JioHotstar Will Sell Ramayana: Part One on Pay-Per-View After Its Theatrical Run

JioHotstar will sell Ramayana: Part One as a separate pay-per-view purchase in India after the film's theatrical run, rather than adding it to its subscription library, the streamer and Prime Focus Studios announced on 21 October 2026, Indian Television reported. The film opens worldwide in cinemas on 5 November, during Diwali.

The deal makes one of the most anticipated Indian films of the year a test of whether viewers will pay for a single film at home, on top of a monthly plan. The companies have not announced the price, the date the film reaches JioHotstar or how long the exclusive cinema window will last.

What the deal covers

• Theatrical first: the film releases in cinemas on 5 November 2026, including in IMAX 3D, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English.
• Then pay-per-view: after the exclusive theatrical window, viewers in India can buy access on JioHotstar across supported devices, Bollywood Hungama reported.
• Not yet disclosed: the price, the digital release date, the length of the window and whether the same arrangement applies outside India.

Who is behind the film

Nitesh Tiwari directs the two-part live-action adaptation of Valmiki's epic, produced by Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus Studios with DNEG and Yash's Monster Mind Creations. Ranbir Kapoor plays Rama, Sai Pallavi plays Sita, Yash plays Ravana and Sunny Deol plays Hanuman. Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman composed the music.

Malhotra said the film was made for the biggest screens, especially IMAX 3D, but that cinemas cannot reach every viewer, and he called JioHotstar a natural partner for taking it into homes. "Ramayana belongs to every Indian," he said, according to Bollywood Hungama. JioStar chairperson Nita M. Ambani said the partnership would take the film to audiences beyond cinemas.

Why it matters for streaming and cinemas

Indian films typically sell their streaming rights for a flat fee and then sit inside a subscription. Pay-per-view lets a producer share in every home purchase instead, but only works if viewers who skipped the cinema will pay for a single title. It also keeps the cinema window intact, which matters to multiplexes as streaming takes a growing share of viewing: online video has already overtaken TV in India's screen economy, according to Media Partners Asia.

For JioHotstar, a premium title sold separately is a way to earn more from its existing user base without raising plan prices, at a time when rivals are chasing the same household budgets. Netflix India just logged its biggest quarter for new paid members, and the wider industry grew 9% to ₹2.78 lakh crore in 2025.

The next markers are the pay-per-view price and the digital date, which will show how long the producers want the film to stay cinema-only.