Even before the current generation of filmmakers began making ambitious big-screen adaptations of the Ramayana, Bollywood reportedly had plans for another grand version of the epic with Ajay Devgn and Kajol in the lead roles.
According to reports, filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi was working on a Ramayana project in 2006, and Ajay Devgn was approached to play Lord Ram and Kajol for the role of Mata Sita. The project was a big mythological film that wanted to bring one of India’s most revered epics to the big screen with an unprecedented budget at the time.
What made the proposed project more ambitious was the reported ₹100 crore budget. In 2006, a production budget of ₹100 crore was considered enormous for a Hindi film. The scale apparently made the project one of the most expensive Bollywood ventures being contemplated at the time.
Rajkumar Santoshi, known for movies like Ghayal, Damini, Ghatak and Legend of Bhagat Singh, was also keen on putting the epic on a vast cinematic canvas. Ajay Devgn and Kajol would have been a lot of stars given their status of being a couple in Hindi cinema.
Ajay Devgn as Lord Ram would have been a bold move from his current action and dramatic roles. On screen he could have played serious characters and a different interpretation of the legendary figure.
Kajol, too, was being considered for Sita. Her pairing with Ajay would have added even more interest to the project, because the two actors were already one of Bollywood's most recognizable on-screen and off-screen couples.
However, the Ramayana never went into production and was ultimately shelved, with the huge budget of the project being one of the big obstacles.
The ₹100 crore budget was particularly difficult in the mid-2000s. The big budget needed to accommodate such a big mythological production was a massive expenditure in sets and costumes, visual effects, action sequences and post-production. At a time when Bollywood's commercial economics was very different from what is happening today on the pan-India film market, it was very challenging to raise the funds.
So the project remained one of Bollywood’s ambitious “what-if” films. And it could have been one of the most expensive and visually ambitious Indian films in that time.
Interestingly, the Ramayana continues to inspire filmmakers decades later. Modern technology, international distribution and the growth of the Indian film market have made it far easier for filmmakers to develop projects on a scale that was way too hard in 2006.
The reported Ajay Devgn-Kajol Ramayana is an interesting piece of Bollywood history - a major movie which had huge star power, an acclaimed director, and a huge budget at its core, and yet never actually made it to the screen.
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