Ram Gopal Varma Claims Namit Malhotra's Ramayana Cost Less Than ₹800 Crore, Makes Big Prediction About Part 2

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma weighed in on the reported budget and box office prospects of Namit Malhotra's Ramayana, claiming that the first instalment cost less than Rs 800 crore to make. He also predicted that the sequel could earn 10 times more than the first film, citing the massive action sequences planned for the second part.

Taking to X on Sunday (November 15), the Rangeela director praised producer Namit Malhotra's vision and business strategy, calling him one of the biggest filmmakers in the history of Indian cinema. He also suggested that the first film's theatrical earnings could be enough to recover the investment made in both instalments.

Sharing a personal anecdote to highlight the film's popularity, Varma revealed that his mother has been purchasing tickets for Ramayana for domestic workers and watchmen in her residential complex.

"Even for the best of my films she didn't do this, but my mother has been buying tickets for @malhotra_namit's #Ramayana for the servants, watchmen, etc in the building complex she lives. And despite this kind of euphoria leading it to break all box office records and fast emerging as the BIGGEST HIT EVER in INDIAN CINEMATIC HISTORY, still a lot of noise is being made by many jealous people that the collections are still not enough because it's 2000 cr a piece, making it 4000 for 2," he wrote.

Ram Gopal Varma Says Ramayana Part 1 Cost Less Than Rs 800 Crore

Addressing the much-discussed budget of the two-part epic, Varma claimed that the actual production cost of the first instalment is considerably lower than the figures being circulated.

"I got to know that the actual cost of part 1 is a little less than 800 and that includes mutually beneficial deals, global tax benefits, subsidy elements etc etc which all will eventually bring the cost to lesser than that. And not only me, but any reasonably experienced filmmaker, by seeing the film, can see the cost can't be more than that."

He further argued that it would be incorrect to assume that both instalments would have identical production budgets. According to him, different portions of a film can have vastly different expenses, depending on the scale of the sequences being filmed.

"Also, many are stupid to assume that both parts will cost the same. That's like thinking the cost before the interval and post-interval will be the same in a film. I know of films where 50% of the cost was just the climax."

"Also, much of the cost will include costs of creating the world of Ramayana, which becomes future assets for gaming and various other aspects, including assets for part 2, which are all a part of Namit's visionary future outings. And this part I frankly think can't even be understood by most Bollywood makers, traders and other self-proclaimed experts."

Ram Gopal Varma Predicts Ramayana 2 Will Earn 10 Times More Than Part 1

Expressing confidence in the film's box office potential, Varma said the first instalment could help Malhotra recover the entire investment made in Part 1 or even both films. He added that earnings from non-theatrical rights and the second instalment could further boost the producer's profits.

"So, going by how it's bull running now, it is obvious that Namit Malhotra is going to cover the entire cost of part 1 or maybe both parts in part 1 itself and then there's the non-theatrical of part 1 and all revenue inflows of part 2. So, in other words, Namit Malhotra can build his own Pushpak vimaan and start dumping money into innumerable extraordinary ventures which all the biggest production companies from north to south couldn't do till now, and then he can surpass even the biggest of the biggest Hollywood biggies."

"I don't know what happened to Valmiki Ji or Tulsidas ji after they did their work, but it's an irrefutable fact that, from now onwards, Namit Malhotra will be the biggest mega filmmaker in history since 1913's May 3rd release, Raja Harishchandra, till whichever the biggest film came before November 5th 2026. If anyone has a doubt, just do the math," the filmmaker added in his post.

Varma also believes that the second instalment has the potential to outperform the first, especially because several major action sequences from the epic are yet to be showcased.

"And the fact that the most fantastic action set pieces will be in part 2 starting from the Hanuman acts, Vaanar Sena, Ram Sethu, Lanka dhahanam, Sita in Lanka, Kumbha Karan's death, Ravan vadh and many many more just to name a few, and going by the extraordinary proven Vision of Namit Malhotra's combination of strategy, business acumen, creative understanding and visionary outlook, If KGF 2 did around 5 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," RGV wrote.

Ramayana Box Office

Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi, Ramayana continues its impressive run at the box office. After collecting Rs 564.60 crore net in India during its first extended week of eight days and earning Rs 1,028.55 crore worldwide, the film witnessed a significant jump in collections on its second Saturday (November 14).