Filmmaker SS Rajamouli has provided a new insight into the production of his upcoming grand film Varanasi to explain why he has decided to shoot the film in the IMAX format and why he has had an unforgettable experience with Hollywood guru James Cameron.
Rajamouli is known to make spectacles of visual gargantuan proportions and said that the decision to shoot Varanasi in IMAX was simply due to the magnitude of the story he desires to relay.
In a tape recording of a discussion in which the director was present around the period of the film trailer release and subsequently made available on the internet the director elaborated the reason why the bigger format was necessary to capture the grandiose visuals and vast landscapes in the film.
He cited sequences set in Antarctica and those based on the Ramayana. Rajamouli argues that these scenes in the film contain vertical imagery and enormous backgrounds that require a more enveloping cinematic frame.
He stated that shooting in IMAX would enable the viewer to take in the full visual grandeur of those scenes.
Meanwhile, Rajamouli ensured that he delegates finer technical details to his team. He said that he had a vision first, technology second approach.
After explaining to the emotional and visual scale he desires to accomplish, he will then turn on his director of photography and his technical crew to decide what tools and techniques will best be used to achieve his vision.
In addition to the technical decisions, Rajamouli shared his experience with one encounter which made a memorable impression on him. The meeting with movie director James Cameron last Hollywood awards season has already received praise on the global hit RRR by the acclaimed filmmaker.
Remembering their discussion, Rajamouli claimed that the words of encouragement which Cameron had spoken to him remained in his memory. The seasoned director was said to have encouraged him to keep producing movies in his unique way, which Rajamouli termed as very encouraging.
Varanasi is emerging to be one of the most ambitious projects by Rajamouli. Mahesh Babu features in the lead role in the film, and this is their first venture together. Other important characters of the film include Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran, but this is a story of mythology, history, and modern narration that takes place in different time periods and different places.
The title of the film was finally unveiled in November 2025 during a grand event in Hyderabad where the first look created a lot of hype among the fans.
The initial footage was a clue to a pan-temporal story that shortcuts through history including 512 CE, the present, and even mythological historical periods including the Treta Yuga. The novel also moves through the varying geographical places, namely Varanasi, Kenya and Antarctica.
Mahesh Babu plays the main role of a young man called Rudhra, which we observe in exceptional imagery riding a bull and holding a trident when he goes through the ghats and streets of Varanasi.
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The antagonist is Kumbha who is played by Prithviraj Sukumaran, and the protagonist is Mandakini played by Priyanka Chopra. The themes and the visuals imply a mix of spiritual symbolism, action and epic drama, all on a scale that has become the hallmark of Rajamouli.
Combining the grand scale filmmaking with a centuries-old, cross-world story, Varanasi seems to be pushing Varanasi to the maximum of her storytelling canvas. The movie will be released on a global theatric level on April 7, 2027, and is already being marketed as a big movie.
