Ramayana

Part 1

Nitesh Tiwari’s film of Vālmīki’s epic reaches cinemas worldwide on 5 November 2026. This is a fan’s walk through the poem behind it.

Watch the trailer Begin with the first verse

How the poem begins · Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 1

“Who in this world, now, is truly good, and who is brave?”

The Rāmāyaṇa opens with a question. The poet Vālmīki asks the wandering sage Nārada whether anyone alive is good, brave, wise in what is right, grateful, truthful and true to his word. Nārada answers with a name, and tells the story of Rāma.

को न्वस्मिन् साम्प्रतं लोके गुणवान् कश्च वीर्यवान् ।धर्मज्ञश्च कृतज्ञश्च सत्यवाक्यो दृढव्रतः ॥

ko nvasmin sāmprataṃ loke guṇavān kaśca vīryavāndharmajñaśca kṛtajñaśca satyavākyo dṛḍhavrataḥ

Bāla Kāṇḍa 1.2 · Vālmīki to the sage Nārada

By the river Tamasā · Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 2

Soon after, bathing at the river Tamasā, Vālmīki watches a hunter shoot one of a pair of krauñca birds. The female circles her fallen mate, crying. Grief breaks out of the sage as a curse, and the curse comes out in perfect metre.

मा निषाद प्रतिष्ठां त्वमगमः शाश्वतीः समाः ।यत् क्रौञ्चमिथुनादेकमवधीः काममोहितम् ॥

mā niṣāda pratiṣṭhāṃ tvamagamaḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥyat krauñcamithunādekamavadhīḥ kāmamohitam

Hunter, may you find no rest for endless years, for you killed one of a pair of krauñca birds, lost in love.

Bāla Kāṇḍa 2.14 · Vālmīki to the hunter

Grief became verse.

शोक śoka, grief श्लोक śloka, verse

पादबद्धोऽक्षरसमस्तन्त्रीलयसमन्वितः ।शोकार्तस्य प्रवृत्तो मे श्लोको भवतु नान्यथा ॥

pādabaddho’kṣarasamastantrīlayasamanvitaḥśokārtasya pravṛtto me śloko bhavatu nānyathā

Bound in feet, even in syllables, fit for the strings and the beat: what came out of me in grief shall be called śloka, and nothing else.

Bāla Kāṇḍa 2.17 · Vālmīki, to his pupil

Śoka is grief. Śloka is verse. The pun is Vālmīki’s own.

Then Brahmā himself comes to the hermitage. रामस्य चरितं सर्वं कुरु: “tell the whole story of Rāma,” he says, in the new metre. Vālmīki composes it, and teaches it to Rāma’s own sons. (Bāla 2.30)

Three gods at the edge of the story

The film opens in a nebula with three faces: Brahmā, who creates, Viṣṇu, who protects, and Śiva, who destroys. Each of them leaves a mark on Vālmīki’s poem before Rāma takes a step.

ब्रह्मा Brahmā asks for the poem
He gives Vālmīki the metre and the task: tell the whole story of Rāma. Without Brahmā there is no Rāmāyaṇa to read.
विष्णु Viṣṇu chooses to be born
Rāvaṇa is safe from gods and demons but never asked to be safe from men, so Viṣṇu agrees to become one: four sons for Daśaratha.
शिव Śiva leaves a bow
His bow waits at Mithilā. Whoever can string it will marry Sītā. More on Śiva below.

The three gods as the film’s Introduction shows them, with its own titles.

Verses, by the traditional count: 24,000
Books, from Bāla to Uttara: 7
Syllables in a śloka, four feet of eight: 32
Years in the forest: 14

Before Rāma · Uttara Kāṇḍa

Rāvaṇa takes heaven

Long before Rāma is born, Rāvaṇa wins a boon from Brahmā, seizes Laṅkā from his half-brother Kubera, and marches on Svarga, the heaven of Indra. Vālmīki tells that war in the Uttara Kāṇḍa. The film opens with it.

Indra rides Airāvata, his white elephant, into the battle. It is not enough. In the poem, Rāvaṇa’s son takes Indra captive and is named Indrajit for it.

A lone figure walks across dark wet rock under a storm — I Rāvaṇa walks out of the storm, moments before he names himself the new king.

Rāvaṇa in mid-leap above white palaces and fallen soldiers — II Rāvaṇa leaps into a city of white palaces.

A crowned figure stands on the back of a winged white elephant between snowy peaks — III Indra stands on Airāvata, his winged white elephant, between the peaks.

A winged white elephant in flight over snowy mountains — IV Airāvata on the wing above the snows.

V Indra hurls the thunderbolt, his vajra, from Airāvata. It falls on Rāvaṇa, and he takes it on his blade.

A warrior leaps through the air at a winged white elephant with a golden crest — VI Rāvaṇa leaps at Airāvata.

A winged white elephant on a battlefield of snow and smoke — VII Airāvata, Indra’s elephant, crossing the battlefield.

A caped figure seen from behind between tall stone columns under a blue sky — VIII Rāvaṇa between the columns of Indra’s city.

Rāvaṇa in gold armour standing among white columns and broken stone — IX Rāvaṇa in gold among the white columns.

Rāvaṇa in gold armour with his arms spread before white columns — X Rāvaṇa claims the city, arms open.

Rāvaṇa seen from behind with arms spread over a vast white city — XI Above Indra’s city, the conqueror spreads his arms.

rāma + ayana

Rāmāyaṇa means Rāma’s journey

Part 1 follows that journey from the palace to the forest, across the first three of Vālmīki’s seven books. Seven stops, in the poem’s own order.

Viṣṇu in the cosmic ocean, the sacrificial fire, Ayodhyā from above, and Daśaratha with his queens and newborn sons. Hindi trailer.
I · Bāla Kāṇḍa · Ayodhyā
Four sons for a king
Daśaratha of the Ikṣvāku line rules Ayodhyā on the river Sarayū, and he has no heir. The sage Ṛṣyaśṛṅga performs a sacrifice for sons.
In heaven the gods have a problem: Brahmā’s boon protects Rāvaṇa from gods and demons, but he never thought to ask protection from men. So Viṣṇu agrees to be born as one. Kausalyā bears Rāma, Kaikeyī bears Bharata, and Sumitrā bears the twins Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna.
रामो विग्रहवान्धर्मः साधुः सत्यपराक्रमः ।राजा सर्वस्य लोकस्य देवानामिव वासवः ॥
rāmo vigrahavāndharmaḥ sādhuḥ satyaparākramaḥrājā sarvasya lokasya devānāmiva vāsavaḥ
Rāma is dharma in a body: good, and brave in the cause of truth. He is king of the whole world, as Indra is of the gods.
Araṇya Kāṇḍa 35.13 · Mārīca, warning Rāvaṇa
In the film Arun Govil, the Rāma of the 1987 television Ramayan, plays Daśaratha.
Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa in the forest, and a giant out of the trees. Both trailers.
II · Bāla Kāṇḍa · Siddhāśrama
The sage’s errand
The sage Viśvāmitra asks the king for Rāma, not yet sixteen, to guard a sacrifice from rākṣasas. Lakṣmaṇa goes too. On the road Rāma kills Tāṭakā, a yakṣī turned demoness by a curse, and the sage teaches him the divine weapons.
At Siddhāśrama, Rāma throws Mārīca into the sea with a single arrow and kills Subāhu. Mārīca survives. The story will need him again.
ऊनषोडशवर्षो मे रामो राजीवलोचनः ।न युद्धयोग्यतामस्य पश्यामि सह राक्षसैः ॥
ūnaṣoḍaśavarṣo me rāmo rājīvalocanaḥna yuddhayogyatāmasya paśyāmi saha rākṣasaiḥ
My lotus-eyed Rāma is not yet sixteen. I cannot see him fit to fight rākṣasas.
Bāla Kāṇḍa 19.2 · Daśaratha to Viśvāmitra
Rāma walks to the bow, lifts it, and holds it. Hindi and international trailers.
III · Bāla Kāṇḍa · Mithilā
The bow of Śiva
King Janaka keeps a bow that no suitor can even lift: the bow of Śiva, handed down in his family. Whoever strings it may marry his daughter Sītā, the girl who rose from a furrow.
Rāma lifts it, strings it, draws it, and it snaps in two with a sound like thunder. The four brothers are married on the same day: Rāma to Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa to Ūrmilā, Bharata to Māṇḍavī, Śatrughna to Śrutakīrti.
अथ मे कृषतः क्षेत्रं लाङ्गलादुत्थिता मम ।क्षेत्रं शोधयता लब्ध्वा नाम्ना सीतेति विश्रुता ॥
atha me kṛṣataḥ kṣetraṃ lāṅgalādutthitā mamakṣetraṃ śodhayatā labdhvā nāmnā sīteti viśrutā
As I ploughed a field, she rose from the furrow behind my plough. Found while the ground was being cleared, she is known by the name Sītā.
Bāla Kāṇḍa 65.14 · Janaka, king of Mithilā
In the film Ranbir Kapoor lifted the bow again on stage at the Mumbai pre-release event on 26 September 2026.
Paraśurāma’s axe, the royal party in the valley, and the meeting of the two Rāmas. Both trailers.
IV · Bāla Kāṇḍa · The road home
The axe on the road
The wedding party is stopped on its way home by Paraśurāma, the Brahmin with the axe who emptied the earth of kings three times seven times. He has heard Śiva’s bow break.
He hands Rāma a second bow, the bow of Viṣṇu, as a challenge. Rāma strings it, and the old fury steps aside for the new prince.
अतिसृष्टं सुरैरेकं त्र्यम्बकाय युयुत्सवे ।त्रिपुरघ्नं नरश्रेष्ठ भग्नं काकुत्स्थ यत्त्वया ॥
atisṛṣṭaṃ surairekaṃ tryambakāya yuyutsavetripuraghnaṃ naraśreṣṭha bhagnaṃ kākutstha yattvayā
One bow the gods gave to Tryambaka, the three-eyed, when he went to war. It destroyed Tripura. That is the bow you broke, Kākutstha, best of men.
Bāla Kāṇḍa 74.12 · Paraśurāma to Rāma
In the film Ranbir Kapoor plays both men.
Daśaratha; Kaikeyī, as she pronounces the fourteen years; Bharata kneeling before Rāma in the forest; the sandals on the empty throne. Hindi trailer.
V · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa · Ayodhyā
Two boons
On the eve of Rāma’s coronation, Kaikeyī, stirred up by her maid Mantharā, calls in two boons Daśaratha once promised her: Bharata on the throne, and Rāma in the forest for fourteen years.
Rāma accepts without a change in his face. Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa go with him. Daśaratha dies of grief. Bharata refuses the crown, walks to the forest to bring his brother home, and comes back with Rāma’s sandals to rule in his name.
सप्त सप्त च वर्षाणि दण्डकारण्यमाश्रितः ।अभिषेकमिमं त्यक्त्वा जटाचीरधरो वस ॥
sapta sapta ca varṣāṇi daṇḍakāraṇyamāśritaḥabhiṣekamimaṃ tyaktvā jaṭācīradharo vasa
Give up this coronation. For seven years and seven more, live in the Daṇḍaka forest, with matted hair and a garment of bark.
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 16.25 · Kaikeyī to Rāma
In the film “As a son, it is my duty to honour my father’s word.” Rāma, in the Hindi trailer.
Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa at the hermitage; Śūrpaṇakhā, introduced in the trailer as princess of Janasthāna; Sītā, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa at the hut. Hindi trailer.
VI · Araṇya Kāṇḍa · Pañcavaṭī
The forest years
Years pass among the sages of the Daṇḍaka forest. At Pañcavaṭī by the Godāvarī, Lakṣmaṇa builds a hut of leaves.
Śūrpaṇakhā, Rāvaṇa’s sister, wants Rāma. Refused and laughed at, she lunges at Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa cuts off her nose and ears. Her brothers Khara and Dūṣaṇa come with fourteen thousand rākṣasas, and Rāma kills them alone.
रामं दशरथं विद्धि मां विद्धि जनकात्मजाम् ।अयोध्यामटवीं विद्धि गच्छ तात यथासुखम् ॥
rāmaṃ daśarathaṃ viddhi māṃ viddhi janakātmajāmayodhyāmaṭavīṃ viddhi gaccha tāta yathāsukham
Know Rāma as your father Daśaratha. Know Janaka’s daughter as me. Know the forest as Ayodhyā. Go, my son, and be at peace.
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 35.8 · Sumitrā to her son Lakṣmaṇa
In the film Rakul Preet Singh plays Śūrpaṇakhā.
Rāvaṇa in an ascetic’s marks, the Puṣpaka Vimāna, Rāvaṇa crowned in his court, and Jaṭāyu’s attack. Hindi and international trailers.
VII · Araṇya Kāṇḍa · Pañcavaṭī
The golden deer
Rāvaṇa orders Mārīca to become a golden deer. Sītā wants it. Rāma follows it deep into the trees and kills it, and Mārīca dies crying out for Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa in Rāma’s voice.
Lakṣmaṇa leaves only when Sītā shames him into going. Rāvaṇa comes to the door dressed as a wandering ascetic, seizes her and flies south. The old vulture Jaṭāyu, a friend of Daśaratha, flies at him and falls.
वृद्धोऽहं त्वं युवा धन्वी सरथः कवची शरी ।तथाप्यादाय वैदेहीं कुशली न गमिष्यसि ॥
vṛddho’haṃ tvaṃ yuvā dhanvī sarathaḥ kavacī śarītathāpyādāya vaidehīṃ kuśalī na gamiṣyasi
I am old. You are young, with a bow, a chariot, armour and arrows. Even so, you will not carry Vaidehī off and walk away unharmed.
Araṇya Kāṇḍa 48.20 · Jaṭāyu to Rāvaṇa
In the film Part 1 ends with this loss. Part 2 arrives at Diwali 2027.

Śiva in the Rāmāyaṇa

Śiva rarely steps into Rāma’s own story, yet the story keeps passing through his hands.

His bow decides Sītā’s marriage. His hair once caught the Gaṅgā as she fell from heaven. And it was Śiva who gave Rāvaṇa his name. Vālmīki calls him by many names: Tryambaka the three-eyed, Rudra, Hara, Bhava, Mahādeva.

Śiva in the film’s opening nebula, with the film’s own title. The Introduction.

धनुः The bow
The bow at Mithilā was Śiva’s, made by Viśvakarman, the gods’ craftsman, and used to burn Tripura, the three flying cities. It came down Janaka’s line from his ancestor Devarāta. When Rāma broke it, the crack was heard like thunder, and the earth shook as if a mountain had split.
आरोपयित्वा मौर्वीं च पूरयामास वीर्यवान् ।तद्बभञ्ज धनुर्मध्ये नरश्रेष्ठो महायशाः ॥
āropayitvā maurvīṃ ca pūrayāmāsa vīryavāntadbabhañja dhanurmadhye naraśreṣṭho mahāyaśāḥ
He strung it and drew it to the full, and the best of men, great in glory, broke the bow in the middle.
Bāla Kāṇḍa 67.17, southern text · The narrator, at Mithilā
गङ्गा The river
When King Bhagīratha brought the Gaṅgā down from heaven, Śiva took her fall on his head so the earth would not split, and she lost her way in his hair. Viśvāmitra tells the story to the boy Rāma on the road to Mithilā.
नैव सा निर्गमं लेभे जटामण्डलमोहिता ।तत्रैवाबभ्रमद्देवी संवत्सरगणान्बहून् ॥
naiva sā nirgamaṃ lebhe jaṭāmaṇḍalamohitātatraivābabhramaddevī saṃvatsaragaṇānbahūn
Lost in the coils of his matted hair, she could find no way out. There the goddess wandered for years upon years.
Bāla Kāṇḍa 42.5 · Viśvāmitra, telling the boy Rāma how the Gaṅgā came down
नाम The name
In the Uttara Kāṇḍa, Rāvaṇa tries to lift Mount Kailāsa. Śiva presses it down with one toe and crushes his arms. Rāvaṇa’s roar shakes the three worlds, and Śiva, pleased by such strength, names him for it.
यस्माल्लोकत्रयं त्वेतद्रावितं भयमागतम् ।तस्मात्त्वं रावणो नाम नाम्ना तेन भविष्यसि ॥
yasmāllokatrayaṃ tvetadrāvitaṃ bhayamāgatamtasmāttvaṃ rāvaṇo nāma nāmnā tena bhaviṣyasi
Because your cry made the three worlds cry out in fear, you will be known by that name: Rāvaṇa.
Uttara Kāṇḍa 16.27 · Śiva to Rāvaṇa, at Mount Kailāsa

The hymn · outside Vālmīki

Rāvaṇa’s song for Śiva

जटाटवीगलज्जलप्रवाहपावितस्थलेगलेऽवलम्ब्य लम्बितां भुजङ्गतुङ्गमालिकाम् ।डमड्डमड्डमड्डमन्निनादवड्डमर्वयंचकार चण्डताण्डवं तनोतु नः शिवः शिवम् ॥

jaṭāṭavīgalajjalapravāhapāvitasthalegale’valambya lambitāṃ bhujaṅgatuṅgamālikāmḍamaḍḍamaḍḍamaḍḍamanninādavaḍḍamarvayaṃcakāra caṇḍatāṇḍavaṃ tanotu naḥ śivaḥ śivam

Where the river pouring through the forest of his hair has made his throat holy, a great serpent hung there for a garland, to the drum’s ḍamaḍ ḍamaḍ ḍamaḍ he danced the fierce tāṇḍava. May Śiva bring us good.

Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotram 1 · Traditionally attributed to Rāvaṇa

A hymn outside Vālmīki’s text. Tradition says Rāvaṇa sang it beneath Kailāsa.

A colossal Naṭarāja, Śiva as lord of the dance, above a ring of fire. International trailer.

A palace shrine to Śiva. International trailer.

राम Rāma

“Dharma in a body.”

Mārīca, Rāvaṇa’s own man · Araṇya 35.13

रावण Rāvaṇa

“Every mark of greatness.”

Hanumān, Rāma’s messenger · Sundara 47.17

Vālmīki lets each be praised by the other side. The trailer calls them two paths: Rāvaṇa ruled by revenge, Rāma born to protect.

Characters

Who they are in Vālmīki, what their names mean, and who plays them. Every frame is cut from the films in 4K; see the finest.

Also in the cast

Kausalyā Indira Krishnan
Sumitrā Sonal Jha
Bharata Adinath Kothare
Śatrughna Nitish Sharma
Mandodarī Kajal Aggarwal
Śūrpaṇakhā Rakul Preet Singh
Mantharā Sheeba Chaddha
Vasiṣṭha Shishir Sharma
Viśvāmitra Ajinkya Deo
Mārīca Saurabh Sachdeva
Tāṭakā Kanchan Chetal
Vidyujjihva Vivek Oberoi
Vibhīṣaṇa Harish Uthaman
Kumbhakarṇa Faisal Malik
Sugrīva Suhail Nayyar
Agastya Mukesh Tiwari
Kaikasī Shobana
Ūrmilā Sonia Balani
Māṇḍavī Riya Kapoor
Śrutakīrti Surabhi Das
young Sītā Kiara Sadh

Watch on YouTube

Jai Jai Ram, released 14 September 2026 on Ganesh Chaturthi. On YouTube from T-Series.

Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman

Zimmer’s first full score for an Indian film, written with Rahman, who has called the work “terrifying”. Rahman set Sanskrit verses into Zimmer’s first sketches, and the poet Kumar Vishwas wrote the lyrics.

1Ramayana (The Introduction Theme)A. R. Rahman, Hans Zimmer. Short version released 3 July 20252:36
2Rama ThemeA. R. Rahman, Hans Zimmer. Sung by A. R. Rahman2:27
3Jai Jai RamA. R. Rahman. Sung by Shreya Ghoshal, Arijit Singh. Released 14 September 2026, Ganesh Chaturthi5:20

The film

Ramayana: Part 1

On screen as Namit Malhotra’s Ramayana, with the tagline “Our truth. Our history.”

Directed by: Nitesh Tiwari
Screenplay: Shridhar Raghavan, Nitesh Tiwari
Dialogues: Shreyas Jain, Nitesh Tiwari
Produced by: Namit Malhotra, Yash
Music: A. R. Rahman, Hans Zimmer
Lyrics: Kumar Vishwas
Cinematography: Pankaj Kumar, Mahesh Limaye
Editing: Huzefa Lokhandwala
Visual effects: DNEG
Action: Terry Notary, Guy Norris
Casting: Mukesh Chhabra
Production: Prime Focus Studios, Monster Mind Creations, DNEG
Distribution: Dharma Productions in North India, Sony Pictures overseas

Worldwide release: 5 November 2026, with IMAX, and the first Indian film released in ScreenX
Overseas title: Ramayana: Rise of a Legend. In China: Ramayana: The Legend of the Prince
Filming: Began 2 April 2024 at Film City, Mumbai, under the working title God Power. Part 1 wrapped by 1 July 2025
Screens: About 59,000 worldwide, reported
Budget: ₹4,000 crore for both parts including marketing, reported
Part 2: Filming began in March 2026, for Diwali 2027

Watch

Open the theatre, with captions

Ramayana

“Who in this world, now, is truly good, and who is brave?”

Grief became verse.

Three gods at the edge of the story

ब्रह्मा Brahmā asks for the poem

विष्णु Viṣṇu chooses to be born

शिव Śiva leaves a bow

Rāvaṇa takes heaven

Rāmāyaṇa means Rāma’s journey

Four sons for a king

The sage’s errand

The bow of Śiva

The axe on the road

Two boons

The forest years

The golden deer

Śiva in the Rāmāyaṇa

धनुः The bow

गङ्गा The river

नाम The name

Rāvaṇa’s song for Śiva

Characters

Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman

Ramayana: Part 1

Watch

Ramayana

“Who in this world, now, is truly good, and who is brave?”

Grief became verse.

Three gods at the edge of the story

ब्रह्मा Brahmā asks for the poem

विष्णु Viṣṇu chooses to be born

शिव Śiva leaves a bow

The poem in numbers

Rāvaṇa takes heaven

Rāmāyaṇa means Rāma’s journey

Four sons for a king

The sage’s errand

The bow of Śiva

The axe on the road

Two boons

The forest years

The golden deer

Śiva in the Rāmāyaṇa

धनुः The bow

गङ्गा The river

नाम The name

Rāvaṇa’s song for Śiva

Two paths: Rāma and Rāvaṇa

Characters

Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman

Ramayana: Part 1

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