Indian producer Namit Malhotra said his upcoming film Ramayana had been created to present Indian culture to global audiences in a stronger way.

Speaking at a recent industry event, Malhotra explained how the idea for the project had developed over the years. He said he had felt there was very little space or Indian history and culture in international cinema.

“When I went to Hollywood, I saw that we had no real presence. They didn’t have any representation of our history or culture,” he said.He added that although Indians had found success in fields such as finance and medicine abroad, cinema had not received the same recognition.

Malhotra also said he had often felt disappointed by the way India had been shown in some global films. Referring to past portrayals, he stated, “We were always the victim. That always troubled me.” He explained that this feeling had pushed him to back a large-scale film based on an Indian epic.

According to him, Ramayana had been chosen because it reflected the depth of Indian storytelling and tradition. “We needed to show who we are, where we come from, and the richness of our history the way the world has never seen before. That really became the genesis of why Ramayana is the perfect story,” he said.

The two-part film had been directed by Nitesh Tiwari. It featured Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, and Yash as Ravana.Sunny Deol portrayed Lord Hanuman, while Ravie Dubey appeared as Lakshmana.

The music for the film had been composed by A. R. Rahman along with Hans Zimmer.

The makers had planned to release the first part ahead of Diwali this year, while the second installment had been scheduled for release before Diwali 2027.

Malhotra said the film had been held on a large scale and aimed to match international production standards. He stated, “People should feel tremendous pride that we are making what is the largest film, as an independently financed film from anywhere in the world.”

The project had been backed by Malhotra’s production banner in collaboration with other partners.