1000 Crore OTT Deal? ‘Ramayana’ Producers Aim for Record-Breaking Digital Sale Amid VFX Criticism

Ramayana has created a buzz within the Indian film industry (and beyond) for its wide ensemble cast (including Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Rocking Star Yash). Bollywood insiders say producers are presently in the midst of an all-out digital rights battle that is going to upend the economics of Indian cinema.

According to recent reports, a major OTT giant has offered ₹700 crore for the digital rights of the two-part saga to Namit Malhotra (who turned them down). The producer is holding out for at least ₹1000 crore. With a budget of around ₹4000 crore for production, the makers are looking for new streams of revenue from which to recover their big investment. The team is saying that they are taking a “wait-and-watch” approach to the movie and we know if more promotional material is rolled out with the film coming out before its Diwali 2026 release.

This ambitious goal is similar to SS Rajamouli’s upcoming globe-trotting adventure ‘Varanasi’, with Mahesh Babu. Netflix seemingly matched Rajamouli’s high-ticket deal, but there has been no official report. So there’s a kind of “clash of the titans” behind the scenes where the Ramayana team is trying to set a bar too high compared to the most eagerly awaited projects from the South.

But the road to a ₹1000 crore deal is not without its hurdles. The recently released teaser of ‘Ramayana’ was also fairly polarized in the audience. The size and cinematography of the movie were praised, but there was disappointment with the quality of the VFX in some of the scenes, with some comparing them to video game graphics. Rajamouli’s Varanasi made a first impression in terms of visual finesse, but the Ramayana team still had to improve their CGI before the final release.

Despite the mixed response to the teaser, the presence of AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer on the musical score and the global expertise of DNEG keeps the expectations sky high. Will Ramayana’s legacy film status be enough to secure a historic four-figure crore deal from streaming platforms?

Quick Comparison: The High-Stakes Race