From Ramayana to RRR: The most expensive Indian films ever made
Indian cinema has never been short of ambition. But Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana , starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash, is taking that ambition to another level. With a reported combined budget exceeding 4,000 crore rupees ($445 million), the two-part adaptation of the Hindu epic is being described as the most expensive Indian film project ever. Producer Namit Malhotra, whose visual effects…
Indian cinema has long embraced ambitious projects, but Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Yash, is poised to outshine previous endeavors. With an estimated budget surpassing $500 million for its two-part adaptation of the Hindu epic, Ramayana claims the title of the most costly Indian film venture. Producer Namit Malhotra, whose firm DNEG has contributed to Hollywood blockbusters like Dune, confirmed the staggering expense.
"No Indian film, by a wide margin, comes close to it," he remarked to The Hollywood Reporter India. Ramayana's ambition builds upon a trend of increasingly costly Indian films, starting with SS Rajamouli's Baahubali series. The pair, released between 2015 and 2017, boasted a combined budget of $48 million and generated a massive $199 million worldwide from the second installment alone.
Unlike Hollywood, the Indian film industry lacks a centralized authority to validate production costs and box office revenues, so the figures below are based on producers' statements, trade publications, and independent tracking sources. Here are 10 of the priciest Indian films ever made and their box office outcomes: 1. Ramayana, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, was slated for a November 5, 2026 release.
Its projected $445 million budget, inclusive of promotional and release expenses, eclipses all others. 2. Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, a Kannada-English period gangster drama, is estimated to have cost between $53 million and $89 million. Despite its ambitious sets and international scope, the film's box office takings were just $38 million.
3. Kalki 2898 AD, a Telugu sci-fi film with a budget of $67 million, became India's third-highest-grossing film with $116 million worldwide. Prabhas stars as Bhairava, while Amitabh Bachchan plays the immortal warrior Ashwatthama. 4. RRR, a Telugu-language action epic about British-era Indian revolutionaries, cost roughly $61 million to produce.
Despite its massive $137 million global box office, it remains one of the most expensive Indian films ever made. 5. Adipurush, a Hindi-Telugu adaptation of the Ramayana legend, had a budget ranging from $56 million to $78 million. Its exact box office earnings are not disclosed in the source material.
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