Can Ramayana Keep Audiences Engaged for These Many Hours?

The story of Ramayana is not new to Indian audiences. Almost everyone knows the journey of Lord Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Ravana. The epic has been told through films, television serials, books and stage performances for many years. However, the upcoming film Ramayana has created huge expectations. Now one important question is whether the film can keep audiences interested for more than three hours.

Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash, Ramayana is directed by Nitesh Tiwari. The film is scheduled to release worldwide on November 5, 2026, just ahead of Diwali. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has cleared the film with a U certificate.

According to the CBFC website, the movie has a runtime of 195 minutes, which means audiences will have to spend 3 hours and 15 minutes in theatres. This is quite a long duration for any film. Also the biggest challenge is that Ramayana is already a familiar story. Audiences know what happens in the lives of Rama and Sita and how the battle against Ravana takes place. So, the makers need to offer something fresh.

Simply showing a story that everyone knows may not be enough to hold the attention of audiences for such a long time. The screenplay, emotional scenes, action sequences and music will play an important role in making the film engaging.

Apart from Ranbir Kapoor, the film features Yash, Sai Pallavi, Sunny Deol, Ravi Dubey, Rakul Preet Singh, Arun Govil and Lara Dutta in important roles.

The movie will release in 2D, 3D, IMAX 3D, 4DX 3D and ScreenX formats in multiple languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and English.

The scale of Ramayana is certainly exciting. But for sure real success will depend on how well the makers present this familiar story. Because we have seen Ramayana for many times and everyone of us know the story. So how director make us to sit is what can make it as classic hit.