Highlights:
- Rajamouli confirms Varanasi as the title after months of talk
- Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra head the cast
- Team secured title rights, calling it right for the story
- Fans invited for the title reveal, streaming live on JioHotstar
SS Rajamouli’s next big film finally has a name. Varanasi, that’s what the RRR director has called his new project with Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra. It’s been months of leaks and fake titles, but this one’s now locked in, and the film is expected to go global, the way RRR did.
Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra head to Tanzania for Rajamouli’s SSMB 29 Getty Images/ Instagram/urstrulymahesh
The title that everyone was guessing
There’d been a dozen names floating around like “Globetrotter”, “SSMB29”, even “Gen63”. Then word spread that Rajamouli’s team had quietly bought rights to the name Varanasi. One source told Bollywood Hungama, “It’s the right fit for the story. The title says what the film stands for.”
The name itself adds mystery. The city of Varanasi has always carried layers like faith, chaos, time. People are already guessing how Rajamouli will use it and knowing him, it won’t just be geography, it’ll mean something deeper.
SS Rajamouli recreates Varanasi at Ramoji Film City for a key action sequence in SSMB29 Getty Images
The big day and who’s showing up
The big reveal is fixed for November 15 at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. Mahesh Babu’s flying in, Priyanka Chopra’s expected, and Prithviraj Sukumaran’s name is on the list too. M.M. Keeravani, the man behind Naatu Naatu, will be there with Rajamouli. It’s not a closed-door thing either, fans have been told they can join in and the event will go out live on JioHotstar.
What kind of story is Varanasi?
No one’s saying much yet, but the film is rumoured to mix Indian mythology with science fiction. Mahesh Babu reportedly plays a character who changes through time, maybe across worlds. Priyanka’s character is understood to be that of an explorer, although the makers have not released an official description. Prithviraj is believed to play the main antagonist.
The shoot isn’t a short one as well. It’s said to roll deep into 2026, so the release likely looks like 2027, across several languages. And knowing Rajamouli, it’s not hitting streaming first; this one’s built for the big screen.
With a £19 million paycheck, SS Rajamouli leads SSMB29 into one of the biggest film projects ever made in India Getty Images
Rajamouli’s next after RRR
Varanasi is Rajamouli’s first film since RRR. The earlier film won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and took Telugu cinema to a global audience. The scale of that success has raised quiet but clear expectations for what he delivers next. Naatu Naatu won the award, but it was the film’s scale that turned heads. Now all eyes are on what he pulls off next.
Dharma Productions scouts fresh faces after 500 auditions Getty Images 
