One of the most ambitious undertakings in Indian cinema history just got a face — and a cast that reads like a dream roll-call. Dharma Productions officially announced its epic mythological film Ramayana on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, revealing a star-studded lineup, a visionary director, and a musical collaboration that spans Mumbai and Hollywood.

The cast that stopped timelines cold

The announcement names Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, and Ravie Dubey as Laxman — three performers spanning Hindi cinema's most bankable and critically acclaimed registers. Then comes the thunderclap: Yash, who redefined what a larger-than-life villain looks like for a generation of Indian audiences, steps into the role of Ravana. Sunny Deol completes the principal cast as Hanuman. Each piece of casting is a statement in itself.

Nitesh Tiwari at the helm of 'Our Truth. Our History.'

The film is directed by Nitesh Tiwari, whose credentials in mounting emotionally resonant, large-canvas Indian stories are well established. The studio's declaration — 'Our Truth. Our History.' — signals an intent to treat the Ramayana not merely as spectacle but as a cultural document. That framing carries weight in a moment when mythological storytelling is at the very centre of Indian popular culture's ambitions.

Hans Zimmer, A.R. Rahman, and the IMAX dimension

Perhaps the single most electrifying line in the announcement is the music credit: Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman, together, on the same score. Zimmer, whose orchestral work has defined cinematic grandeur from Hollywood blockbusters to global prestige projects, joining Rahman — arguably the composer who put Indian film music on the world map — is the kind of pairing that makes industry watchers do a double-take. The film is also confirmed to be filmed for IMAX, raising the technical bar to the highest available theatrical format. India distribution for the North territory will be handled by Dharma Distribution, with music under the T-Series label. The project is produced by Namit Malhotra of DNEG fame, a visual-effects powerhouse, alongside Dharma.

Why this announcement lands differently

Indian production houses have visited the Ramayana before — on television, in regional cinema, in animation — but rarely with this convergence of resources, talent, and stated ambition. The IMAX format signals a theatrical-first, globally-minded release strategy. The Zimmer-Rahman pairing is a direct bid for international ears. And the casting of Yash, fresh off a global fan base built on pan-India action cinema, as Ravana gives the project a marketing engine that crosses every language boundary. This is Bollywood staking a claim not just at the domestic box office but on the world stage — and doing it on the back of the subcontinent's oldest, most universal story.

The Ramayana belongs to hundreds of millions of people. What Dharma Productions is betting on is that it can be told at a scale worthy of all of them.