Madhu Mantena backs out as producer from Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana due to monetary concerns; details inside

Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana has been the talk of the town for quite a while now. In a recent development, the film’s producer, Madhu Mantena, backed out of the magnum opus, which reportedly stars Ranbir Kapoor as Ram and Sai Pallavi as Sita. Also read | Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi to start shooting for Ramayana in early 2024; Yash to join in from July: Report

‘Mantena is not financially compatible right now’

“DNEG virtual production has come onboard as producers for the film, after ousting Madhu Mantena. Mantena is not financially compatible right now to take on such a huge project and he had to step down due to monetary concerns,” says the source, when the film was about to go on the floors anytime soon.

The insider further adds that the expenses of visual effects and graphics were quite high and required someone with strong financial backup and experience in that area. “Iss picture mai VFX ka kharcha kaafi zyada hai (The VFX cost a lot), hence they have gotten DNEG to work on this. They did the VFX for Fighter as well and something of that level is what Ramayana makers are also aiming for,” tells the source.

DNEG to only handle a part of the production

“Inhone itni badi films ka VFX sambhaala hai, jaise Oppenheimer, them joining has raised the stakes for Ramayana. Brahmastra se bhi badiya visual effects expected hain ab (They have worked on very big films such as Oppenheimer, now they are expected to give better visual effects than even Brahmastra).” We approached Mantena and Tiwari for a comment, but there was no response till the time of going to press.

Another source also tells us that DNEG has not come on board as a full time producer but will only handle a part of the production. "Yeh jo VFX production companies hoti hain (These VFX companies), they don't come 100 percent on board. DNEG will just handle a part of it, mostly VFX expenses. For example, if the budget is 100 crore, they will only take care of 20-30 percent."

Ravi Dubey not part of film

We have also exclusively learnt that Ravi Dubey is not a part of Ramayana, unlike what the reports suggested. "He is not playing the role of Laxman in the film. In fact, the process has gone a little slow, including the casting, after Mantena's exit. Its just Ranbir who has started the preparation for now." We also reached out to Dubey for a comment, but there was no response.