Who is 'Ramayana' producer, 8-time Oscar winner, Namit Malhotra?
What's the story
Namit Malhotra, the producer of Nitesh Tiwari's much-anticipated Ramayana, has been in the spotlight after the film's teaser was released. The ambitious project features an ensemble cast including Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash, and Sunny Deol. Despite its star-studded lineup and massive budget of ₹835 crore, the film's title card prominently features Malhotra's name. Here's everything to know about him.
Career beginnings
Malhotra's background and early career
Malhotra hails from a film family; his father is producer Naresh Malhotra, and his grandfather was cinematographer MN Malhotra. After studying computer graphics, he founded Video Workshop, an editing studio that worked on iconic series like Boogie Woogie and Gaatha. In 1997, he decided to merge Video Workshop with his father's rental and film production firm to form Prime Focus, which later on ventured into film production with The Hurricane Heist.
Corporate growth
DNEG has won Oscars for 'Dune' and 'Tenet'
In July 2014, Prime Focus ended up merging further with Double Negative, which was a UK-based VFX studio, to form DNEG. The company has since provided visual effects for Hollywood blockbusters like Blade Runner 2049, Tenet, and the two Dune films. Over the last 10 years, DNEG has won eight Oscars, seven of those being for Best Visual Effects.
Film aspirations
About the 2-part 'Ramayana'
Malhotra has been working on the Ramayana movie adaptation since 2015. The film is set to be a two-part series, with Part 1 coming out on Diwali 2026 and Part 2 on Diwali 2027. Kapoor plays Lord Ram, Yash potrays Ravana, Pallavi will take on Sita's role, Ravie Dubey plays Laxman, and Deol is set to portray Hanuman. AR Rahman has teamed up with Hans Zimmer for the music.