India's costliest film retells a beloved Hindu epic - but divides critics

India's most expensive film - a lavish retelling of the Hindu epic Ramayana, made in two parts for a reported $500m - has opened in cinemas worldwide, sparking enormous expectations and mixed reviews.

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend is the first of two planned films, a sprawling production that brings together some of India's biggest stars, Hollywood visual-effects expertise and two Oscar-winning composers in an attempt to take one of the country's most revered stories to a global audience.

One of Hinduism's foundational epics, the Ramayana has travelled across centuries and continents, finding expression in poetry, temple sculpture, shadow puppetry, folk theatre and stories passed down through generations. It has outlasted kingdoms and empires, inspired religious devotion and political movements, and found new life, again and again, on TV and in cinema.

Tiwari's version returns to the familiar story of love, duty, exile and war, set in a world of gods and demons, celestial weapons and mighty kingdoms.

Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Ram, the virtuous prince of Ayodhya. Banished from his kingdom for 14 years, he retreats to the forest with his wife Sita (played by Sai Pallavi), who is kidnapped by Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka.

Played by Yash, one of southern India's biggest stars, Ravana is a powerful warrior whose pride leads him into an epic battle with Ram (which will be depicted in part 2, set to release next year).

The film's producer, Namit Malhotra, heads visual-effects company DNEG, which has worked on Hollywood blockbusters including Dune and Interstellar. The music is a collaboration between AR Rahman, the Oscar-winning Indian composer of Slumdog Millionaire, and Hans Zimmer, whose scores for Gladiator, The Dark Knight and Dune have helped define the sound of modern Hollywood.

The film opened days ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights which celebrates Ram's return to Ayodhya after his exile.

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