Quick summary
- Sai Pallavi plays Sita in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Part 1, released on 5 November 2026.
- Brut reports the film collected an estimated Rs 664 crore worldwide in its first five days.
- Sita’s costumes were designed by Rimple and Harpreet Narula, with a handwoven Banarasi silk saree for her wedding.
- Director Rajkumar Periasamy says IPS officer Merin Joseph was a look reference for her next film, Om.
Sai Pallavi is in the news for two very different characters this week: Sita, the princess at the heart of Ramayana, and a police officer in Om, her next film. Details on both emerged on 10 and 11 November 2026 from designers and a director speaking about the craft behind the roles.
How the Sai Pallavi Sita costume was built
According to Brut, designers Rimple and Harpreet Narula drew on traditional textiles, embroidery and historical imagery for Sita. The palette leaned on earthy shades, lotus pinks and floral motifs, chosen to reflect her bond with nature and her royal background as the Princess of Janak.
Her wedding look was a handwoven Banarasi silk saree with gold embroidery. Brut adds that hundreds of craftspeople, from artisans to jewellery specialists, worked on the film’s visual details, and that the designers say their team made thousands of jewellery pieces.
The costume work for the other leads was far heavier. Brut says Ranbir Kapoor’s Rama and Ravie Dubey’s Lakshman wore armour handmade by 15 artisans in Assam’s Barpeta district over three and a half years. Yash’s Ravana outfits, by costume designer Saniya Sardhariya, mostly weighed 16 to 20 kg, and the heaviest reached 33 kg.
The box office picture around Ramayana
Brut reports that Ramayana: Part 1 collected an estimated Rs 664 crore worldwide in its first five days. It says the film recorded the biggest first-Monday collection by an Indian film on 9 November, passing the previous record held by Dhurandhar 2, and also beat the post-Diwali record set by Salman Khan’s Tiger 3.
NDTV headlines from 11 November put the film at Rs 440 crore in India, with 9,000 tickets sold in Indonesia on its opening there. The two figures measure different things, India against worldwide, so they should not be read as a conflict. We could not open the NDTV pieces, so we rely on the headlines alone for those numbers.
Why a police officer shaped her next role
Om is directed by Rajkumar Periasamy, who also directed Sai Pallavi in Amaran (2024), where she played Indhu Rebecca Varghese, the wife of Sivakarthikeyan’s Major Mukund Varadarajan. Her screen career began with Alphonse Puthren’s Premam (2015) opposite Nivin Pauly.
In a conversation with Galatta Plus, quoted by Cinema Express, Periasamy said he gave her photographs of IPS officer Merin Joseph as a reference. He stressed that the role is not based on Joseph. He wanted a look that would help the actor see herself differently from her earlier characters, and Sai Pallavi wears a bob haircut in the film, as Joseph does.
Cinema Express adds that Sai Pallavi went further than the photographs and spent time with the officer while preparing.
What happens next
Ramayana: Part 1 is still in its first fortnight, so the box office figures will keep moving. For readers following the casting debate, see our earlier post, Sai Pallavi’s Sword-Fighting Sita Divides Ramayana Fans. More on the film is collected under our Movies and Celebrities pages. No release date for Om was given in the sources we could read.
Frequently asked questions
Who plays Sita in Ramayana: Part 1?
Sai Pallavi plays Sita, opposite Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, in Nitesh Tiwari’s film, which opened on 5 November 2026.
What did Sai Pallavi wear for Sita’s wedding?
According to Brut, a handwoven Banarasi silk saree with gold embroidery, designed by Rimple and Harpreet Narula.
Who inspired Sai Pallavi’s look in Om?
Director Rajkumar Periasamy says photographs of IPS officer Merin Joseph served as a look reference, though the character is not based on her.
