SS Rajamouli’s ‘Varanasi’: First look at the time travel movie

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Film director and blockbuster director SS Rajamouli Behind global hits such as “RRR” Baahubali, which redefined the scale of Indian cinema and captured the attention of Hollywood, now releases his most ambitious film to date.

Rajamouli, known for blending mythical storytelling, epic action and imaginative choreography, announced his latest film and its title at an event in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad on Saturday, where thousands of cheering fans rushed to catch a glimpse.

Plot details for the film Varanasi (previously codenamed Globe-Trotter) remain under wraps, but the nearly four-minute video shows a visually rich time-travel adventure that draws part of its storyline from Hindu mythology. The film’s title is borrowed from the Indian city considered the spiritual center of Hinduism.

Director Rajamouli said the film will be shown in theaters in IMAX format and is expected to be released in 2027.

“Now… From Varanasi to the world…” wrote Rajamouli to X.

At the event, he hinted that one of the sequences in the film was taken from a “key episode” from the Hindu religious epic Ramayana, which is based on the life of Lord Rama.

For ‘Varanasi’, director Rajamouli has assembled a star-studded cast, led by Telugu superstars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Chopra Jonas, who rose to fame as a Bollywood superstar, returns to Indian cinema with this film after several Hollywood projects. The film’s poster shows her as Mandakini wearing a mustard sari and balancing on the edge of a cliff with a pistol in her hand.

‘Varanasi’ is Babu and Rajamouli’s first collaboration. In his first appearance, he appears as a ferocious warrior covered in blood and riding a white bull with a trident in his hand. Babb did indeed appear on stage Saturday riding a white mechanical bull.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime project,” said director Babu after releasing the trailer at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, the capital of Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood. “I will make everyone proud. All of India will be proud of us.”

Thousands of enthusiastic fans watched the film’s premiere on a giant 33.5-by-39.5-meter (110-by-130-foot) screen flanked by a replica of the city of Varanasi. Colorful lights and dazzling fireworks illuminated the venue as the crowd danced to the beat of Telugu music, a mix of new and classical songs, turning the event into a vibrant festival.

The Telugu film industry has carved out an identity of its own apart from Hindi-language Bollywood, with its intense and sometimes logic-defying action, mythical storylines, and epic visual style. And much of Tollywood’s recent success (critical and box office) can be credited to Rajamouli. Rajamouli’s great heroism and ambitious filmmaking with imaginative visual effects propelled the film industry onto the global stage.

Rajamouli became an international name After “RRR”, Or “Rise, Roar, Revolt,” his 2022 three-hour Telugu epic set in British India. This epic anti-colonial tale became one of India’s biggest hits and a global streaming phenomenon. Winner of the Oscar for Best Original Song. His two-part Baahubali series, released in 2015 and 2017, broke box office records in India and introduced Western audiences to the visual grandeur of Telugu cinema. The re-edited version of the two-part series “Baahubali: The Epic” was released in theaters worldwide last month.

Many Tollywood movie buffs came from faraway towns and villages to watch Babu. Babu gathers god-like followers among them.

“Actually it’s not Tollywood now. It’s global now,” said fan Manideep Rayudu. “Our superstar Mahesh Babu is no longer a regional star. He is a global star.”