Ramayana Rise of a Legend Opens to Split Reviews

Ramayana Rise of a Legend has finally hit cinemas, and India's most expensive film ever is already splitting critics and the box office crowd. The first part of Nitesh Tiwari's two-film retelling of the Hindu epic opened worldwide on Thursday, just ahead of the Diwali weekend.

According to the BBC, the project was made for a reported five hundred million dollars, and its release sparked enormous expectations along with mixed reviews. Here is the quick breakdown of what is hype, what is real and why everyone is arguing.

Who is in Ramayana Rise of a Legend

Ranbir Kapoor plays Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, while Sai Pallavi is Sita and Yash takes on the villain Ravana. Ravie Dubey plays Lakshmana, Lara Dutta appears as Queen Kaikeyi, and Sunny Deol is Hanuman, based on the cast listed in published reviews.

The story follows Rama, Sita and Lakshmana as they are forced into a fourteen-year exile and eventually collide with Ravana, the demon king. The film runs one hundred fifty-four minutes in some versions, and a sequel is planned, since this is only the first chapter of the saga.

What critics are saying

The BBC reported that Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave it three out of five, writing that the visual spectacle often overshadowed the story and that the acting was "wildly inconsistent". Rishabh Suri of the Hindustan Times was warmer with four stars, saying "all that money shows on screen" while calling the first half sluggish and the music underwhelming.

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express also gave three stars and said she was gradually won over. A Phoenix station review called it an epic that is a lot to take in but quite enthralling, singling out Yash and Lara Dutta as the standouts.

Social media is just as split. Viewers praised the visual effects and Yash's Ravana as a scene stealer, but some said the story felt like just another Ramayana and criticised the music, according to the Times of India.

The opening day box office reality check

Numbers matter here because of that giant price tag. The Times of India reported, citing industry tracker Sacnilk, that the film collected about sixty-five crore rupees net on day one across five languages, with the Hindi version leading.

That is a strong start by almost any normal standard, and India Today noted it was the second-biggest opening of the year in India. But trade watchers had hoped for a debut above one hundred crore rupees after the advance bookings, so the figure fell short of the loudest predictions. North American collections also trailed projections.

The market noticed too. The Economic Times reported that shares of visual effects firm Prime Focus dropped as much as seven percent on release day as early collections came in below trade estimates.

Part of the debate is simply scale. Epic retellings are a high-risk bet in any language, because audiences arrive with their own picture of the story in mind. Some fans wanted a faithful, reverent telling, while others hoped for something bolder, and a film aimed at both groups at once rarely satisfies everyone on opening night.

Another wrinkle is the version question. Some reviewers watched a shorter English-language international cut rather than the longer Hindi presentation, which makes direct comparisons tricky. Viewers choosing between formats may have noticeably different experiences, and that gap is likely to keep the online arguments going all weekend.

Why the Diwali weekend decides everything

With a festive long weekend starting, word of mouth could push the film up or leave it stalling. Box office analysts quoted by the Times of India said growth would depend on audience reaction, and one even floated an optimistic first-week target if viewers fall in love with it.

There is also a bigger story about how Indian cinema is chasing global scale. A film this expensive needs international audiences, and the mixed reviews show how hard it is to please both devotees of a beloved epic and newcomers who just want a good movie.

For more on screens big and small, browse movie coverage on this site. The real verdict on Ramayana Rise of a Legend will come over the next few days, when the Diwali crowds either show up again or do not.