S.S. Rajamouli, the visionary director behind global blockbusters like RRR and Baahubali, which transformed the scale of Indian cinema and won Hollywood’s attention has revealed what can possibly be his most audacious project to date.
Famous for his myth-inspired narratives, massive action set pieces, and inventive visual style, Rajamouli introduced his new film, along with its title, during a Saturday event in Hyderabad, where thousands of excited fans gathered for a first look.
The storyline of Varanasi, earlier known by the working title “Globe Trotter," is still mostly undisclosed, but the makers released a nearly four-minute teaser hinted at a lavish time-travel saga rooted partly in Hindu mythology. The movie takes its name from the ancient Indian city known as the spiritual core of Hinduism.
For Varanasi, Rajamouli has brought together an impressive ensemble cast featuring Telugu icon Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Priyanka Chopra marks her return to Indian cinema with this project. A poster reveals her as Mandakini, clad in a mustard sari and armed with a pistol as she teeters on a cliff’s edge.
Varanasi also marks Babu’s first collaboration with Rajamouli. His initial look presents him as a fierce warrior, bloodied, gripping a trident, and riding a white bull. Babu even arrived onstage atop a mechanical white bull.
“It is a once-in-a-lifetime project,” said main man Mahesh Babu said after unveiling the teaser in Hyderabad’s Ramoji Film City. “I will make everyone proud. The whole of India will be proud of us.”
Rajamouli said the film will be projected in cinemas in IMAX format and is expected to release in 2027.
“Here you go… VARANASI to the WORLD…” Rajamouli wrote on X.
At the event, he implied that one of the film’s sequences draws from “an important episode” from the Ramayana, a Hindu religious epic based on Lord Rama’s life
Thousands of enthusiastic fans witnessed the first look of the film on a massive 110-by-130-foot screen, framed by elaborate recreations of Varanasi. The venue came alive with vibrant lights, dazzling fireworks, and crowds dancing to energetic Telugu music blending fresh tracks with nostalgic hits, transforming the launch into a full-fledged celebration. The
Telugu film industry, known for its high-energy, larger-than-life action, mythological themes, and striking visuals, has carved a distinct identity apart from Hindi-language Bollywood. Much of this growth, both critical and commercial, is credited to Rajamouli, whose grand vision and epic heroes have propelled Tollywood onto the global map.
Rajamouli achieved global recognition with RRR — Rise, Roar, Revolt, his 2022, three-hour Telugu epic set in the era of British rule. The sweeping anti-colonial story became one of India’s biggest blockbusters, earned massive international streaming success, and secured an Oscar for Best Original Song.
His earlier two-part Baahubali saga, released in 2015 and 2017, shattered Indian box-office records and introduced audiences worldwide to the scale and visual richness of Telugu cinema and a newly reedited combined version, Baahubali: The Epic, hit theaters globally just last month.
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