The first-glimpse teaser of Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana has inspired awe and wonder among fans, with some hailing it as a new dawn in Indian storytelling. A grand adaptation of the timeless Indian epic, the film, featuring a stellar cast of Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi and others, brings together some of the best technicians from across the world. The film’s mammoth budget (₹800 crore approx) covers the cost of assembling a constellation of global artistes. The title reveal video, which released on July 03, 2025, confirmed the presence of several international legends, with Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer being the biggest coup. The makers have described the project as an unprecedented creative communion between the East and the West.
Filmed for IMAX, Ramayana is aiming to deliver a visual spectacle high on scale and technically mastery. Set to release in two parts on Diwali 2026 and Diwali 2027 respectively, the film positions itself as a global event, riding the wave of effects-rich crossover blockbusters out of India like RRR and Baahubali.
Speaking at the teaser launch in Mumbai, producer Namit Malhotra of Prime Focus Studios reiterated his vision to create a world-class experience. “It has been a very, very long dream that we have been collaborating to put our hearts, soul and life into this so that we can do justice to this epic,” Malhotra said. “My only aspiration with pride is how we take our greatest culture, our greatest part of our history and share it with the world.”
To this end, here are the various international names bringing this vision to life.
DNEG: VFX and animation
Namit Malhotra, DNEG CEO and ‘Ramayana’ producer
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
A top-flight VFX and animation studio, DNEG won its eighth Oscars for its work on Dune: Part Two. A subsidiary of Prime Focus, the studio was praised for producing complex simulations, creature animations and large-scale CG environs. Established in 1998, DNEG has collaborated on big-budget Hollywood films across genres, such as Fast and Furious (action), Venom (superhero) and Mickey 17 (sci-fi). In its most recent work, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, DNEG helped visualise physical phenomena ranging from subatomic particles and huge nuclear blasts to exploding stars and the formation of black holes.
Other Credits:Dune, Blade Runner 2049, Tenet.
Hans Zimmer: Co-composer
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 23: Hans Zimmer attends the European Premiere of F1 ® The Movie at Cineworld, Leicester Square on June 23, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)
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TIM P. WHITBY
Having composed for blockbuster movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator and Interstellar, Zimmer is the preeminent architect of modern sound. His most popular work has been in Christopher Nolan’s films, including the famous Dark Knight trilogy, as well as with Denis Villeneuve and Ridley Scott. Zimmer’s discography is revered for its mix of powerful and emotionally resonant scores, enhancing the grandeur of films of epic scale. Here, he collaborates with Indian maestro AR Rahman for a momentous experience.
Other Credits:Inception, The Lion King, and Dune.
Terry Notary: Stunt Director/Movement Coach
Terry Notary
Respected as a highly-skilled stunt choreographer and performer, Terry Notary worked closely with leading directors of Hollywood, including Ron Howard, James Cameron, Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg. In his 17-year career, Terry has donned the role of actor, director, creature performer, animal movement specialist, movement choreographer and stunt coordinator. In projects such as Avatar, The Hobbit trilogy, The Incredible Hulk, Rise of the Silver Surfer, The Adventures of Tintin, The BFG, Warcraft and Suicide Squad, he has work as a movement choreographer was widely acclaimed. Notary’s experience on the Planet of The Apes franchise will come in handy in rendering realistic movement and facial animations for the ‘vanar sena’ (monkey army) in Ramayana.
Other Credits:Avengers, The Square
Guy Norris: Stunt Director / Action Choreographer
Guy Norris with Yash on the sets of ‘Ramayana’
A celebrated stunt director, Guy Norris is the man behind hits such as Furiosia: A Mad Max Saga, Mad Max: Fury Road and The Suicide Squad. Norris is often hailed for producing real, tangible action sequences, and as a master of balancing physical stunts and computer-generated imagery of stunt scenes. In Fury Road, one of his most challenging projects, Norris is said to have managed a total of 150 people across 300 sequences.
Other Credits: Ghost in the Shell: Triple Frontier.
Ravi Bansal: Production Designer
Ravi Bansal
Production designers give shape and form to a film’s vision, translating imagined landscapes into physical space. Ravi Bansal, who joined DNEG in 2019 as head of global art, has a roster of impressive credits including his work in the DCEU as well as Dune 2 and Aladdin. Bansal has been tapped alongside Ramsey Avery to recreate the scale and grandeur of ‘ancient India’ in Ramayana.
Other credits: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, No Way Up
Ramsey Avery: Production Designer
Ramsey Avery
Ramsey Avery worked his world-building magic in Rings of Power, Prime Video’s sumptuous series set in the Lord of The Rings universe. His most recent work, Captain America: Brave New World, was a big-budget superhero flick featuring vast sets including a White House interior replica. A veteran of both film and television, Avery has toiled on sci-fi standards like Minority Report and 10 Cloverfield Lane. An astrophysics major,he has also created themed attractions for the Avengers Campus at Disney’s California Adventure.
Other credits: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Roseaane
Additional talents (as listed by IMDb)
Eva Onsrud, Set Decorator (Credits: Gladiator 2, Napoleon), Verginia Holmes: Hair Designer / Hairstylist (Credits: The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit Trilogy), Michael Grobe: VFX Supervisor (Credits: Venom, Dune: Part Two) and Daniel Jennings: Set Designer (Credits: 300, X-Men, The Lord of the Rings).
Published – July 05, 2025 07:05 pm IST