Veteran actor Hema Malini has stepped directly into the cultural crossfire surrounding Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, delivering an emphatic endorsement of Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi in the central roles. The timing matters. For months leading up to release, social media timelines churned with relentless skepticism questioning whether modern leads could inhabit revered mythological space. Malini dismissed that pushback outright on November 10, revealing that while she walked into the theatre with tempered expectations, Tiwari's spectacle completely swept aside her reservations.
Had she harbored doubts? Plenty. “Watched the latest version of Ramayan: The Movie,” Malini stated, observing that because the epic narrative is familiar even to school children, striking fresh creative ground is notoriously tough. But Tiwari's execution persuaded her within minutes. “I was pleasantly surprised at the fabulous presentation, the mind-blowing special effects that left me breathless with anticipation,” she noted, highlighting the “apt casting of the protagonists” and technical innovations that left audiences entirely spellbound.
Ticket windows are telling a roaring commercial tale to match. Five days into its global run, the production has hauled in a staggering ₹663.90 crore in worldwide gross collections. Domestic box offices drove ₹413.90 crore of that gross—translating to an India net tally of ₹346.35 crore—while international circuits poured in an overseas gross of ₹250 crore. On Monday, the film crushed standard weekday drop-offs, pulling a net haul of ₹107.50 crore across 23,911 screenings nationwide.
The Hindi theatrical circuit anchored that massive fifth-day run, churning out ₹87.25 crore across 19,786 screenings. Dubbed regional formats provided critical support across southern hubs:
| Language Circuit | Day 5 Net Earnings | Screenings Logged |
|---|---|---|
| Hindi | ₹87.25 crore | 19,786 shows |
| Kannada | ₹7.50 crore | 908 shows |
| Telugu | ₹6.00 crore | 1,606 shows |
| Tamil | ₹4.00 crore | 826 shows |
| Malayalam | ₹2.75 crore | 785 shows |
Pacing had wavered earlier in the weekend. The production debuted with ₹64.85 crore net on its opening day before sliding to ₹48.05 crore on Friday. It rebounded on Saturday to AirNews ₹69.80 crore net, followed by a Sunday tally of ₹56.15 crore across 21,770 domestic shows, before Monday's unexpected festive surge recalibrated industry projections.
Mounted on a staggering budget of ₹4,000 crore, Tiwari’s multi-part cinematic undertaking remains the most expensive theatrical gamble in Indian cinema history. Casting deliberations were equally exacting; Arun Govil, who portrays King Dashrath, spent three months deciding whether to accept the role. With Kannada star Yash sharing marquee space alongside Sunny Deol, Ravi Dubey, and Lara Dutta—and an international campaign kicked off with a special Los Angeles showcase on October 27—the upcoming non-holiday weekdays will show whether Malini's enthusiastic nod translates into historic theatrical longevity.