Ramayana’s Scale & Success: Varanasi Stakes Get Higher!

The scale, visual grandeur and box office performance of Ramayana have become major talking points among moviegoers. The epic, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, has received largely positive feedback for its visuals, scale and grand presentation, with audiences praising the effort that has gone into bringing the epic to the big screen.

Interestingly, all this is happening at a time when comparisons between Ramayana and SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi have been doing the rounds, especially considering that there is a Ramayana block in Varanasi which is reportedly expected to run for around 30 minutes in the film.

Even before Ramayana had hit theatres, there was considerable discussion about how the two films would compare in terms of scale and visual presentation.

Now that Ramayana has arrived in theatres, the conversation has taken a different turn. With the Ramayana’s scale has earned unanimous and widespread appreciation from all quarters. Also, Ramayana’s visuals have won the critics and audiences alike. While a few frames have been criticised for looking artificial, the overall visual experience has been received positively.

On top of these, Ramayana’s box office performance has added another interesting angle to the ongoing discussion. Its ability to attract audiences and generate excitement around a mythological epic will certainly be closely watched by Rajamouli.

SS Rajamouli must be watching all these developments closely. Varanasi is one of the most ambitious projects of his career, and expectations are already sky-high.

More importantly, the stakes for Varanasi have now become even higher. If Ramayana has managed to impress audiences with its scale and visual presentation, Rajamouli will have to offer something more spectacular, to match the massive expectations around his films.

Of course, Rajamouli has his own style of filmmaking and storytelling. His strength has always been combining larger-than-life visuals with emotionally engaging narratives. But when two ambitious projects operate in the same space, comparisons are inevitable.

Ultimately, Ramayana has raised the bar for mythological spectacles. And Rajamouli’s Varanasi is expected to take on these expectations. Let’s wait and see, what is in the store and how Rajamouli would deal with these.