Ramayana releases in India two days after premiere. Will West-first strategy work?

Namit Malhotra’s Ramayana is being sold as a film from India for the world. The scale makes that clear: Nitesh Tiwari’s two-part epic, starring Ranbir Kapoor as Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana and Sunny Deol as Hanuman, has a reported combined budget of around Rs 4,000 crore, visual effects by DNEG, IMAX and 3D presentation, and music by AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer. Sony Pictures is handling its international distribution. Producer Namit Malhotra has been even more direct about the ambition. He wants Ramayana to travel beyond India, introduce Indian mythology to audiences unfamiliar with it and…