Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
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.
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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.”
‘Pushpak vimaan’ and future assets
Varma 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 part
The 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 praise
Varma 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
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
