Ramayana cleared with U certificate and 3h 15m runtime

Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana has cleared the Central Board of Film Certification with a U certificate, the CBFC website shows. The censorship process was completed on October 30 — less than a week before the film opens worldwide on November 5, just ahead of Diwali.

What the official listing confirms

The board has listed the runtime at 195 minutes, or 3 hours and 15 minutes. That makes Ramayana one of the longer mainstream releases of the festive season, and it gives audiences a clear sense of the scale Nitesh Tiwari is attempting.

The CBFC page carries the official synopsis: Ravana conquers the three worlds, Rama enters exile with Sita and Lakshmana, and Sita’s abduction sets up the “greatest war ever,” as the listing puts it. Details of any visual cuts have not been made official yet.

Why the U certificate matters

A U certificate allows unrestricted public exhibition, which is precisely the all-ages label an epic like this needs in the Diwali frame. Families can plan it as a festive outing; younger viewers are not excluded by an adult rating, even with a runtime that may test their patience.

For the trade, the rating removes a hurdle at the box office. A 3-hour-15-minute film already asks more of screens and audiences; a stricter certification would have narrowed the available audience further.

The IMAX squeeze

The film is destined for IMAX 3D, and that has a knock-on effect. Indian theatres are reportedly reserving limited IMAX screens for Ramayana, which has pushed Godzilla Minus Zero to November 20, according to trade speculation. The adventure film’s Indian marketing team has not responded to that claim.

For filmi fans, the practical takeaway is simple: premium formats may be scarce during the opening week, so early booking matters if IMAX 3D is your preferred way to see it.

Release formats and languages

• Formats: 2D, 3D, IMAX 3D, 4DX 3D and 3D Screen X
• Languages: Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and English

The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, with Yash and Sai Pallavi in key roles. The wider cast includes Sunny Deol, Ravi Dubey, Rakul Preet Singh, Arun Govil and Lara Dutta.

Source: The Times of India