Rahman, Zimmer and Amazon Music Team Up on Ramayana — SkimNews
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- Ramayana opens worldwide Nov. 5 with Part 1, directed by Nitesh Tiwari and starring Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana; a second film is planned.
- A.R. Rahman and Hans Zimmer teamed for the first time on an Indian film, recording the “Ramayana” score with an orchestra at AIR Studios in London; Namit Malhotra said the goal was to honor the epic’s resonance while carrying its emotion worldwide.
- T-Series serves as the “Ramayana” music label, while Amazon Music is the streaming partner; “Jai Jai Ram” was released Sept. 14 for Ganesh Chaturthi, and every track has its own release window.
- Amazon Music hosted an Oct. 21 “Ramayana” celebration at the Chennai Trade Centre, where Rahman performed with Kapoor, Pallavi and Yash, and has built a dedicated album hub, four character playlists and short-form “Decoding Ramayana” videos.
- Amazon Music operates in more than 50 countries and releases each “Ramayana” song in India and abroad simultaneously. Around 70% of what its customers in India stream is Indian-language, and the service has spent more than two years building standalone launches for major film albums.
- Nitesh Tiwari says character reactions, relationships and difficult choices—not plot surprises—carry the adaptation’s emotional discovery, with each scene guiding Rahman and Zimmer toward full expression, restraint or silence.
- Namit Malhotra said the first film must leave audiences invested enough to return, with music connecting them to characters and themes in the interval; Amazon Music’s success test is continued listening after the film leaves theaters.
Why it matters: Amazon Music’s Oct. 21 activation and release across 50-plus countries make “Ramayana” its biggest film-music push yet; Indian-language music is around 70% of what its customers in India stream. For T-Series and the producers, that scale makes the soundtrack a pre-release invitation to Part 1 and a bridge to Part 2.
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