After its November 5 theatrical release, Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana: Part One will be sold on demand on JioHotstar, a first for the platform, Variety reports.
Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana: Part One, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Yash, will be available to buy on demand on JioHotstar in India once its theatrical run ends, according to Variety. The deal was struck between the streamer and Prime Focus Studios.
The film will be sold as a separate on-demand purchase rather than folded into a regular subscription. Variety reports that the companies described it as the first pay-per-view offering of its kind on JioHotstar, and that it will stream in the best quality each supported device can handle.
Release plan
The film opens worldwide on Nov. 5, timed to the Diwali holiday, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English. Imax 3D is among its formats. Sony Pictures Entertainment is releasing it globally, while Karan Johar's Dharma Productions is handling distribution in India, Variety said.
Variety did not report a date for the JioHotstar release, only that it follows the theatrical run.
The film and its makers
The live-action epic is planned in two parts, with Shridhar Raghavan adapting Valmiki's epic. It follows the exiled prince Rama (Kapoor) and his consort Sita (Sai Pallavi) through exile and into catastrophe, after Sita is abducted by Ravana (Yash), setting off a war between righteousness and evil. Sunny Deol plays Hanuman and Ravie Dubey plays Lakshman. The cast also includes Arun Govil, Lara Dutta, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Kunal Kapoor and Kajal Aggarwal.
Prime Focus Studios is producing with DNEG, the visual effects company that has won eight Oscars, and Yash's Monster Mind Creations. Oscar winners Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman are the composers. Ravi Bansal and Ramsey Avery handled production design, and Terry Notary and Guy Norris oversaw the action.
Why the two-track release matters
Namit Malhotra, the producer who founded DNEG and serves as its CEO, said he believes the film should be watched on the largest screen available, in Imax 3D. But he added that India's cinema infrastructure "cannot reach everyone who holds this epic close," and said JioHotstar can take the film "into people's hands and living rooms, after its theatrical run," Variety reported.
Nita M. Ambani, chair of JioStar, called the story "one of India's greatest civilizational treasures" and said the platform's aim is to use technology to bring the finest stories within reach of every Indian.
The model pairs a premium big-screen window with a paid home option, rather than moving straight to a subscription service. How audiences respond to paying separately at home, and how much time separates the two windows, will be the thing to watch once the film is out.
Picture credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment (official film still)
