Ramayana: Hans Zimmer joined without seeing the pitch deck

Ramayana has already been one of Bollywood’s most talked-about productions because of its cast and scale. Now the film’s music team is adding another reason: a rare collaboration between AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer, revealed in a new behind-the-scenes video.

The pitch that didn’t need to be completed

Producer Namit Malhotra says he met Hans Zimmer in New York with a full presentation ready on the film’s world-building and story. After six or seven slides, Zimmer stopped him. “Namit, it is okay. I don’t need to see it,” Malhotra recalled Zimmer saying.

That trust, the team suggests, came from the scale of the story itself. In the video, Zimmer describes the work as a journey that has never been done before: music about gods and traditions that are thousands of years old, and that make India important globally.

How the two composers divided the score

AR Rahman explained that the partnership was not a case of two composers simply working in the same room. The two split the material: Rahman took charge of certain songs and themes, while Zimmer handled others, and the pieces were merged after a constant back-and-forth.

That division matters for fans. It suggests the Ramayana score may carry both Rahman’s familiar melodic identity and Zimmer’s large-scale orchestral texture, rather than one composer’s voice dominating the other.

Why Hans Zimmer’s name changes the film’s reach

Rahman has spoken about the practical value of the collaboration. In an earlier conversation with Hindustan Times, he said he usually prefers solo work, but called Zimmer’s involvement a blessing.

“Him coming onto the project is such a blessing because it changes the narrative.”

His reasoning was simple: an international audience may skip a title with only Indian names, but seeing Hans Zimmer’s name makes them curious about what he has done on an Indian project. That makes the music partnership as much a distribution and marketing decision as a creative one — a point Rahman himself called a great move by the producer.

• The makers released a behind-the-scenes video showing Indian and Western musicians building the film’s symphony together.
• Zimmer agreed after hearing just a few slides, not the complete pitch deck.
• The film, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, opens in theatres on November 5.

The practical takeaway

For producers and marketers, the Ramayana music team offers a simple lesson. When you are entering a market that may not know your work, a familiar name can win you an audition before the story has to do the persuading. Rahman’s point is not about replacing local identity; it is about pairing it with a name that already commands attention.

That does not make the film a guaranteed success, but it changes the first impression. For Ramayana, the music itself must still deliver.

Source: The Times of India