Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma renewed his praise for Ramayana: Rise of a Legend as the film crossed the Rs 1,200-crore mark worldwide within 10 days of its theatrical run. In a lengthy post on X, he backed producer Namit Malhotra’s financial strategy and predicted that the film’s second part would earn 10 times as much as the first.Varma, who has watched the film twice and earlier called it the “Taj Mahal of cinema”, said its theatrical performance could allow Malhotra to recover the cost of the first instalment, or possibly both parts, through the first film itself.
He also dismissed criticism surrounding the reported budget and said the money spent on creating the world of Ramayana would generate assets for the sequel, gaming and other ventures.Varma began his latest post with an anecdote about his mother. “Even for the best of my films, she didn’t do this, but my mother has been buying tickets for Namit Malhotra’s Ramayana for the servants, watchmen and others in the building complex where she lives,” he wrote.He said the enthusiasm around the film had helped it break box-office records and put it on course to become what he described as the “biggest hit ever in Indian cinematic history”. However, he said some people continued to argue that its collections were insufficient because the two films had reportedly cost Rs 2,000 crore each, taking the combined budget to Rs 4,000 crore.
Varma claimed that the actual cost of the first part was slightly below Rs 800 crore. He said this figure included mutually beneficial deals, global tax benefits and subsidies that would eventually reduce the cost further.
According to him, any reasonably experienced filmmaker could tell by watching the film that its cost could not have exceeded that amount.He also rejected the assumption that both parts would cost the same. Comparing the two films to the two halves of a single movie, he wrote, “That’s like thinking the cost before the interval and after the interval will be the same in a film.
I know of films where 50 per cent of the cost was just the climax.” Even for the best of my films she din’t do this , but my mother has been buying tickets of @malhotra_namit ‘s #Ramayana for the servants , watch men etc in the building complex she lives , and inspite of this kind of euphoria leading it to breaking all box office records and fast emerging as the BIGGEST HIT EVER in INDIAN CINEMATIC HISTORY, stil lot of noise is being made by many jealous that the collections are still not enough because it’s 2000 cr a piece making it 4000 for 2 I got to know that the actual cost of part 1 is a little less than 800 and that includes mutually beneficial deals , global tax benefits , subsidy elements etc etc which all will eventually bring the cost to lesser than that .. And not only me but any reasonably experienced film maker by seeing the film can see the cost can’t be more than that ..
Also many are stupid to assume that both parts will cost same ..That’s like thinking the cost before interval and post interval will be same in a film ..I know of films where 50% of the cost was just climax Also much of the cost will include costs of creating the world of Ramayana which becomes future assets for gaming and various other aspects including assets for part 2 , which are all a part of Namit’s visionary future outings .. And this part I frankly think , can’t even be understood by most Bollywood makers , traders and other self proclaimed experts So going by how it’s bull running now , it is obvious that Namit Malhotra is going to cover the entire cost of part 1 or maybe both parts in part 1 itself and then there’s the non theatrical of part 1 and all revenue inflows of part 2 So in other words Namit Malhotra can build his own Pushpak vimaan and start dumping money into innumerable extraordinary ventures which all the biggest production companies from north to south couldn’t do till now and then he can surpass even the biggest of the biggest Hollywood biggies I don’t know what happened to Valmiki Ji or Tulsidas ji after they did their work , but it’s an irrefutable fact that , from now onwards Namit Malhotra will be the biggest mega film maker in history since 1913’s May 3rd release Raja Harishchandra , till whichever the biggest film came before November 5 th 2026 ..If anyone has a doubt just do the math And the fact that the most fantastic action set pieces will be in part 2 starting from the Hanuman acts , Vaanar Sena , Ram Sethu , Lanka dhahanam , Sita in Lanka , Kumbha Karan’s death , Ravan vadh and many many more just to name a few , and going by the extraordinary proven Vision of Namit Malhotra’s combination of strategy , business acumen , creative understanding and visionary outlook, If KGF 2 did around 5 times more than KGF 1 , I am convinced that Ramayana 2 will do 10 times more than Ramayana part 1 ..If you disagree , we will talk in 2028— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) November 15, 2026‘Pushpak vimaan’ and future assetsVarma said a substantial part of the expenditure had gone into creating the world of Ramayana.
Those elements, he argued, would become future assets for gaming, the second film and other projects planned by Malhotra.He said most Bollywood filmmakers, trade analysts and self-proclaimed experts would not understand that strategy. Given the film’s current box-office run, Varma predicted that Malhotra would recover the entire cost of the first part, and perhaps that of both films, through the first instalment alone.
He added that this would be followed by non-theatrical revenue from the first film and all revenue generated by the sequel.Using an image from the epic, Varma joked that Malhotra could then “build his own Pushpak vimaan” and put money into several ambitious ventures that even the biggest production companies across north and south India had not attempted. He said this could eventually allow Malhotra to surpass major Hollywood studios.Varma also referred to Valmiki and Tulsidas while making another sweeping prediction about the producer. “I don’t know what happened to Valmiki ji or Tulsidas ji after they did their work, but it is an irrefutable fact that, from now onwards, Namit Malhotra will be the biggest mega filmmaker in history since the May 3, 1913, release of Raja Harishchandra, up to whichever was the biggest film before November 5.
If anyone has a doubt, just do the maths,” he wrote.Varma predicts a bigger second partThe filmmaker said the second instalment would feature major action sequences involving Hanuman, the Vaanar Sena, Ram Sethu, the burning of Lanka, Sita in Lanka, Kumbhakarna’s death and the killing of Ravana, among other episodes.Citing what he called Malhotra’s proven combination of strategy, business acumen, creative understanding and vision, Varma compared the two Ramayana films with the KGF franchise. “If KGF 2 did around five times more than KGF 1, I am convinced that Ramayana 2 will do 10 times more than Ramayana Part 1. If you disagree, we will talk in 2028,” he wrote.Second viewing strengthens Varma’s praiseVarma had earlier said that he was equally impressed after watching Ramayana: Rise of a Legend for the second time.
Describing himself as an atheist, he said he was assessing the film as a cinema enthusiast rather than as a devotee of Ram.He praised the film’s ambition, scale, visual effects and performances. According to him, some critics had failed to recognise how its visual spectacle strengthened its emotional impact.
He credited director Nitesh Tiwari and Malhotra with attempting something that Indian cinema had not imagined before.This was not Varma’s first endorsement of the film. In an earlier post, he had described it as a powerful cinematic experience and urged its makers not to be discouraged by unfavourable reviews.
He compared the criticism to “barking street dogs” when set against the effort involved in making the film.Produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios in collaboration with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, the film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. Sunny Deol appears as Lord Hanuman, with the character introduced in the first instalment’s post-credits scene.
The film is co-produced by Malhotra and Yash. The second part of the film is expected to release on Diwali 2028.- Ends