Ramayana: Rise of a Legend International Trailer Out: Ranbir Kapoor’s Rama Faces Yash’s Ravana in Epic Showdown

The international trailer of Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, Nitesh Tiwari’s ambitious two-part adaptation of the Indian epic, has been unveiled — and it puts the central confrontation between Ranbir Kapoor’s Lord Rama and Yash’s Ravana front and centre. The nearly two-and-a-half-minute preview was launched at a grand event in Bengaluru on October 15, marking the start of Sony Pictures’ full-scale global campaign for the film.

The trailer opens in a mythic age when men and gods are shown coexisting, before turning to the rise of Yash’s Ravana, who declares, “Before me, every head will bow.” One of the most striking sequences shows Ravana confronting Kunal Kapoor’s Lord Indra, riding the celestial elephant Airavata, and striking the beast so hard that it crashes to the ground — a moment designed to establish Ravana as a power that threatens even the gods.

Ranbir Kapoor’s Rama is then introduced as the answer to that threat. The voiceover frames him as “not a God, but a man” — humanity’s hope against Ravana — and Rama himself warns, “If I don’t stop him, the world will fall.” Sai Pallavi appears in glimpses as Sita, hinting at the emotional core of the story, while the preview parades large-scale battles, ancient architecture and atmospheric landscapes rendered by DNEG, the Academy Award-winning effects house behind Dune and Interstellar.

The Bengaluru launch was attended by Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash, Ravi Dubey, composer A. R. Rahman and director Nitesh Tiwari, and was hosted by Prime Focus Studios and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations. Alongside the trailer, the makers unveiled two solo posters — Yash as Ravana seated amid fallen warriors against an imposing palace, and Ranbir as Rama drawing his bow with sunlight filtering through a forest.

The ensemble also features Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, Sunny Deol as Hanuman, Arun Govil as Dasharatha, Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi and Rakul Preet Singh. The score pairs two Oscar winners — Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman — while Shridhar Raghavan has co-written the screenplay with Tiwari. The film has been designed for IMAX and other premium large formats.

Ramayana: Rise of a Legend opens exclusively in theatres worldwide on November 5, 2026, right in the Diwali corridor, with the second instalment planned for Diwali 2027. Tickets are already on sale in the US and Canada, and trade reports suggest the film has crossed $100,000 in US advance sales — an early sign of the global appetite for what is being positioned as Indian cinema’s biggest-ever canvas.

Source: Variety India, Bollywood Hungama, Sony Pictures.