Ranbir Kapoor and Yash’s Ramayana is among the most anticipated Indian films, but fresh developments involving its production house have put the project in the spotlight weeks before its release.
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Big trouble for Ranbir Kapoor, Yash’s film weeks before release (PC: Twitter)
The excitement around Ramayana has been building for months, with the ambitious project bringing together some of the biggest names in Indian cinemaRanbir Kapoor is set to play Lord Rama while Yash takes on the role of Ravana in Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part epicWith the film being mounted on a massive scale, its production has remained under close attention even before its theatrical arrivalNow, a fresh development involving producer Namit Malhotra‘s business has put the much-awaited film back in the spotlightThe development comes weeks before audiences are expected to see the first part of the film on the big screen.
Income Tax Department searches Prime Focus offices
The Income Tax Department reportedly carried out searches at the Mumbai offices of Prime Focus Ltd, the company founded by Namit MalhotraThe action began on October 7 and continued into the following morningPremises linked to people associated with the company were also reportedly searchedInitial reports have linked the operation to certain foreign remittance transactionsHowever, the specific transactions being examined and the wider details of the inquiry have not been officially disclosed.
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The reported searches also had an immediate impact on Prime Focus’ stock performanceThe company’s shares reportedly fell by around 8% during morning trading on October 7At present, there is no indication that the Income Tax action has affected the scheduled release plans for Ramayana.
What is Prime Focus and why is Namit Malhotra important to Ramayana?
Namit Malhotra founded Prime Focus in Mumbai in 1997The company has since expanded into a global media and entertainment business working across visual effects, post-production, animation and technology servicesPrime Focus also became closely connected with DNEG after acquiring the visual effects company formerly known as Double Negative.
DNEG has established a major reputation in Hollywood for its visual effects workThe company has won eight Academy Awards for films including Inception, Interstellar, Ex Machina, Blade Runner 2049, First Man, Tenet, Dune: Part One, Dune: Part Two and recent blockbuster The Odyssey.
About Ramayana: Part 1
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana is based on the ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to ValmikiRanbir Kapoor stars as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi plays Sita, Ravi Dubey is Lakshman, Sunny Deol portrays Hanuman and Yash plays RavanaThe cast also includes Anupam Kher, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Kunal Kapoor, Adinath Kothare, Arun Govil, Indira Krishnan and Lara Dutta.
The film is reportedly being made on a budget of around Rs 4,000 crore, making it one of the most ambitious Indian film projectsThe story is planned as a two-part sagaThe first instalment is scheduled for a Diwali 2026 theatrical release, with the international release listed for November 6, 2026.
