Mumbai: Ranbir Kapoor is reportedly set to command one of the biggest pay packages ever associated with an actor portraying Lord Ram on screen, with reports suggesting that he will receive around Rs 75 crore for each part of Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part Ramayan. If the reported figure holds, Kapoor’s total remuneration for the planned two-film project could reach approximately Rs 150 crore.
The reported fee has sparked renewed interest in the remuneration earned by actors who have previously portrayed Lord Ram, including Arun Govil, Gurmeet Choudhary, Ashish Sharma and Prabhas.
Arun Govil’s portrayal of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s landmark television series Ramayan remains one of the most iconic depictions of the character. Reports have claimed that Govil received around Rs 40 lakh for the entire series, a substantial amount for a television actor at the time. The role subsequently became inseparable from Govil’s public image and remains one of the defining performances in Indian television history.
When Ramayan returned to television in a new adaptation in 2008, Gurmeet Choudhary was cast as Ram. According to media reports, Choudhary initially earned between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 per episode, with his remuneration later rising to around Rs 1 lakh per episode. With the show running for roughly 300 episodes, his total earnings were estimated in reports at approximately Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore.
Ashish Sharma portrayed Ram in Siya Ke Ram, which premiered in 2015. By then, Sharma had established himself as a television actor and had also won the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Trade reports cited by the original article placed his remuneration at around Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakh per episode. The series ran for 304 episodes, putting his reported total earnings in the range of Rs 3 crore to Rs 3.5 crore.
Prabhas played Raghav, a character based on Lord Ram, in Om Raut’s 2023 film Adipurush. Reports at the time claimed that the actor was paid around Rs 100 crore for the film. The movie attracted significant attention following its release, while its visual treatment and adaptation of the epic generated debate among audiences and critics. Its commercial performance also fell below expectations.
Against this backdrop, Ranbir Kapoor’s reported remuneration stands out. Tiwari’s Ramayan is being planned as a two-part cinematic adaptation, with Kapoor portraying Lord Ram and Sai Pallavi playing Sita. Yash is set to portray Ravana, while Sunny Deol has been cast as Hanuman.
If the reported Rs 75 crore per-film fee remains unchanged, Kapoor would earn approximately Rs 150 crore across the two instalments. That would put his reported remuneration above the figures commonly associated with several earlier actors who have portrayed Ram or Ram-inspired characters.
However, celebrity remuneration figures are rarely disclosed through official contracts and are frequently based on media reports, industry estimates and trade sources. Kapoor’s final compensation could therefore differ from the figures currently being circulated.
The scale of the reported fee nevertheless underlines the enormous expectations surrounding Ramayan, one of the most ambitious mythological film projects currently being developed in Indian cinema.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
