In 2022 S. S. Rajamouli leapt from beloved national filmmaker to a global cinematic force. His audacious epic RRR became an international sensation—filling multiplexes in the U.S., dominating streaming charts, and earning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Now Rajamouli is unveiling a new, even more ambitious spectacle: Varanasi.
At a massive event on November 15 at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad—an occasion attended by Polygon—Rajamouli introduced the project to tens of thousands of fans, screening fresh footage on a colossal outdoor LED display. The film, which has circulated under working titles such as GEN 63, SSMB 29 and Globetrotter, is currently in production and is slated for a worldwide theatrical release in 2027.
Rajamouli also announced a first for Indian cinema: Varanasi is being shot with IMAX presentation in mind, designed to exploit the format’s scale and clarity.
What did the new Varanasi footage reveal?
The preview spans centuries and continents. It opens in 512 CE within an ancient realm named Varanasi, then catapults forward to 2071 as meteor showers streak across the sky, threatening catastrophic destruction. The trailer cuts to Antarctica, where explorers investigate a ship entombed in ice, before moving to Africa and showcasing striking CGI—one sequence even depicts hippos attacking a monkey in brutal, visceral detail.
We next plunge into subterranean caverns dated to roughly 7200 BCE, where monstrous creatures clash with human figures. On the surface, an epic battle unfolds between mortals and colossal deities: soldiers stack into a towering human formation while one archer precariously aims at an approaching god.
The sequence closes on a striking image of Mahesh Babu, mounted on a bull and brandishing a trident against a skyline of ancient pyramids—an arresting tableau that signals the film’s mythic ambitions.
Varanasi cast and plot details
Mahesh Babu headlines as Rudhra, a roguish, Indiana Jones–style archaeologist whose global quest for relics propels the story. Priyanka Chopra Jonas joins the adventure as Mandakini, another intrepid explorer, while Prithviraj Sukumaran plays the antagonist Kumbha—a technologically enhanced foe who commands an armchair outfitted with tentacle-like mechanical arms reminiscent of a classic comic-book villain.
Source: Polygon
