Yash Defends Ramayana's Rs 4,000 Crore Budget
Yash has defended the reported Rs 4,000 crore budget of Ramayana. What he said, what the makers have and have not confirmed, and the numbers in play.
Yash, who plays Ravana in Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana, used the film's Oct. 15 trailer launch in Bengaluru to explain why the makers keep citing a Rs 4,000 crore budget. He also asked audiences not to run down Indian films. The Indian Express, India Today and Moneycontrol all covered his remarks.
What Yash said
The Indian Express reports that Yash was responding to criticism that followed producer Namit Malhotra's earlier mention of the figure. He said, "When we go abroad to promote our films, if we tell people that we have made a small-budget film, they may not give it the importance it deserves. We have to confidently tell them how much we have invested in making it."
He added that the number is a combined one. In the Indian Express's words, the Rs 4,000 crore covers both instalments of the film and not just Part 1. The paper notes that Yash had earlier said the figure also includes international release and promotional costs.
Yash also asked viewers to look past early criticism of the film's visual effects and casting. He said, "We cannot keep pulling each other down in our own country." The Moneycontrol report says he framed the budget around the idea that Indian cinema must prove its strength on the world stage.
Praise for Ranbir Kapoor
At the same event, Yash described Ranbir Kapoor, who plays Rama, as humble and hardworking. He said, "I have never seen anyone surrender himself to a role the way he has." He added that the cast approached the epic with sincerity, saying, "We do not have the capacity to stand here and claim that we are Rama or Ravana."
The film in numbers
The Indian Express lists the key facts. Ramayana is a two-part adaptation of Valmiki's epic directed by Nitesh Tiwari. Ranbir Kapoor plays Rama, Sai Pallavi plays Sita and Yash plays Ravana. Ravie Dubey plays Lakshman, and the supporting cast includes Sunny Deol as Hanuman, Arun Govil as Dasharatha, Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi and Rakul Preet Singh as Surpanakha. The film is produced by Namit Malhotra and Yash, with music from Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman and visual effects by DNEG.
Part 1 is scheduled for release on Nov. 5, 2026, with Part 2 planned for Diwali 2027. Indian Express and India Today both give those dates. Earlier coverage, including an ET Now report, carried Nov. 6 for the global release, so a one-day difference exists in the record.
Why the budget matters
A budget figure is a marketing statement as much as an accounting one. Yash's argument is that scale itself is part of the pitch to overseas audiences. His own comments, which respond to criticism at home, show that the number has drawn pushback. Both positions are on the record, and neither can be tested until the film opens.
What we could not confirm
We could not confirm the Rs 4,000 crore figure independently. It comes from the makers and has not been backed by an audited breakdown in anything we found. We could not confirm how much of it is spent on Part 1, on Part 2, or on promotion, because Yash's own account says it is a combined total. The Moneycontrol article was only partly readable, so we used its headline and summary and relied on the Indian Express for direct quotes. The Nov. 5 and Nov. 6 release dates differ across outlets, and we use Nov. 5 as the more recent report.
Sources
*Cover photo: Bollywood Hungama, Wikimedia Commons, *[*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yash_Kannada_actor.jpg*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yash_Kannada_actor.jpg)* (CC BY 3.0).*