Ramayana Opens on 70,000 Screens With Alia Bhatt’s BTS Tribute

Ramayana: Rise Of A Legend arrived in cinemas on 5 November with early word strongly in its favour, but the moment that got fans talking started off-screen.

The family moment behind the spectacle

Alia Bhatt marked release day by posting two behind-the-scenes photographs from the sets of Ramayana. Ranbir Kapoor is in his Rama look, while their daughter Raha stands beside him, holding on and gazing up at what looks like a large forest-themed set. Alia paired the photos with a short note for her husband: “you poured everything into this one and somehow still had all of it left for her.”

The post works because it grounds a colossal production in something recognisable: a working parent being celebrated by their partner. For an audience about to watch Ranbir play Rama, that personal note adds warmth before the scale of the film kicks in.

A release built like a global blockbuster

The film is not thinking small. Reports put its budget at Rs 4,000 crore, and the makers have tied up with Sony Pictures for a global rollout. The release is said to span 70,000 screens, which would make it the widest opening for an Indian film.

• Budget: Rs 4,000 crore, among the most expensive productions in the world
• Release: a reported 70,000 screens worldwide with Sony Pictures
• VFX: DNEG, the eight-time Oscar-winning visual effects studio
• Core cast: Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana

It is being positioned as an Indian production with the scale of a Hollywood blockbuster, and the sourcing of the story underlines that ambition. The adaptation uses Valmiki’s epic as its spine and also draws on other retellings, including Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas.

A bet on the next phase of Indian cinema

Produced by Namit’s Prime Focus and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, the film is a deliberate move to export Indian mythology at blockbuster scale. The combination of a global distributor, an Oscar-winning VFX house and a built-in audience for the Ramayana makes this both a cultural release and a commercial test.

If the film sustains its early reviews, it could reset expectations for how Indian budgets, screen counts and distribution partners are planned. If it stumbles, the industry will still learn from its scale. Either way, opening day already carries news value: Alia’s post made the launch human, and the screen count made it historic.

Why this matters for Hindi film fans

A Ramayana adaptation was always going to arrive with cultural weight. What makes this one different is the frame around it: the widest screen count an Indian film has attempted, a global studio partner, and a VFX team with a blockbuster pedigree. Early reactions suggest the film is being received as the event it was designed to be.

For fans, the practical takeaway is straightforward. This is a theatrical experience built for the largest screen you can find, and the positive early buzz makes an advance booking safer than waiting for a second weekend. The Alia-Raha post is the emotional hook; the 70,000-screen rollout is the reason the film may genuinely travel beyond the traditional Bollywood map.

Source: The Times of India