Indian cinema’s production scale has expanded dramatically, with filmmakers committing hundreds of crores to mythology, science fiction and large-scale action spectacles. Rising investments have gone towards elaborate sets, high-end visual effects, international technical teams and star-led franchises.
Nitesh Tiwari’s , with its reported budget of more than ₹4,000 crore for both parts, has pushed the scale further than most Indian productions. Here’s a look at five of the country’s biggest-budget films based on reported figures.
Nitesh Tiwari’s mythological epic tops the list by a significant margin. The two-part franchise stars Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi and is backed by Namit Malhotra. The project features VFX by DNEG, music by Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman, and is planned for a global IMAX release.
Yash’s gangster action film , directed by Geetu Mohandas, is among the most expensive Indian productions reported to date. The film is being planned as a global release and represents a significant investment in large-scale Indian action cinema.
Directed by Nag Ashwin, the dystopian science-fiction epic stars Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and . According to trade portal Sacnilk, the film was mounted on a reported budget of ₹600 crore. Its production involved extensive world-building, a dedicated visual effects pipeline and custom assets, including the futuristic vehicle Bujji.
S.S. Rajamouli’s pre-independence action spectacle, starring N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan, was mounted on an estimated ₹550 crore budget, according to Sacnilk. The production involved extensive period sets, multi-year principal photography, physical stunt choreography and digital effects for its major action sequences.
Om Raut’s epic retelling, starring Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon, was produced on a reported budget of ₹500-700 crore, according to Sacnilk. The production relied extensively on motion capture and virtual stages, with visual effects work forming a substantial part of the film’s reported expenditure.
Other high-budget Indian productions have also pushed the industry’s spending limits in recent years. Films such as 2.0 (2018), Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024) and other large-scale projects have reportedly carried budgets running into several hundred crores, underscoring the growing financial scale of Indian cinema.
