“₹4,000 Crore? Part 1 Cost Under ₹800 Crore”: Ram Gopal Varma Wades Into Ramayana’s Budget Debate And Predicts A 10x Sequel
Ram Gopal Varma says Ramayana Part 1 cost under ₹800 crore, not ₹4,000 crore, and predicts Part 2 will earn 10x. Here are his claims and the caveats.
Ram Gopal Varma opened his post with a personal story: his mother, he wrote, did not do this even for his best films, but she is buying tickets for “Ramayana” and taking her housekeepers, watchmen and neighbours to see it. He cited the enthusiasm as proof of the film’s pull. The film, he said, is heading toward becoming one of Indian cinema’s biggest hits.
The Budget Argument
Some critics have argued that the film’s collections look modest against a reported ₹4,000 crore combined budget for both parts. Varma disputed that, saying any experienced filmmaker who has seen the film can tell Part 1 could not have cost more than ₹800 crore, a figure that includes tax benefits and subsidies that reduce the effective cost. He also said it makes no sense to split the budget evenly, comparing it to the unequal spend before and after a film’s interval. Much of the spend went into building the world of the Ramayana, which can be reused for the sequel, gaming and other projects, making it an asset rather than a one-time cost.
The Sequel Forecast
Varma said that on current earnings Malhotra could recover the cost of the first film, or even both, from Part 1, leaving non-theatrical revenue and all of Part 2’s income as profit. He teased Part 2’s big sequences, including Hanuman, the monkey army, Ram Setu, the burning of Lanka, Sita in Lanka, Kumbhakarna’s death and Ravana’s end. He pointed to “KGF 2,” which earned roughly five times its predecessor, and said he is confident “Ramayana 2” will earn 10 times Part 1: “If you do not agree with me, we will talk in 2028.”
