Global first, desi later: Ramayan’s bold, big screen move beyond Indian box office
The teaser of Ramayan hints at a bold global-first rollout, with the makers introducing the epic to international audiences from the very beginning. That’s why this ambitious vision, backed by scale and storytelling, could redefine the way Indian epics travel around the world.
The teaser of Ramayan, released on Thursday, makes one thing clear: this is no regular big budget film. This is a carefully planned, high-risk project – emotionally, financially and cinematically. And projects of this scale are rarely built for one market alone.
Directed by Nitish Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra, the two-part Ramayan is being presented with a global perspective from the beginning. It wouldn’t be unfair to describe its approach as “global first, desi second” – an Indian story, but presented to the world in a language it understands.
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This intention is reflected in the way the film has been presented. Before the teaser reached the Indian audience, it was first shown in front of a select group of audiences and media in Los Angeles. The buzz started immediately on social media and attendees described it as a rare cinematic experience. By the time the teaser came out in India a few days later, the conversation had crossed limits.
Some people found the delay unusual. But it also signaled a change. This is not a film that waits to be validated at home before taking it out. It’s about going out with confidence first, knowing full well that it’s already validated back home.
The scale of that ambition is supported by the film’s production. The casting of Ranbir Kapoor as Ram and Yash as Ravana is designed to balance familiarity with freshness. The involvement of global VFX company DNEG, which has multiple Academy Awards to its credit, adds another layer. It’s not just about telling a story; It’s about presenting it in a way that travels.
And there is a practical reason behind this approach. A film set on this scale, with a budget reportedly of around Rs 4,000 crore, cannot depend on one region. Economics demands a wide audience. But beyond the numbers, there is also a cultural argument: the Ramayana is not limited to India.
In fact, it was never like that.
Scholar A.K. Ramanujan, in his famous essay ‘Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation’, describes how this story has been told and retold in different regions for more than two millennia. From Southeast Asia to parts of East Asia, the narrative has taken different forms – sometimes changing characters, sometimes changing viewpoints, but always retaining its core.
In Thailand, Ramakien reimagines the epic in its own cultural context. In Indonesia, the story lives on through dance and shadow puppetry. In Cambodia and Laos, it appears in temple art and oral traditions. Even within India there is no single, definitive version. Valmiki’s statement is one among many.
What binds these versions is not uniformity, but familiarity. The themes remain recognizable: duty, exile, loyalty, love, the price of power, the pull between right and wrong. These are not ideas tied to any one geography. They travel because they are human.
The film seems to be leaning in this direction.
The teaser is not overwhelmed with information. It presents glimpses – Rama’s peace, Ravana’s towering presence, the creation of a world. It suggests a faith-based story, but told with the awareness that the audience may not share that context. It appears the aim is clarity, not complexity.
There is also a subtle change in the way the story is being framed. The Ramayana is a mythological tale for many audiences in India. For others, it is a moral lesson, even a cultural memory. The film seems to offer something broader than this: an account of values and choices, of a man trying to live up to an ideal, and the forces that challenge that ideal. In the teaser it is described as “Our Truth, Our History”.
That framing makes it easy to cross boundaries. You don’t need to know every detail of the epic to understand a son honoring his father’s word, a woman asserting her dignity, or a ruler plagued by ambition. These are entry points that work anywhere.
The idea of “global first” is not about dilution. It’s about translation – about scale, about storytelling and about emotions.
If anything, the film is based on a journey that began centuries ago. The Ramayana has already traveled through languages, performances and retellings. This is just its next medium.
And if the early glimpse is any indication, the makers aren’t holding back. They’re not asking if the world is ready for this story. They’re presenting it as something the world already knows in some form or another. This time, it’s coming to a bigger canvas – with the intention of staying put.