JioHotstar will offer Namit Malhotra’s ‘Ramayana: Part One’ to Indian audiences through a pay-per-view model after its exclusive theatrical run, in a first-of-its-kind offering on the streaming platform.

The film, which releases worldwide in cinemas on November 5, will be available separately for on-demand purchase on JioHotstar, expanding access to the much-anticipated cinematic adaptation beyond theatres, streamer’s parent JioStar said yesterday in a statement.

Nita M. Ambani, chairperson of JioStar, said the partnership would help bring the epic to families across the country.

“At JioHotstar, our vision is to use technology to bring the finest stories within reach of every Indian,” she said, adding that it was a privilege to present the cinematic vision of ‘Ramayana’and introduce a new generation to its values of duty, love, courage and goodness.

Malhotra, producer and founder and CEO of DNEG, said the epic should ideally be experienced on the biggest screen possible, in IMAX 3D, but acknowledged the limitations of cinema infrastructure in reaching every audience.

“Ramayana belongs to every Indian, and our ambition must reflect that,” he said, describing JioHotstar as a natural partner to take the film into people’s homes after its theatrical run.

The partnership will leverage JioHotstar’s technology and reach to deliver the film in the highest possible quality across supported devices.

The film will be released in theatres, including IMAX 3D, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English.

Produced by Prime Focus Studios in association with eight-time Academy Award-winning visual effects studio DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, ‘Ramayana’ is a two-part live-action cinematic event directed by Nitesh Tiwari and adapted by Shridhar Raghavan from Valmiki’s epic.

The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravan, Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman.

Its creative team includes Academy Award-winning composers Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman, with production design by Ravi Bansal and Ramsey Avery, and action by Terry Notary and Guy Norris.

The production has been conceived for IMAX and other premium cinematic formats.