Bigger than RRR: SS Rajamouli reveals how he saved 40 days of shooting for Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra’s Varanasi

SS Rajamouli broke several records with his 2022 blockbuster RRR, starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR. But the director guarantees that his upcoming movie Varanasi is going to be even bigger and grander in scale than RRR. For the unversed, Varanasi stars Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra in the lead alongside Prithviraj Sukumaran. The action-adventure marks Priyanka’s return to Indian cinema after 8 years. Rajamouli recently discussed certain key details of his film at the 50th São Paulo International Film Festival in Brazil.

Varanasi brings together multiple cinematic experiences

Rajamouli, in a conversation with Brazilian portal Oxente Pipoca, revealed that Varanasi is an amalgamation of different cinematic experiences, woven into one movie, reported Variety. The filmmaker explained that shooting individual sequences required different approaches to research, development and execution.

‘Each scene in Varanasi… each set piece, each episode is like a completely different film,’ said Rajamouli, giving examples of shooting in Antarctica, Africa or in Varanasi itself. The real challenge, as per the director, was to ensure that each scene, however shot in different locations, must feel connected.

SS Rajamouli on Varanasi’s core idea

Elaborating on the topic, Rajamouli noted that every sequence is tied together with emotions so that it does not feel like separate events. To bring the idea to picturised execution, the filmmaker and his team experimented with procedures and techniques, doing ‘R&D on each episode’.

As per Rajamouli, the biggest challenge was to stay patient and create about 6-7 films to fit into one. ‘That was the biggest challenge for us: to hold our nerves, to hold ourselves together in making six to seven films which fit into one film,’ he said. The filmmaker added that despite the challenges, they managed to cut the shooting time of Varanasi by 40 days through careful planning and research.

More about SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi

While RRR took 315 days, Varanasi was filmed for about 275 days. Rajamouli attributed the filming reduction to detailed preparation and a well-chalked-out plan before the film went on floors. The director, however, admitted that it was the experience he gathered in RRR which helped him streamline the shooting process.

Varanasi is touted to be a globe-trotting time travel adventure, which also incorporates an important episode from the Ramayana. While Mahesh Babu plays the role of Rudra, Priyanka Chopra essays the character of Mandakini, and Prithviraj Sukumaran is expected to portray the antagonist Kumbha. Varanasi premiered on April 7, 2027.