Namit Malhotra Recalls Losing 90% Of His Wealth In 2008, Calls Ramayana LA Premiere His 'Oscar' Moment

Namit Malhotra, the co-producer of Ramayana, had an LA showcase for the epic drama, what he called his "Oscar moment", tying the film’s global rollout to a deeply personal milestone. Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Sai Pallavi and Nitesh Tiwari, among others, also attended the premiere.

At the event, Malhotra opened up about his journey to make the magnum opus, reportedly made on a whopping budget of ₹4,000 crore. Malhotra started his journey with a video-editing and computer-graphics set-up in a Mumbai garage before folding it into his father’s equipment-rental business in 1997 to form Prime Focus Limited.

Namit Malhotra calls Ramayana LA screening his Oscar moment

At a special presentation at the Academy Theatre, Malhotra said, "I wanted to host this evening at the Academy Theatre because this is my Oscar moment."

On building a global VFX company

Malhotra's story is really inspiring. His company DNEG has won multiple Academy Awards for visual effects. The dream that started from a garage has become one of the globally recognised production banners.

Recalling his past, Malhotra shared, "For someone from a third-generation film family and a garage start-up kid at 19, with an Apple computer and working with three of his teachers who were all 21, this is what dreams are made of."

"In my pursuit of building a global company and connecting the East and the West, I set foot in LA in 2007 and haven’t looked back since. An immigrant who lost 90 per cent of his wealth during the fun times in 2008, as I am sure some of you may remember, to bounce back today and be able to bring the biggest independent production in the world, I can’t even tell you what it feels like to stand here today and say this," he added.

He also thanked those who backed him during the difficult phase. Malhotra thanked his parents, Nita and Naresh Malhotra, and his wife for backing his vision. "I got into post-production and visual effects to get to make movies at some point, and that is what I am doing today," he said further.

DNEG and Ramayana

In 2014, Prime Focus merged with London-based visual-effects company Double Negative, and it was renamed DNEG.

DNEG has provided visual effects (VFX) for over 250 major Hollywood films, winning multiple Academy Awards and BAFTAs. It has collaborated with renowned filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve.

With Ramayana, Malhotra aims to push it beyond post-production and visual effects, making it appealing to a global audience. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana is co-produced by Yash, who plays Ravana.

Out on November 5, Ramayana also stars Sunny Deol, Arun Govil, Lara Dutta, Rakul Preet Singh and Vivek Oberoi, among others.