Watch the Official Ramayana Trailer
The Ramayana trailer is finally out, dropping worldwide at 4:15 AM IST on July 30, timed to the Brahma Muhurat, the auspicious pre-dawn hour in Hindu tradition. Director Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part mythological epic has been one of Indian cinema’s most closely watched productions for months, and this first full trailer gives audiences their biggest look yet at Ranbir Kapoor‘s Lord Rama, Yash’s Ravana, and the scale producer Namit Malhotra has built around it.
Here’s everything the trailer reveals, the full cast, and what’s coming with Ramayana’s two-part release.
Ramayana Trailer: What’s Inside the Nearly Four-Minute Cut
Running close to four minutes, the trailer gives Ramayana room to move well beyond a standard teaser, cutting between Rama’s exile, Ravana’s introduction, and glimpses of the film’s climactic battle sequences. Namit Malhotra confirmed the release timing himself, framing the Brahma Muhurat drop as a deliberate choice to welcome the film’s dawn alongside the mythology it’s adapting. Shot for IMAX, the trailer’s scale is clearly built with the biggest possible screens in mind, and Sony Pictures’ involvement in distributing the film worldwide outside India signals just how global its ambitions are.
Ramayana Cast: Ranbir Kapoor Leads an Ensemble of Stars
Ranbir Kapoor headlines as Lord Rama, with Sai Pallavi playing Sita and Yash taking on Ravana in a role that’s already drawn comparisons to his star-making turn in KGF. Sunny Deol plays Hanuman, Ravie Dubey appears as Lakshman, and the supporting cast includes Kajal Aggarwal as Mandodari, Arun Govil as King Dasharath, and Vivek Oberoi as Vidyutjihva. That combination of major Bollywood, Kannada, and South Indian stars reflects the pan-India ambitions Ramayana has carried since it was first announced.
Nitesh Tiwari and Namit Malhotra Behind the Scale
Nitesh Tiwari, best known for directing Dangal, takes on his most ambitious project yet with Ramayana, while producer Namit Malhotra brings the backing of Prime Focus Studios and DNEG, the Oscar-winning visual effects house behind films like Interstellar and Dune. That VFX pedigree is central to how Ramayana has been marketed from the start, with Malhotra positioning the film as an attempt to set a new global benchmark for what Indian cinema’s visual effects can achieve on an IMAX-scale canvas.
Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman Score the Epic
Ramayana pairs two Academy Award-winning composers, Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman, for its score, a rare combination that underlines the film’s crossover ambitions between Indian and international audiences. Having both composers attached gives the trailer’s music a scale to match its visuals, and the pairing has already become one of the most talked-about details of the production alongside its cast.
The Most Expensive Indian Film Ever Made
Producer Namit Malhotra has said the combined budget across both parts is expected to exceed Rs 4,000 crore, or roughly $500 million, making Ramayana the most expensive Indian film project to date by a wide margin. That budget reflects the two-part structure’s scale as much as any single film’s cost, spreading an enormous production across two theatrical releases rather than compressing everything into one runtime.
San Diego Comic-Con Set the Stage
Ramayana’s global rollout got an early boost when Yash, Ranbir Kapoor, Nitesh Tiwari, and Namit Malhotra appeared together at San Diego Comic-Con on July 23, giving international fans an exclusive first look, complete with live performances, ahead of this trailer’s release. Bringing an Indian mythological epic to Comic-Con’s Ballroom 20, a stage typically reserved for Hollywood’s biggest franchises, was itself a statement about how the film is being positioned on the world stage.
Release Plan: Two Parts, Two Diwalis
Ramayana releases as a two-part saga, with Part 1 arriving in theaters this Diwali 2026 and Part 2 following a full year later at Diwali 2027. Splitting the story across two festive-season releases mirrors how major two-part epics have been handled elsewhere, giving each installment its own dedicated theatrical window rather than releasing both parts in close succession.
Why This Trailer Matters for Indian Cinema
Beyond any single film’s box office performance, Ramayana carries real weight as a test case for how far Indian productions can push scale, VFX, and global distribution simultaneously. Pairing a Sony Pictures worldwide release with an India-based VFX pipeline through DNEG, rather than outsourcing the effects work entirely to Western studios, positions the film as a statement about what Indian-led productions can achieve on a genuinely global stage rather than treating international scale as something only Hollywood can deliver.
FAQ: Ramayana Trailer and Release
When does Ramayana release?
Part 1 releases in theaters during Diwali 2026, with Part 2 following at Diwali 2027.
Who plays Rama and Ravana in Ramayana?
Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Rama, and Yash plays Ravana, alongside Sai Pallavi as Sita and Sunny Deol as Hanuman.
Who composed the music for Ramayana?
Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman composed the score together.
How many parts does Ramayana have?
The film is a two-part epic, with each part receiving its own Diwali theatrical release a year apart.
For more upcoming Bollywood releases, check our 2026 Upcoming Bollywood Movies list, and for the year’s full box office picture, see our Bollywood Box Office 2026 tracker.
More on the film via AOL Entertainment and Rotten Tomatoes.
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