 2026.

Context

Tax searches on business premises are part of standard financial audits and investigations conducted by government authorities into corporate transactions. High-profile entertainment projects often involve large budgets, international partnerships, and complex financial structures across multiple companies and global territories.