- The film Varanasi stars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, and Prithviraj Sukumaran
- Varanasi's story spans continents and time, from Ancient Rome to Antarctica and Africa
- Around 80% of Varanasi's shooting is complete, with post-production underway
The excitement around SS Rajamouli's upcoming magnum opus, Varanasi, continues to grow after the filmmaker revealed new details about its scale and production. Starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran, the film is set to release next year. Piquing the excitement even further, the filmmaker has now offered a deeper look into what audiences can expect from Varanasi.
Sitting down for an interview with the European magazine Tsounami, the filmmaker revealed that the film's narrative will take audiences on an extraordinary journey across continents and time periods. According to the filmmaker, the story travels from the holy city of Varanasi to Antarctica, then to Africa, before moving back in time to Ancient Rome and finally returning to Varanasi.
Explaining why the teaser kept the story under wraps, SS Rajamouli said, “The journey of the Varanasi film goes from Varanasi to Antarctica, then to Africa, then travels back in time to Ancient Rome, and finally returns to Varanasi. We've released a teaser, but I didn't want to reveal too much because it wouldn't do justice to the film. Instead, we made a video showing the kind of experience audiences can expect, without revealing the story.”
80% Of Varanasi's Shoot Completed
SS Rajamouli also shared a major production update, confirming that around 80% of the film has already been completed. The filmmaker said that all the major, large-scale IMAX action sequences have been filmed, and only smaller scenes remain.
“We started working on the story in 2022 after RRR was completed. It has been almost four and a half years. We've shot about 80 per cent of the film; the other 20 per cent is in progress. But we've finished the biggest action scenes. We still have the smaller scenes and everything in between,” he said.
He added that the remaining 20 per cent of the shoot has resumed in Hyderabad, with the aim of wrapping production before Dasara.
Varanasi To Be Shot Entirely In IMAX
The director further explained that post-production is progressing simultaneously with filming. “Every completed sequence is immediately edited and sent to the visual effects team, allowing different departments to work in parallel and keep the production on schedule,” he said.
SS Rajamouli also confirmed that Varanasi is the first non-English film to be shot entirely in IMAX.
What We Know About Varanasi?
The film spans from 512 CE in an ancient kingdom to the year 2071, with meteors threatening the city, along with visuals of Antarctica, Africa and underground caves.
Produced under the Sri Durga Arts banner, the upcoming film features an ensemble cast of talented actors, including Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Mandakini, Mahesh Babu as Rudhra, and Prithviraj Sukumaran as Kumbha, the antagonist described as a scientist. Shruti Haasan is also part of the ensemble.
