From Ramayana to RRR: The most expensive Indian films ever made

The National · David Tusing · 2026-11-05 12:37 UTC

As Nitesh Tiwari's two-part epic sets a new benchmark, we look at the blockbusters with the biggest reported budgets

Indian cinema has never been short of ambition. But Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash, is taking that ambition to another level.

With a reported combined budget exceeding 4,000 crore rupees ($445 million), the two-part adaptation of the Hindu epic is being described as the most expensive Indian film project ever.

Producer Namit Malhotra, whose visual effects company DNEG has worked on Hollywood blockbusters including Dune, has put the project's cost at about $500 million.

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