<\/p>\n
HYDERABAD<\/strong> \u2013 Filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli, the blockbuster movie director behind global hits like \u201cRRR\u201d<\/a> and \u201cBaahubali\u201d that redefined Indian cinema\u2019s scale and caught Hollywood\u2019s attention, has unveiled his most ambitious film yet.<\/p>\n Known for blending mythic storytelling with grand action and imaginative choreography, Rajamouli announced his latest film \u2014 and its title \u2014 at an event Saturday in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, where thousands of his cheering fans thronged to catch a first glimpse. <\/p>\n While details about the plot of the film \u201cVaranasi\u201d \u2014 previously code-named \u201cGlobe Trotter\u201d \u2014 remain under wraps, the nearly four-minute video showed a visually rich time-travel adventure that draws parts of its storyline from Hindu mythology. The film borrows its title from the Indian city considered Hinduism\u2019s spiritual heart.<\/p>\n Rajamouli said the film will be projected in cinemas in IMAX format and is expected to release in 2027.<\/p>\n \u201cHere you go\u2026 VARANASI to the WORLD\u2026\u201d Rajamouli wrote on X.<\/p>\n At the event, he alluded that one of the film\u2019s sequences draws from \u201can important episode\u201d from the Ramayana, a Hindu religious epic based on Lord Rama\u2019s life.<\/p>\n For \u201cVaranasi,\u201d Rajamouli has assembled a star-studded cast, headlined by Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Having attained fame as a Bollywood superstar, Chopra Jonas returns to Indian cinema with this film after several Hollywood projects. A film poster shows her as the character Mandakini, in a mustard sari with a pistol in hand as she balances on the edge of a cliff.<\/p>\n \u201cVaranasi\u201d is Babu\u2019s first collaboration with Rajamouli. The first look shows him as a fierce warrior covered in blood and riding a white bull with a trident in hand. Babu indeed made his entry onstage Saturday atop a mechanical white bull.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a once-in-a-lifetime project,\u201d Babu said after unveiling the teaser in Hyderabad’s Ramoji Film City, the throbbing heart of Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood. \u201cI will make everyone proud. The whole of India will be proud of us.\u201d<\/p>\n Thousands of frenzied fans watched the film\u2019s first glimpse on a mammoth 110-by-130-foot (33.5-by-39.5-meter) screen flanked by replicas of Varanasi city. A display of colorful lights and dazzling fireworks lit up the venue as crowds danced to the foot-tapping tunes of Telugu music \u2014 a mix of new songs and classics \u2014 turning the event into a vibrant festival. <\/p>\n The Telugu-language film industry has carved out its own identity separate from Hindi-language Bollywood with its high-octane and sometimes logic-defying action, mythic storylines and grand visual style. And much of Tollywood\u2019s recent success \u2014 critical and box office \u2014 has been credited to Rajamouli, whose larger-than-life heroes and ambitious filmmaking with imaginative visual effects have catapulted the film industry onto the global stage.<\/p>\n Rajamouli became an international name after \u201cRRR,\u201d<\/a> or \u201cRise, Roar, Revolt,\u201d his 2022 three-hour, Telugu-language epic set in British India. The sprawling anti-colonial tale became one of India\u2019s biggest hits, turned into a global streaming phenomenon, and won an Oscar for best original song<\/a>. His two-part \u201cBaahubali\u201d series, released in 2015 and 2017, broke box-office records in India and introduced Western audiences to the visual grandeur of Telugu cinema. A reedited version combining the two parts, \u201cBaahubali: The Epic,\u201d released in cinemas worldwide just last month. <\/p>\n Many Tollywood film fans traveled from faraway towns and villages to watch Babu, who commands a near-godlike following among them.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not actually Tollywood now, it\u2019s global now,\u201d said Manideep Rayudu, a fan. \u201cOur superstar Mahesh Babu is not a regional star anymore. He is a global star.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.click2houston.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" HYDERABAD \u2013 Filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli, the blockbuster movie director behind global hits like \u201cRRR\u201d and \u201cBaahubali\u201d that redefined Indian cinema\u2019s scale and caught Hollywood\u2019s attention, has unveiled his most ambitious film yet. Known for blending mythic storytelling with grand action and imaginative choreography, Rajamouli announced his latest film \u2014 and its title \u2014 at an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2159417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[21741,309270,307913],"class_list":["post-2159416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-mahesh-babu","tag-priyanka-chopra"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SS-Rajamouli-unveils-time-travel-adventure-film-\u2018Varanasi-with-elements-of.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2159416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2159416"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2159416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2159418,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2159416\/revisions\/2159418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2159417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2159416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2159416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2159416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}