Director Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana: Rise of a Legend recently had a world premiere at the Academy Theatre in Los Angeles. The premiere has taken place a week ahead of the theatrical release of the film, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, and Yash in the lead roles. The film's producer Namit Malhotra has spoken about what it means for him and his team to bring the epic from Indian mythology to the world.
Calling it his "Oscar moment," the producer expressed his gratitude to the cast and crew behind the film and looked back at his journey fondly. Namit's company DNEG is also behind the VFX work for the film and serves as one of the producers. "My company DNEG and my team have won eight Academy Awards, seven in the last 11 years for visual effects, and have collaborated with the greatest filmmakers of our times such as Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve and many others," the producer said.
Reflecting on his journey, he added, "For a third generation film family background, garage startup kid at 19 with an Apple computer working with three of his teachers who are all of 21, this is what dreams are made of. What better place to share this moment than the city of Angels, Los Angeles. In my pursuit of building a global company and connecting the East and the West, I set foot in LA in 2007 and haven't looked back since."
Namit also recalled financial difficulties in 2008 and bouncing back from the situation to produce one of the biggest films ever in Indian cinema. "I can't even tell you what it feels like to stand here today, and we have been able to bring together some of the absolute best talent from India as you all have seen. We have collaborated with some of the finest western talent like Hans Zimmer, Terry Notary, Ravi Bansal—a lot of very talented people. It's my privilege to also stand here with my parents Neeta and Naresh Malhotra," he shared.
Addressing those in attendance, he concluded his thoughts by saying that his Ramayana adaptation brings together "the best of India and the best of the west" in order to "to create a motion picture that means more to billions of people around the world than you all can imagine."
Produced by Namit's Prime Focus Studios in collaboration with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, Ramayana is envisioned as a two-part epic. While the first part is set for a November 05 release, the second chapter is scheduled for Diwali next year.
