Ramayana Unveils First Song ‘Jai Jai Ram’ as Diwali Epic Sets Devotional Tone

Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana has opened its musical campaign with Jai Jai Ram, a first song composed by A.R. Rahman, written by Dr. Kumar Vishwas, and sung by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal, India Today and The Hindu reported on September 14, 2026. Makers timed the release for Ganesh Chaturthi, framing the track as an auspicious start to a Diwali 2026 theatrical launch that already ranks among the year’s most closely watched Hindi projects.

India Today described the video as moving through key emotional beats from Lord Ram’s life: wedding sequences with Sai Pallavi’s Sita, a flower-strewn welcome in Ayodhya, Ram caring for King Dasharatha, the immersion of his father’s ashes, and the Bharat Milaap reunion. Rahman’s brief, quoted by both India Today and The Hindu, stressed simplicity—“the simple and powerful repetition of Shri Ram’s name”—and an intention to keep the intimacy of a prayer while allowing the piece to grow into a cinematic song. Kumar Vishwas said he avoided trying to “describe” Ram in ornate language, preferring three words that function as a complete prayer. Producer Namit Malhotra told India Today the song comes from a “deeply personal and timeless relationship” devotees share with Ram and that beginning on Ganesh Chaturthi felt culturally meaningful because auspicious beginnings seek Ganesha’s blessings.

The casting remains the industry’s loudest talking point around the film. Ranbir Kapoor plays Ram, Sai Pallavi is Sita, Yash is Ravana, Sunny Deol is Hanuman, and Ravie Dubey is Lakshman, according to both outlets. The Hindu noted that the adapted screenplay is by Sridhar Raghavan and Tiwari, with dialogues by Shreyas Jain and Tiwari, and cinematography by Pankaj Kumar and Mahesh Limaye. Production credits list Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations; Sony Pictures is handling global distribution outside India. The Hindu also reported that the project is among the most expensive Indian films ever made, with a budget said to exceed ₹4,000 crore—an extraordinary figure that explains why each marketing beat, including a first song, is treated as a national-event rollout rather than a routine promo drop. Part One is due Diwali 2026, with a second part planned for 2027.

For Bollywood business readers, Jai Jai Ram is less about chart metrics on day one than about positioning. Epic mythological films live or die on whether audiences accept the faces cast as sacred figures; a Rahman–Arijit–Shreya prayer-song that foregrounds devotion before spectacle is a deliberate soft entry after the trailer’s global launch. India Today noted that the trailer had already drawn a strong worldwide response, so the song functions as emotional proof-of-tone: the makers want viewers to hear reverence before they debate VFX budgets.

iShook Daily readers who follow Hindi cinema’s big-screen-to-streaming pipeline can place this release alongside earlier coverage of Bollywood stars navigating OTT and theatrical windows, without confusing a Diwali tentpole for a platform exclusive. The verified facts as of September 14–15 are straightforward: first song out, creative quotes on record, Diwali 2026 date intact, and a cast list that still dominates conversation from Mumbai to overseas diaspora markets. Whether Kapoor’s Ram converts skeptics will be answered in theatres; for now, Rahman has given the campaign its opening mantra.

Commercially, a Diwali Part One followed by a 2027 Part Two is a two-cycle bet that asks audiences to invest across festival seasons. Song drops are part of that pacing: they keep the title in conversation between trailer and ticket-on-sale without revealing climax set pieces. Rahman’s involvement also functions as a trust signal for older family audiences who may be wary of modern reinterpretations; pairing him with Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal covers both mass and classical-adjacent listenership in one track.

Trade coverage so far has stuck to the makers’ statements rather than inventing early chart positions. The musical launch, the Diwali date, and the creative quotes are the solid facts; box-office verdicts will arrive when theatres do. For now, Jai Jai Ram gives Ramayana a public prayer before the spectacle arguments begin in earnest.

Related: Hanuman Ansh climbs into Bollywood’s top 3; More Bollywood.

The casting remains the industry’s loudest talking point around the film. Ranbir Kapoor plays Ram, Sai Pallavi is Sita, Yash is Ravana, Sunny Deol is Hanuman, and Ravie Dubey is Lakshman, according to both outlets. The Hindu noted that the adapted screenplay is by Sridhar Raghavan and Tiwari, with dialogues by Shreyas Jain and Tiwari, and cinematography by Pankaj Kumar and Mahesh Limaye. Production credits list Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations; Sony Pictures is handling global distribution outside India. The Hindu also reported that the project is among the most expensive Indian films ever made, with a budget said to exceed ₹4,000 crore—an extraordinary figure that explains why each marketing beat, including a first song, is treated as a national-event rollout rather than a routine promo drop. Part One is due Diwali 2026, with a second part planned for 2027.