75 cr for Ranbir, Hrithik for Ram, Ravan

Nitesh Tiwary (Dangal, Chhichhore) is all set to direct a new version of the Ramayan.

To be produced by Madhu Mantena, the three-film trilogy will be made at a whopping cost of Rs 750 crores (Rs 7.5 billion)!

And that's only the estimated budget.

According to a source in the know, both Hrithik Roshan and Ranbir Kapoor, who will play Ravan and Lord Ram respectively, will be paid Rs 75 crores (Rs 750 million) each.

"The rest of the budget will go into making the kind of epic that the Ramayan has never been treated to before," the source inform Subhash K Jha.

While Lord Ram and Ravan have been cast, Sita is yet to be found for Mantena's ambitious project.

Stories of Kareena Kapoor Khan being approached to play Sita were untrue, insists the source. "Kareena for all her talent doesn't suit the part at all," says the source.

Kareena's husband Saif Ali Khan has been cast as Ravan in another project based on the Ramayan, Adipurush, which is being directed by Om Raut.