Mythical beasts, almighty gods, new technology

This year, amid the hit superhero movies and kids' animations, an adaptation of an ancient poem involving mythical beasts, almighty gods and a hero toting a bow and arrow has been a smash at the box office: Christopher Nolan's stirring take on Homer's Odyssey..

That's, at least, what the team behind a new two-part adaptation of Hindu poem the Ramayana will be hoping. The first part is set to be released globally in November, to coincide with the Hindu Diwali festival, and it's been produced on a budget.

What Happened

It centres on Rama, a prince and avatar of the Hindu god of preservation Vishnu, whose wife Sita is kidnapped by the wicked king Ravana, leaving Rama with the task of rescuing her. The story has been adapted many times before, and.

• The Ramayana is believed to have been written around the 4BC by Valmiki, a poet and maharishi who composed nearly 24,000 shlokas (verses) telling the tale.

• And a reported $200 to 250 million (£147.5m to £184m) has been spent on Ramayana, with a similar budget attached to its sequel (due to be released in November 2027).

• That makes them both easily the most expensive Indian films ever made, way more than the $68 million (£50m) spent on the next most expensive film, 2024's Kalki 2898 AD.

Key Details

But it has never been told on quite such a scale as this. Sony Pictures recently came on board as international distributors.

• The total amount spent on the two forthcoming Ramayana films is double the combined budget of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2, and not far below that of the entire.

• The company has since worked on many films – including Blade Runner 2049, Oppenheimer, all three Dune films, and, yes, The Odyssey itself – and won a total of eight Oscars.

• He notes the recent success of Indian cinema worldwide, citing such films as 2022's global action movie hit RRR (which took $145m/£107m at the global box office) and 2023's crime drama Animal ($95m/£70m).

Why It Matters

A-list Indian film stars Ranbir Kapoor (Rama) and Yash (Ravana) are in leading roles. Hollywood composers Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman are on the soundtrack.

• Adaptations of the Ramayana stretch from the 9th-Century Javanese poem Kakavin Ramayana and 12th-Century Tamil interpretation Ramavataram to the 1992 Indo-Japanese anime Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama.

• The 2008 American animation Sita Sings the Blues tells the story from the perspective of Rama's kidnapped princess, while 2010's Raavan challenges the image of the kidnapper as a villain and 2022's RRR places.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• In modern India, the most commonly known iteration is the TV series Ramayan (1987-88).

• Because when you're talking about five or 10,000 years ago, nothing else existed.

• Continued reporting by BBC as more details emerge