Varanasi Release Date: 7 April 2027 Expected

Mahesh Babu plays Rudhra, whose adventure unfolds as the city of Varanasi faces the arrival of an asteroid. The story moves across timelines, from the Treta Yuga to the Kali Yuga, and across continents from Africa to Antarctica. Mahesh Babu also appears as Lord Rama in a Ramayana sequence. Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays Mandakini and Prithviraj Sukumaran plays Kumbha.

Release date

The makers unveiled 7 April 2027 on 29 January 2026, as reported by Variety. The film is planned for standard, Dolby Cinema and IMAX screens, with Telugu as the original language and dubbed Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada versions. We list the date as expected until certification and bookings are announced.

From SSMB29 to Varanasi

Talk of a Rajamouli and Mahesh Babu film dates back to 2010, but Rajamouli made RRR first. Writing with his father V. Vijayendra Prasad took about two years, and Rajamouli has described the film as a globetrotting adventure in the spirit of Indiana Jones with Indian cultural roots. After a muhurat puja on 2 January 2025, the title Varanasi and a first concept reel were launched at the Globetrotter event at Ramoji Film City on 15 November 2025. After a title dispute, the Telugu version is called Rajamouli's Varanasi.

Filming

Shooting began in Hyderabad on 2 February 2025 under strict no-phone rules, then moved to Odisha's Koraput district, large Kashi sets in Hyderabad, and locations in Kenya. A Ramayana episode was shot over 60 days. Planned Antarctica portions were instead shot on a Hyderabad set and in Georgia. Rajamouli said in August 2026 that about 80% of the shoot was complete, and by September the film was in its final phase.

IMAX and VFX

Rajamouli says Varanasi is the first Indian and first non-English film shot in the 1.43:1 IMAX format. V. Srinivas Mohan supervises the visual effects, with Cinesite, Trixter and Assemblage Entertainment as vendors. Several sequences were captured at the motion-capture stage at Annapurna Studios. Trade reports put the budget at around ₹1,400 crore, though the makers have not confirmed a figure.

Cast and crew

• Director and screenplay: S. S. Rajamouli
• Story: V. Vijayendra Prasad, S. S. Kanchi; dialogue by Deva Katta
• Cast: Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Prakash Raj
• Music: M. M. Keeravani
• Cinematography: P. S. Vinod; Editing: Bikkina Thammiraju
• Producers: K. L. Narayana, S. S. Karthikeya (Sri Durga Arts, Showing Business)

Music and OTT

Tracks listed so far include "GlobeTrotter", sung by Shruti Haasan and Kaala Bhairava. No streaming partner had been announced as of 23 October 2026.