Ramayana: Part One Heads to Cinemas on November 5, Then to Pay-Per-View in India

Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana: Part One opens in cinemas worldwide on November 5, in time for the Diwali festival holiday. Viewers in India will then be able to buy it on demand from the streaming service JioHotstar, according to Variety, which reported the plan on October 22, 2026.

The home step is the unusual part. After the theatrical run, the film will be sold as a separate purchase on JioHotstar. Pay-per-view means you pay once to watch a single title, rather than paying a monthly subscription for the whole catalogue. JioHotstar and Prime Focus Studios, the film's producer, describe it as the first pay-per-view offering of its kind on the platform.

Ranbir Kapoor and Yash lead the cast. Yash plays Ravana, the demon king at the centre of the story. Sai Pallavi plays Sita, Sunny Deol plays Hanuman and Ravie Dubey plays Lakshman.

The film will be released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English. IMAX 3D, a large-screen format with extra depth, is among the formats on offer. Sony Pictures Entertainment is releasing the film globally, while Karan Johar's Dharma Productions will handle distribution in India.

The production is a two-part live-action project. Shridhar Raghavan adapts the story from Valmiki's epic, the ancient Sanskrit poem that the Ramayana tradition comes from. Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman composed the score. Prime Focus Studios is producing alongside DNEG, the visual effects company founded by Namit Malhotra, who is also its chief executive, and Yash's Monster Mind Creations.

For Indian audiences, the announcement sets out a clear route for the film. It opens in cinemas first, then arrives on JioHotstar as a one-off purchase. For cinema-goers, the November 5 date lands in the busy holiday weeks that follow the Diwali festival, one of the biggest occasions in the Indian calendar.

The announcement does not say what the pay-per-view price will be, or when the home release will begin.