India’s most expensive film, with a ₹4000 crore budget, costs more than even Avatar and exceeds the combined budgets of RRR, Baahubali, and Adipurush.

For years, Titanic held the record as the most expensive film ever made, with a budget just over -$200 million. Back then, Indian films typically cost no more than -$10 million (around ₹36-40 crore at the time), creating a huge gap between Bollywood and Hollywood. But as Indian cinema has grown, that gap has steadily narrowed. Today, the most expensive Indian film, Kalki 2898 AD, reportedly has a budget of over -$70 million (₹600 crore), which is getting closer to the -$447 million spent on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, one of the world’s priciest productions.
However, according to one filmmaker, the entire landscape is about to change. An Indian film is being made on such a colossal scale that even blockbusters like Avatar and Avengers might seem small in comparison. This project has a staggering reported budget of ₹4000 crore—several times larger than any Indian film ever made and bigger than most Hollywood blockbusters.
India’s Most Expensive Film
Namit Malhotra’s Ramayana, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, is arguably the most ambitious Indian film ever undertaken. Earlier reports suggested the two-part film would cost ₹1600 crore (about -$100 million per part), but now the producer has revealed the actual figure is much higher—around ₹4000 crore. Speaking on The Prakhar Gupta Xperience podcast, Namit shared, “When we began planning this 6-7 years ago, everyone thought I was crazy, because no Indian film had ever come close to this budget. To put it simply, by the time both parts are done, it will have cost about -$500 million—over ₹4000 crore.”
He added, “We’re making the largest film in the world to tell one of the greatest stories ever told. I still believe it’s cheaper than some of the biggest Hollywood films. As an Indian, I also believe we are being responsible with our spending.”
How Ramayana’s Budget Compares
The ₹4000 crore budget dwarfs all previous Indian productions. Even considering Ramayana is two films, the cost far exceeds the combined budgets of films like Adipurush (₹550 crore), RRR (₹500 crore), and Kalki 2898 AD (₹600 crore)—all of which are single films. The closest comparison in India is the Baahubali series by SS Rajamouli, which had a combined budget of ₹430 crore—just about a ninth of Ramayana’s projected cost.
Many Hollywood films don’t match up either. Avatar had a budget of -$237 million, and the Avengers movies cost just over -$300 million each. Only when considering back-to-back productions does Ramayana not hold the world’s record. The combined budgets of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame exceed -$700 million, and the Hobbit trilogy cost -$623 million. These are the few projects that surpass the estimated -$500 million cost of Ramayana.
About Ramayana
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana is a two-part film scheduled for release on Diwali 2026 and 2027. The cast includes Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. The film’s music brings together AR Rahman and the legendary Hans Zimmer, who is making his Bollywood debut.