A new poster for Valmiki Ramayana, directed by Bhavna Talwar, was unveiled on Sunday on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. It confirms that the film’s music is being composed by Ilaiyaraaja and the poster terms the collaboration with the Maestro as a “musical invocation.” The film’s production design is by Sabu Cyril, with cinematography by Binod Pradhan. The project is said to promise a grounded, authentic portrayal of the epic. The first look poster of this film was unveiled in late March on the occasion of Ram Navami. It is expected to be released on October 2. It is being written by Anand Neelakanthan with dialogues and research by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi. Resul Pookutty is working on the film’s sound design.
Its director, Bhavna Talwar, made her debut film, Dharm, in 2007, and it won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration at the 2007 National Film Award. It was the closing film at the World Cinema Section at the Cannes Film Festival 2007. Her second feature film, Happi, is said to be a tribute to the genius of Charlie Chaplin.
As for Ilaiyaraaja, he was in the news recently for settling a copyright dispute with Mythri Movie Makers, ending a months-long legal battle over the unauthorised use of several of his songs in two Tamil films. The production house, behind Good Bad Ugly and Dude, agreed to pay the composer ₹50 lakh, according to a joint memo submitted to the Madras High Court on 3 December. The dispute stemmed from the use of five tracks from the composer’s extensive catalogue—three incorporated into Ajith Kumar’s Good Bad Ugly and two featured in Pradeep Ranganathan’s Dude—without prior clearance.
Valmiki Ramayana is the second Ramayana-based film to release widely this year. Diwali 2026 will also see the release of Ramayana starring Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi. Ramayana, produced by Namit Malhotra, is one of the most ambitious Indian productions currently in development. An adaptation of the Valmiki Ramayana, the film is split into two parts, releasing in Diwali 2026 and Diwali 2027, respectively.
Reportedly mounted on a ₹4000 budget (across both parts), it is the most expensive Indian production to date. An extended glimpse from the film was released earlier this month. The teaser introduced Kapoor's Rama as the central figure in the cosmic tale of god vs evil.
