Ramayana on screen: from the silent era to Ramanand Sagar and Nitesh Tiwari

Few stories have been filmed in India as often as the Ramayana. Every generation of Indian screen-makers, from the pioneers of silent cinema to the studios of the streaming age, has returned to the tale of Rama, Sita and Ravana, and each version says as much about its own era’s technology and taste as it does about the epic. As Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part Ramayana reaches cinemas, here is a look back at the landmark adaptations that came before it, and at the expectations they have left for the new film.

The silent era: Phalke's <em>Lanka Dahan</em> (1917)

The story of the Ramayana on film begins with Dadasaheb Phalke, the man often called the father of Indian cinema. Lanka Dahan (“Lanka Aflame”), released in 1917, was Phalke’s second feature film after Raja Harishchandra (1913), the first full-length Indian feature. It dramatised an episode from the Sundara Kanda in which Hanuman finds Sita in Lanka and, after Ravana orders his tail to be set alight, burns the city.

Because women did not then act in commercial performances, Anna Salunke, who had played Rani Taramati in Raja Harishchandra, played both Rama and Sita. He is credited with the first double role in Indian cinema. Audiences in Bombay reportedly took off their shoes when Rama appeared on screen, and the film’s trick photography and special effects were a major draw. Film historian Amrit Gangar has recounted that coins from the ticket counters were collected in gunny bags and carried to the producer’s office on bullock carts.

The studio era: mythologicals become blockbusters

<em>Sampoorna Ramayana</em> (1961)

By the sound era, the Hindu mythological film had become a genre of its own. Vijay Bhatt’s Ram Rajya (1943) was hugely popular, and in 1961 director Babubhai Mistry, produced by Homi Wadia’s Basant Pictures, released Sampoorna Ramayana (“The Complete Ramayana”). Mahipal played Rama and Anita Guha played Sita, a role that made her a household name. Mistry, known throughout his career for special effects, used them extensively, and the film was a box-office hit.

Music was central to its success. Vasant Desai composed the score with lyrics by Bharat Vyas, and Lata Mangeshkar’s songs, including “Baadalon Barso Nain Ki Kor Se”, are still remembered. The cast also included Lalita Pawar as Manthara, a role she would play again a quarter of a century later on television.

<em>Lava Kusa</em> (1963)

In the south, the defining Ramayana film of the period was the Telugu-Tamil bilingual Lava Kusa, directed by C. Pullayya and his son C. S. Rao. A remake of Pullayya’s own 1934 film, it focuses on the Uttara Kanda: Sita’s exile and the lives of her twin sons, Lava and Kusa. N. T. Rama Rao played Rama and Anjali Devi played Sita, with music by Ghantasala.

Production began in 1958 but stalled over finances, partly because the producer had decided to shoot in colour. When it was finally released on 29 March 1963 (Telugu) and 19 April 1963 (Tamil), it became the first full-length colour film in Telugu cinema. It ran for 75 weeks, grossed more than ₹1 crore and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. N. T. Rama Rao’s portrayal of Rama became so identified with him that he returned to the role in several later films.

Television's defining moment: Ramanand Sagar's <em>Ramayan</em> (1987–88)

No adaptation has shaped how Indians picture the epic more than Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan. Created, written and directed by Sagar for Doordarshan, it aired on DD National from 25 January 1987 to 31 July 1988. Arun Govil played Ram, Dipika Chikhlia played Sita, Sunil Lahri played Lakshman, Arvind Trivedi played Ravan and Dara Singh played Hanuman, with music by Ravindra Jain.

The series drew primarily on Valmiki’s Ramayana and Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas. It was planned as 52 episodes but was extended three times because of public demand, ending at 78. Contemporary accounts describe a phenomenon: streets emptied when episodes aired on Sunday mornings, and some viewers garlanded their television sets before the show began. English-language critics complained about its slow pacing and modest effects, but its audience was enormous, and demand for the Uttara Kanda led to a follow-up series, Luv Kush.

The show had a second life in 2020. With India under a COVID-19 lockdown, Doordarshan began re-telecasting it from 28 March 2020. DD National said that 7.7 crore (77 million) people watched it on 16 April 2020 and called it the most-watched entertainment programme in the world, a claim widely reported at the time.

An Indo-Japanese experiment: <em>The Legend of Prince Rama</em>

One of the most unusual adaptations came from Japan. Filmmaker Yugo Sako encountered the epic in 1983 while making a documentary about archaeological excavations in India and decided it should be told through animation. Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama, co-directed by Sako, Koichi Sasaki and Indian animator Ram Mohan and scored by Vanraj Bhatia, went into principal animation in 1990 with around 450 artists from both countries.

The project ran into objections in India over depicting gods as animated figures and was completed in Japan. It premiered at the International Film Festival of India in New Delhi in January 1993 but received only a limited Indian release. It later found an audience on television, and a Hindi dub featured Arun Govil voicing Rama and Amrish Puri voicing Ravana. A shortened US version, The Prince of Light, followed in 2001, and a 4K remaster reached Indian cinemas on 24 January 2025 with new Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubs.

A cautionary tale: <em>Adipurush</em> (2023)

The most recent big-budget attempt before Tiwari’s was Om Raut’s Adipurush, released on 16 June 2023 and shot in Hindi and Telugu. According to Variety, Raut was inspired to make it by the Japanese animated film. Prabhas played Raghava (Rama), Saif Ali Khan played Lankesh (Ravana) and Kriti Sanon played Janaki (Sita). It was one of the most expensive Indian films made up to that point.

Its October 2022 teaser was heavily criticised for its visual effects, and the release was postponed so the effects could be reworked. When the film opened, its modern, colloquial dialogue drew widespread criticism, and the makers announced that some lines would be revised. Critics panned the film. It holds a 7% score from 15 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and it is generally regarded as a box-office failure, although it was the second-highest-grossing Telugu film of 2023. A line calling Sita a “daughter of India” also briefly led authorities in Kathmandu to bar screenings of Indian films.

Where Nitesh Tiwari's <em>Ramayana</em> fits

The new film arrives with this history behind it. First announced in 2017 and initially conceived as a trilogy, it was restructured as a two-part film directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios with Yash’s Monster Mind Creations. Part 1 opens in cinemas worldwide on 5 November 2026, and Part 2 is planned for Diwali 2027. You can follow the dates on our release date and updates page.

Several things set the project apart from its predecessors:

• Scale. Malhotra has said the two parts are being made on a budget of ₹4,000 crore, according to The Indian Express.
• Format. Prime Focus says the film was “filmed for IMAX” and crafted for a worldwide audience.
• Visual effects. DNEG and ReDefine, both part of the Prime Focus Group, are the VFX partners, and DNEG is also a co-producer.
• Music. For the first time, Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman are composing together. Read more on our music and soundtrack page.
• International crew. Action is choreographed by Terry Notary and Guy Norris, and production design is by Ravi Bansal and Ramsey Avery.

The cast, detailed on our cast and crew page, is led by Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. One piece of casting links the new film to the past. Arun Govil, who became synonymous with Rama through Sagar’s serial and later voiced him in the Hindi dub of the anime, plays Rama’s father, King Dasharatha.

Whether Tiwari’s version becomes a landmark will depend on audiences, not budgets. History suggests that viewers embrace new technology, from Phalke’s trick shots to colour film to television, when it serves the story with sincerity, and reject it when it does not. For an overview of the new film’s plot and structure, see our story and overview guide.