S.S. Rajamouli's Varanasi: Everything We Know About India's Most Ambitious Film of 2027

Some films arrive. Others reshape the landscape of cinema entirely. With Varanasi, director S.S. Rajamouli is aiming squarely for the latter — mounting a mythological epic of such staggering scale and ambition that even Hollywood's biggest names are taking notice. James Cameron reportedly expressed a strong desire to visit the film's sets, even jokingly offering to operate a camera for the second unit. That alone tells you everything about the kind of event Varanasi is shaping up to be.

Movie Overview

Varanasi (titled onscreen as S. S. Rajamouli's Vāranāsi) is an upcoming Indian Telugu-language epic action-adventure film directed by S. S. Rajamouli, who co-wrote the film with V. Vijayendra Prasad and S. S. Kanchi. Produced by Sri Durga Arts and Showing Business, the film stars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Mahesh Babu plays the dual roles of the protagonist Rudhra and Hindu God Rama, Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays a character named Mandakini, and the main antagonist Kumbha is played by Prithviraj Sukumaran. The ensemble is rounded out by Prakash Raj and R. Madhavan in key supporting roles. The film is scheduled to be theatrically released on 7 April 2027, coinciding with the festival of Ugadi.

Synopsis & Story

Varanasi follows Rudhra (Mahesh Babu), a Shiva devotee sent on a mission through time to obtain an ancient cosmic artifact. Chaos ensues when he discovers the presence of an evil mastermind seeking world control. The narrative follows Rudhra as the city of Varanasi faces the impending threat of an asteroid, with the story moving across multiple yugas — from Treta Yuga to Kali Yuga — and spanning across continents, from Africa to Antarctica. Rajamouli has noted that all his films draw inspiration from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, but here, "it's not an inspiration — it's actually a piece of Ramayana that we are putting into the film."

Rajamouli describes the film as a "globetrotting action adventure" and "a James Bond or Indiana Jones adventure" that follows the stylistic lines of Indiana Jones while retaining Indian cultural roots. Mahesh Babu, who spent a year preparing for the role, underwent three months of Kalari martial arts training solely to adjust his posture for his character's period-appropriate bearing — because, as he explains, "you can't stand like modern characters" when playing Lord Rama.

Scale, Production & Technical Milestones

Varanasi is breaking records before a single frame has screened publicly. The film is made on a projected budget of ₹1,400 crore, which would make it the most expensive Indian film to date, with both Rajamouli and Babu reportedly taking a revenue-sharing model to benefit the film's production. It is the first Indian film as well as the first non-English language film to be shot in the 1.43:1 IMAX format. Shot in Telugu, it will also be released with dubbed versions in English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, French, Spanish, German, Arabic, Korean, Japanese, Chinese and more than 25 languages in total. Varanasi is also the first Indian film releasing in more than 120 countries globally.

The production is the first Indian film and only the fourth feature film globally to shoot on location at the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Rajamouli also reconstructed a detailed 700-by-400-foot set of the holy city of Kashi in Hyderabad, where a 25-minute action sequence is being filmed using advanced motion capture technology. Rajamouli has revealed that the trailer alone took a full year to complete, while the film itself will undergo another year of intensive visual effects work.

Runtime Clarification

Early reports speculated heavily about a two-part release structure. When asked whether there would be a second part, Rajamouli confirmed that in the initial days they briefly considered making it a two-part film — however, they quickly dropped the idea, and it is now a single-part movie with a runtime of around three hours.

Box Office Expectations

As Varanasi has not yet been released — its theatrical debut is set for 7 April 2027 — no actual box office collections are available at time of writing. However, pre-release trade analysis points to historic potential. Both in India and overseas, SS Rajamouli is a major draw, making ₹300 crore a comfortable target on Day 1 alone — a figure that would comfortably surpass Mahesh Babu's existing highest-grosser on the very first day. In terms of the biggest opening day collection in India, Pushpa 2 currently leads with ₹179.25 crore net — and if promoted well throughout the nation, Varanasi could potentially achieve ₹200 crore net on Day 1. Post-RRR, Rajamouli's films are highly anticipated internationally, with strong collections expected from UAE-GCC, North America, and other major regions, targeting an epic Day 1 of ₹350–400 crore gross globally.

OTT Release

An official OTT streaming date has not yet been confirmed by the producers, as the film has not released theatrically. However, the streaming landscape is already buzzing. According to Telugu media reports, Netflix is showing keen interest in acquiring the post-theatrical streaming rights of Varanasi, with the makers reportedly quoting a price 25% higher than