Ramayana enters Hollywood. Yes, what you hear is true and soon Indian Epic ‘Ramayana’ which is considered as one of the holy books of India is going to be seen as a Hollywood movie.

Ramayana – It’s a story known by billions of people around the world. There have been hundreds of versions of the epic saga being told through books, cartoons, and TV series; and yet it never gets old. And now, Ramayana is going to be told in a way it has never been told before. Three directors have come together to make an English film out of it in order to give it a global reach. With the help of latest technology, the makers claim the film is going to be at par with Hollywood’s fantasy adventure hits like ‘Lord of the Rings’ or ‘Game of Thrones.’

US-based directors – Vineet Sinha and Sean Graham, along with Creative Director Ronnie Allman want to recreate “Ramayana” as they feel Indian mythological stories need to be told to the world. “Hollywood, Japan, and China make and market their stories such as Batman, Superman, Star Wars and Pokemon to the whole world. But Indian stories are not as well known,” Mr. Sinha told PTI.

The duo aims at using the latest technology to create special effects that’d sweep the audience off its feet. They claim, “Now the technology is accessible, the audience is there, and we believe the world is ready to see the first English language Indian mythology on a scale of Lord of the Rings or Planet of the Apes.”

Director Sean Graham says they want to narrate the tale of “Ramayana” in 3D and Imax. “Considering India’s most expensive films cost about $25 million, so for making Ramayana the cost would be twice of that. We need studio level support to make that possible,” Graham said.

“Creating the world that is thousands of years old means heavy designs. We have to make sure we are keeping true to the time while also adding our own spin on things,” Allman said. “The biggest challenge has also been the most fun to figure out. How do you get a Rakshasa (demons) to fly in the air after being hit by Hanuman’s gada (mace),” Allman added.

The story of “Ramayana” has been narrated to the audience several times but the director duo insists the portrayal of ’Hanuman’ and ‘Ravana’ will be exciting for people to watch.

The film will be shot in English and will see most of the Indian actors in key roles. It will be dubbed in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, French and many other languages.

The project would, of course, require a massive budget, keeping in mind the special effects. The makers are looking to raise Rs 50 lakh by crowd funding on Wishberry.in, a platform for creative projects across films, music, and theater. The contributions start at Rs 750 and go up to a maximum of 5 lakh. Anyone who contributes Rs 5 lakh will be considered a co-producer. Those who invest Rs 750 will find mention on the website of the film on their social media pages and also get sticker packs!

Listen to what the makers has to say:

Many Indians are happy that an Indian Mythological movie is being made as a Hollywood movie and are very excited about the project.