Filmmaker SS Rajamouli was recently in Brazil to attend the 50th São Paulo International Film Festival (Mostra). He was honoured with the Leon Cakoff Career Award while there, and his most recent film, RRR, was screened with Portuguese subtitles. He also previewed a teaser of his upcoming film Varanasi, starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran.
SS Rajamouli reveals Varanasi is driven by love and emotion
Talking to the ALMANAQUE21 YouTube channel on the sidelines of the film festival, Rajamouli spoke about Varanasi and explained why he hasn’t revealed its story yet, as he did for RRR and some of his other films. “Sometimes I don’t, because the words don’t do justice to the scope of the film. That’s the reason why I released a glimpse of what Varanasi is to be. Instead of putting any words to it, we made a video which we released last year. It takes the audience through the worlds of Varanasi, what they’re going to experience, without telling them anything,” he said.
Urging anyone curious about the film to watch the glimpse, Rajamouli revealed that there’s more to Varanasi than just a time-travel adventure. “It is an adventure which travels through different worlds. It travels through Antarctica, through Africa, through the city of Varanasi, in different time zones. It travels into the time of mythology, where you see giants, Gods, and all that stuff. But everything is driven by the emotion of a father and son, and the emotion of a man and a woman…the love between them. That drives this entire adventure scheme,” said the filmmaker.
About Varanasi
Varanasi is directed by Rajamouli and co-written by his father, V Vijayendra Prasad, and cousin, SS Kanchi. It is produced by Sri Durga Arts and Showing Business. The film stars Mahesh as Rudhra, Priyanka as Mandakini and Prithviraj as the antagonist, Kumbha. This is Rajamouli’s first film after the 2022 hit RRR, starring Jr NTR and Ram Charan. Expectations are high for Varanasi, and the glimpse hinting at Mahesh also playing Rama in the film got everyone excited.
Speaking on the Empire Film Podcast recently, Rajamouli remarked that he had never been satisfied with the adaptations of Indian epics like Ramayana or Mahabharata made so far. While his dream project, the Mahabharata, might take time to materialise, Varanasi will feature a short sequence from the Ramayana, depicting the battle between Rama and Kumbhakarna. The film will be released in theatres on April 7, 2027, for Ugadi.