The first poster of the upcoming film Valmiki Ramayana was unveiled by the makers on Thursday. Helmed by Bhavna Talwar, the film is slared to release in theatres on October 2.

As per a press release shared by the makers, production designer Sabu Cyril leads the visual world-building, while author Anand Neelakantan has written the screenplay, drawing directly from the original Valmiki Ramayana. The film’s cinematographer is Binod Pradhan, while Academy Award-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty helms the film’s soundscape. Filmmaker and scholar Chandraprakash Dwivedi also serves as the creative consultant and dialogue writer for the project.

The Valmiki Ramayana is one of the earliest Sanskrit epics and a foundational text of Indian literature. Composed around 500–100 BCE, it contains about 24,000 verses divided into seven books.

The narrative follows Lord Ram, prince of Ayodhya, his exile, the abduction of his wife Sita by Ravana, and her eventual rescue with the help of allies including Hanuman. The text addresses kingship, duty (dharma), family obligations, and ethical conduct.

It also provides early models of political authority and social order. The Valmiki Ramayana differs in tone and detail from later adaptations, serving as the primary source for subsequent regional and cultural retellings across South and Southeast Asia.