The makers of Ramayana: Part 1 have warned that anyone recording the film inside a cinema and circulating the footage will face criminal, civil and contempt proceedings, after a legal notice was published on the film's official Instagram handle. The mythological epic has drawn viewers in India and overseas since its November 5 release.
The notice cites two Bombay High Court orders, dated November 2 and November 6, 2026, passed in a commercial intellectual property suit, barring identified as well as unidentified persons from capturing, uploading or disseminating the film, or any portion of it, without permission. Clips shot inside theatres have reportedly been in circulation online.
According to the notice, such recording infringes copyright, is a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment and a fine under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Copyright Act, 1957, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and also amounts to contempt of court. The team said it was aware that unauthorised footage from screenings was being shared on social media and messaging apps.
It asks that material already posted be deleted, and states that offenders will be reported to the authorities and to the platforms, closing with the line "All rights reserved. Team Ramayana."
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Goddess Sita and Yash as Ravana, with Namit Malhotra and Yash as producers. Ravie Dubey, Indira Krishna, Arun Govil, Vivek Oberoi, Sonal Jha, Lara Dutta, Kunal Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh and Kajal Aggarwal also appear in the cast.
Much of the audience conversation has centred on Yash's Ravana. Director Dolly said the demon king's role carries greater weight in this instalment, and that "talented Yash turns out to be a show-stealer", adding that the sequel would showcase Lord Rama's heroics. He dismissed the criticism that the film glorifies characters such as Ravana and Surpanakha, calling it "purely a matter of interpretation" and saying audiences should not view them in black and white. Producer Abhishek Agarwal argued that Ranbir Kapoor deserves equal credit, describing his transformation as "simply mind-blowing", and said comparisons with the earlier television serial Ramayan should be avoided.
A second part is scheduled for Diwali 2028. Sunny Deol appears as Lord Hanuman in the first film's post-credit sequence, with his full look reserved for the sequel, while Anupam Kher has voiced Jatayu.
(With inputs from media reports)