# Ram and Leela
**Ram and Leela** is a 2026 film starring Rio Raj as Ram, a man repeatedly rejected in arranged-marriage meetings who falls for Leela, a woman he meets on a local train who will not see him after 6 pm.[1](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/ram-and-leela/movie-review/133373267.cms) Leela is played by Vartika Jain in her acting debut, and the reason for her condition is that her family are Anunnaki aliens who change sex every twelve hours.[1](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/ram-and-leela/movie-review/133373267.cms) The film was announced as *Ram In Leela* and retitled days before release after censor clearance.[2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2026/Aug/19/rio-rajs-ram-in-leela-gets-title-change-along-with-censor-certificate) It received a U/A 16+ certificate from the CBFC, opened theatrically on 21 August 2026, and began streaming on Prime Video on 18 September 2026.[3](https://cbfcindia.gov.in/cbfcAdmin/search-result.php?recid=Q0EwMzA5MDgyMDI2MDAwMTI%3D) • [4](https://tamil.jagccontent.com/prime-video-tamil-movies/year/2026/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Leads | Rio Raj as Ram (Raghuram); Vartika Jain as Leela, in her acting debut[2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2026/Aug/19/rio-rajs-ram-in-leela-gets-title-change-along-with-censor-certificate) |
| Central premise | Leela accepts Ram on the condition that he never sees her after 6 pm; her family are Anunnaki aliens who flip between male and female every twelve hours[1](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/ram-and-leela/movie-review/133373267.cms) |
| Certification | CBFC U/A 16+, certificate DIL/7/93/2026-Che dated 18 August 2026, certified length 142.44 minutes, Chennai regional office[3](https://cbfcindia.gov.in/cbfcAdmin/search-result.php?recid=Q0EwMzA5MDgyMDI2MDAwMTI%3D) |
| Release | Theatrical release 21 August 2026; Prime Video streaming from 18 September 2026[4](https://tamil.jagccontent.com/prime-video-tamil-movies/year/2026/) |
| Key crew | Music Ankit Menon, cinematography Mallikarjun, editing YNC Shiva[14](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/movies/ram-and-leela.html) |
| Critical reception | Filmi Score 36 from 4 reviews; Times of India 2.0/5; Cinema Express 1.5/5; IMDb 5.7/10; BookMyShow user score 8.4/10[5](https://filmi.ai/film/ram-and-leela-2026/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Ram (Rio Raj), a 30-year-old man whose family is searching for a bride for him, has accumulated fifty matrimonial rejections by the time he meets Leela (Vartika Jain) on a local train.[1](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/ram-and-leela/movie-review/133373267.cms) • [6](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/tnvm/ram-and-leela/ET00512389) She accepts him with one condition: he cannot see or speak to her after 6 pm.[7](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/reviews/ram-and-leela-review-in-tamil-rio-raj-and-vartika-starrer-a-fun-filled-fantasy-movie-182957.html) The reason, revealed at the interval, is that Leela's family are Anunnaki aliens who switch between male and female every twelve hours; after sunset Leela is a man, and the night-time friend Ram has been dining with is her as well.[1](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/ram-and-leela/movie-review/133373267.cms) A second character named Ram, played by Balaji Thiyagarajan, befriends the hero as a conscience keeper and love guru, and the trailer suggested that Ram's male friend transforms into Leela, bringing chaos and confusion to his life.[2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2026/Aug/19/rio-rajs-ram-in-leela-gets-title-change-along-with-censor-certificate) • [8](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/tamil/review/2026/Aug/22/ram-and-leela-movie-review-a-high-concept-idea-with-disastrously-low-returns)
The supporting cast includes Munishkanth, Chetan, Deepa Venkat, Malavika Avinash, Ma Ka Pa Anand, Balaji Thiyagarajan Dayalan, Thaafia Abu, Nayana Elza, and [Priyanka Nair](https://www.edgepedia.org/priyanka-nair).[2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2026/Aug/19/rio-rajs-ram-in-leela-gets-title-change-along-with-censor-certificate) • [9](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/movies/ram-in-leela/cast-crew.html)
## Production and title change
The film was announced on 1 December 2025 under the title *Ram In Leela*, with filming beginning the same day.
**Retitling.** The film cleared censorship formalities on 18 August 2026, receiving a U/A 16+ certificate, and was retitled *Ram and Leela* along with the procedure, three days before its theatrical release.[3](https://cbfcindia.gov.in/cbfcAdmin/search-result.php?recid=Q0EwMzA5MDgyMDI2MDAwMTI%3D) • [2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2026/Aug/19/rio-rajs-ram-in-leela-gets-title-change-along-with-censor-certificate) Reporting attributed the change to the double entendre insinuation carried by the original title.[2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2026/Aug/19/rio-rajs-ram-in-leela-gets-title-change-along-with-censor-certificate)
## Music and technical crew
The soundtrack includes six tracks, among them "Yaar Yaarival" (sung by [Sid Sriram](https://www.edgepedia.org/sid-sriram) and Sawai Bhatt, with lyrics by Mohan Rajan in Tamil and Sushant Sudhakaran in Hindi), "Manjal Aavaro" ([Armaan Malik](https://www.edgepedia.org/armaan-malik), Ankit Menon, and Semv.iii), and "Seppu Sela" (V. M. Mahalingam, lyrics by Uma Devi), the second single released ahead of the film.[10](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2026/Aug/06/rio-rajs-ram-in-leela-locks-release-date) Mallikarjun handled cinematography, YNC Shiva the editing, G. Durairaj the art direction, and Abishek Srinivas the stunt choreography.[9](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/movies/ram-in-leela/cast-crew.html)
## Release
*Ram and Leela* opened in theaters on 21 August 2026, clashing at the box office with *[Modha Rathri](https://www.edgepedia.org/modha-rathri)*, while Elan's *Pyaar Prema Kalyanam* premiered on Netflix the same day.[2](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2026/Aug/19/rio-rajs-ram-in-leela-gets-title-change-along-with-censor-certificate) Cinema Express reported a modest opening day, with the film looking to the weekend to build momentum.[11](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/tamil/news/2026/Aug/22/ram-and-leela-day-1-box-office-rio-raj-starrer-has-modest-opening-day) It began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on 18 September 2026.[4](https://tamil.jagccontent.com/prime-video-tamil-movies/year/2026/)
## Reception
**Critics.** The film drew largely negative reviews. The Times of India gave 2.0 out of 5, calling it an overdone comedy with only a few late laughs; its review judged the gender-flip premise, which had appeared months earlier in *[Double Occupancy](https://www.edgepedia.org/double-occupancy)*, not particularly fresh even then, while crediting Munishkanth's comic stretch as an uncle smitten with a fellow alien and noting Vartika Jain as the only performer pitched at conversation level.[1](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/ram-and-leela/movie-review/133373267.cms) Avinash Ramachandran of Cinema Express gave 1.5 out of 5, writing that the film tries too hard to play with form and ends as a convoluted mess, though he found the stretch revealing the secret behind Leela's activities one of the most cohesive scenes.[8](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/tamil/review/2026/Aug/22/ram-and-leela-movie-review-a-high-concept-idea-with-disastrously-low-returns) OnlyKollywood was more positive, calling the sci-fi twist a refreshing hook that keeps the film watchable despite repetitive jokes.[5](https://filmi.ai/film/ram-and-leela-2026/) Aggregated, the film holds a Filmi Score of 36 from 4 critic reviews, described as weak.[5](https://filmi.ai/film/ram-and-leela-2026/)
**Audiences.** Audience measures diverged from the critics: IMDb listed 5.7/10 from about 6.5 thousand votes, while [BookMyShow](https://www.edgepedia.org/bookmyshow) showed 8.4/10 from more than 1.7 thousand votes, with top user tags including SuperDirection and AwesomeStory.[5](https://filmi.ai/film/ram-and-leela-2026/) • [12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39073377) • [6](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/tnvm/ram-and-leela/ET00512389) Early social-media reactions praised the unexpected twist and Rio Raj's energy, while some viewers found the screenplay stretched and the comedy uneven.[13](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/ram-and-leela-twitter-reviews-rio-raj-vartika-starrer-gets-applauded-for-unexpected-twist-screenplay-draws-mixed-response/articleshow/133398211.cms)
## References
1. [Ram And Leela Movie Review: A few late laughs in an overdone comedy, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/ram-and-leela/movie-review/133373267.cms)
2. [Rio Raj's Ram in Leela gets title change along with censor certificate, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2026/Aug/19/rio-rajs-ram-in-leela-gets-title-change-along-with-censor-certificate)
3. [CBFC Search Film: Ram and Leela, Central Board of Film Certification](https://cbfcindia.gov.in/cbfcAdmin/search-result.php?recid=Q0EwMzA5MDgyMDI2MDAwMTI%3D)
4. [Prime Video Tamil OTT releases 2026](https://tamil.jagccontent.com/prime-video-tamil-movies/year/2026/)
5. [Ram and Leela (2026) review, filmi.ai](https://filmi.ai/film/ram-and-leela-2026/)
6. [Ram and Leela, BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/tnvm/ram-and-leela/ET00512389)
7. [Ram and Leela Review in Tamil, Filmibeat Tamil](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/reviews/ram-and-leela-review-in-tamil-rio-raj-and-vartika-starrer-a-fun-filled-fantasy-movie-182957.html)
8. [Ram and Leela Movie Review: A high-concept idea with disastrously low returns, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/tamil/review/2026/Aug/22/ram-and-leela-movie-review-a-high-concept-idea-with-disastrously-low-returns)
9. [Ram in Leela Cast & Crew, FilmiBeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/movies/ram-in-leela/cast-crew.html)
10. [Rio Raj's Ram in Leela locks release date, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2026/Aug/06/rio-rajs-ram-in-leela-locks-release-date)
11. [Ram and Leela Day 1 box office: modest opening day, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/tamil/news/2026/Aug/22/ram-and-leela-day-1-box-office-rio-raj-starrer-has-modest-opening-day)
12. [Ram and Leela (2026), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39073377)
13. [Ram And Leela Twitter reviews, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/ram-and-leela-twitter-reviews-rio-raj-vartika-starrer-gets-applauded-for-unexpected-twist-screenplay-draws-mixed-response/articleshow/133398211.cms)
14. [Ram and Leela 2026 | Ram and Leela Tamil Movie: Release Date, Cast, Story, Ott, Review, Trailer, Photos, Videos, Box Office Collection – Filmibeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/movies/ram-and-leela.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Tamil films of the 2020s › Tamil films of 2026 and upcoming*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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