From Prabhas’ Baahubali To Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayan & Beyond: How Indian Cinema Entered Comic Con |
Very slowly, Indian cinema is finding a new avenue for promoting its movies. Long known as a bastion for high-scale Hollywood promotions, Comic Con, over the past few years, has caught the attention of Bollywood. The most anticipated movie that shall see its launch there is director Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). On July 23, 2026, stars Ranbir Kapoor and Yash shall showcase the film’s official first look and exclusive footage at Ballroom 20 in San Diego. The Hollywood biggies expected at the SDCC are Avengers: Doomsday (which stars Robert Downey Jr.), celebrations around Superman, and first-look previews of Blade Runner 2099 and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
The beginning with Baahubali The first Indian film to enter this realm was Baahubali, followed years later by Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD, which was called Project K when it made its debut at SDCC in July 2023. The event was attended by Prabhas and Kamal Haasan.From Varanasi to Vvan
Then there was Varanasi, starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran, and directed by SS Rajamouli, which showcased its exclusive content at CCXP (Comic Con Experience) Mexico in April this year. This included a special Varanasi to the World glimpse, along with never-seen-before behind-the-scenes (BTS) footage created specifically for the event. However, the event found itself in the midst of negative online chatter after visuals from its panel at CCXP Mexico showed several empty seats, though others argued that the photos did not capture the entire picture. Producer SS Karthikeya was present, with Rajamouli joining via video, but none of the stars associated with the film attended.
More recently, Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia were seen at the Mumbai Comic Con promoting their upcoming film Vvan, which is about a goddess who awakens in a forbidden forest.
“When we were approached to expand the universe of Vvan, a ‘folk feature based on a creature’, as Ekta Kapoor aptly calls it, it felt like a genuinely exciting creative challenge. This wasn’t just another adaptation; it was an expansion of the lore created by the visionary teams at TVF and Balaji — two entertainment juggernauts. It also is the first major movie spin-off graphic novel to arrive months before the film’s release, setting the mood, expanding the mythology, and building anticipation for what’s to come.“And if there was one stage where this universe deserved to be unveiled first, it had to be Comic Con India, Mumbai. The audience here is so passionate and, in many ways, the earliest adopters of genre storytelling, mythology, fantasy and comics,” Alok Sharma, Co-founder and CCO Indusverse, who wrote the comic book along with TVF founder Arunabh Kumar, told The Free Press Journal.The entry of Indian cinemaThe one person, however, who has seen the entire trajectory of Bollywood and Comic Con map out is Jatin Varma, founder of Comic Con India. Over a call, he explained how it all started with Baahubali.
“Hollywood was ruling the roost at Comic Con because superhero films are perfect for it. But then I think people got a little bored with just superheroes, and they wanted to explore other things. For Indian cinema, it all actually started with Baahubali. They built experience zones, and Rana Daggubati and Tamannaah too participated. They had a vision, and they did it in the manner of a Hollywood studio, including the pre-buzz and the world-building. Then the movie actually came out and became a rage, which they capitalised on. Kalki was a mix of mythology and futuristic sci-fi. As far as Ramayana is concerned, it’s deeper and larger than all the other epics, and it has someone with a solid background in VFX for decades,” Varma told us.The road aheadCome July 24, it will be exciting to see how the world of Ramayana is brought to us at an event known for its celebration of pop culture, and whether Krrish and other desi superheroes follow in its path.