‘Ramayana’ On OTT Comes With A Catch! JioHotstar’s Pay-Per-View Plan Explained
Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana will require a separate payment on OTT after its theatrical run – here’s how the model works and what remains unannounced.
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You have paid for the subscription, stocked up on snacks and decided to wait for that big film to arrive on OTT. Surely, the next step is simply pressing play? With Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Ramayana: Part One’, there will be another payment to consider before the home-screen spectacle begins. The upcoming epic has secured JioHotstar as its digital destination in India, but its announced release model comes with a catch: viewers will purchase access separately after its theatrical run.
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A regular subscription should therefore not be treated as a ticket to this particular premiere. The extra charge is confirmed; the amount is not. For anyone wondering why a film on a streaming app might sit outside their existing plan, here is how the arrangement works – and what the makers still need to reveal.
What Exactly Has Been Announced?
JioHotstar and Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios have partnered for a pay-per-view release of ‘Ramayana: Part One’ in India, following an exclusive theatrical window. JioStar published its announcement on October 21, 2026, while Prime Focus Studios carried its announcement on October 22.
The film will first open in cinemas worldwide on November 5, 2026, including in IMAX 3D. Only after its theatrical window will the separate on-demand offering become available on JioHotstar. This is therefore a cinema-first plan, with home viewing following later.
JioStar describes it as a first-of-its-kind pay-per-view offering on its platform. That qualification matters: the announcement concerns this JioHotstar arrangement, rather than the invention of paid digital movie access in India. It also specifically addresses Indian audiences; overseas streaming terms cannot be assumed to be identical.
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What Does Pay-Per-View Actually Mean?
The easiest way to understand it is to separate paying for a catalogue from paying for a particular title. A subscription gives you access to the films and shows included in your plan. A separately charged movie sits outside that included selection, even when it appears inside the same app.
Three terms often come up in this conversation. Subscription streaming, or SVOD, means paying a recurring fee to access the films and shows included in your plan. Transactional video-on-demand, or TVOD, involves paying separately for an individual title, usually through a rental or purchase. Pay-per-view, or PPV, similarly lets viewers pay for access to a specific film, programme or event, subject to the provider’s terms. These labels can overlap, so “pay-per-view” alone does not tell you how long you can watch the film or whether repeat viewings are included.
Prime Video’s own help pages, for example, distinguish between titles included with membership and those requiring an additional rental or purchase payment. Ramayana’s precise access rules will depend on JioHotstar’s eventual terms.
Will Existing Jiohotstar Subscribers Have To Pay Extra?
Under the announced model, access to the film is a separate purchase, rather than something viewers should expect their ordinary subscription to unlock automatically. That is the reason behind the “subscription may not be enough” warning.
However, the announcement is not a complete customer price sheet. It does not set out plan-specific benefits, possible promotional offers or the full eligibility rules. Nor does it clearly establish whether someone without a regular subscription can simply pay for this film alone.
There is another distinction worth keeping in mind: purchasing access does not automatically mean owning a permanent digital copy. The companies have not specified the viewing period, replay allowance or download permissions. So, claims of unlimited lifetime viewing – or a particular rental countdown – would be premature. The separate payment is established; the finer print remains to come.
Has India Seen Anything Like This Before?
Yes. Anyone who has spotted a “Rent” button while browsing Prime Video has already encountered the basic idea.
Amazon launched the Prime Video Store in India on April 28, 2022, introducing a transactional movie-rental service alongside its subscription offering. The marketplace allowed customers to access individual Indian and international films through a separate payment. Amazon’s India guidance also explains that movie rentals are available to both Prime members and non-members. In other words, membership and an individual film payment can coexist on the same service.
Bollywood has experimented with pay-per-view too. Salman Khan’s ‘Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai’ received a ZEEPlex pay-per-view release in May 2021, alongside its pandemic-era theatrical strategy. That release had its own circumstances and commercial terms.
Aamir Khan’s ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ offers an even closer precedent. Directed by R. S. Prasanna and starring Aamir and Genelia Deshmukh, the film opened in cinemas on June 20, 2025, before arriving on YouTube Movies on August 1, 2025, with an announced rental price of Rs 100 in India. Its initial digital release asked audiences to pay specifically for the film instead of accessing it through a subscription catalogue. Aamir explained that he wanted to establish a paid viewing window between cinemas and subscription streaming. While Ramayana’s platform and eventual terms differ, the central idea is familiar: a theatrical release followed by a separately charged home-viewing option.
Why Are Ramayana’s Makers Choosing This Route?
The stated ambition is to preserve the big-screen launch while reaching people whom cinemas cannot serve.
Namit Malhotra has been explicit about the theatrical experience: “I believe Ramayana should be experienced on the biggest screen possible, in IMAX 3D.” He also acknowledged that India’s cinema infrastructure cannot reach everyone who feels connected to the epic, presenting JioHotstar as a way to take the film into homes after its theatrical run.
JioStar chairperson Nita M. Ambani similarly framed the partnership around technology, wider access and introducing the story’s values to another generation. Commercially, the arrangement creates a source of revenue tied to purchases of this particular film, alongside the platform’s subscription business.
When Will It Stream, And How Much Will It Cost?
As of October 26, neither the pay-per-view price nor the digital premiere date has been announced. The confirmed date, November 5, is for the worldwide theatrical release.
The length of the exclusive cinema window has also not been specified. Consequently, there is no confirmed basis for assigning the film a December or January streaming date, or attaching a familiar rental price borrowed from another platform.
Whether it will eventually join an ordinary subscription catalogue is another unanswered question. The announced pay-per-view release does not establish that it will remain separately charged forever – or promise a later subscription-included date.
Could This Change What Subscribers Expect?
The arrangement raises a practical question: when viewers see a major film advertised on an app they already pay for, how clearly will any additional charge be explained?
For audiences, the appeal is a home-viewing option after cinemas, particularly where theatrical access is difficult. The trade-off is another payment and a need to understand what it buys. Price, viewing duration and replay rules will shape whether that feels worthwhile.
For the industry, ‘Ramayana’ could become a prominent test of this approach on JioHotstar. But one partnership does not establish that every future blockbuster – or the platform’s entire catalogue – will follow the same model.
The Epic Behind The Extra Charge
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, ‘Ramayana’ is a two-part live-action adaptation, with a screenplay adapted by Shridhar Raghavan from Valmiki’s epic. Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi plays Sita, Yash plays Ravana, Sunny Deol plays Hanuman and Ravie Dubey plays Lakshman. The ensemble also includes Arun Govil, Lara Dutta, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Kunal Kapoor and Kajal Aggarwal.
Prime Focus Studios is producing the project in association with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, while Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman collaborate on the music. Part One is scheduled for release in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English.
For viewers planning to wait for OTT, the immediate takeaway is straightforward: budget for a separate purchase, but wait for the actual price and access terms before deciding whether to book that living-room premiere.
