Media365
3 min readHyderabadSep 30, 2026 05:49 PM IST
Director SS Rajamouli has described his experience of working with Mahesh Babu on the upcoming epic adventure Varanasi as one where the actor completely exceeded his expectations, saying he went in expecting 100 percent from the superstar and received 200 percent.
Speaking to filmmaking students at Penn State University in the United States, Rajamouli was asked a question that cut to the heart of what makes Varanasi different from his previous blockbusters. A student pointed out that with Baahubali, RRR and his earlier Telugu films, Rajamouli had worked with actors like Prabhas, Jr NTR and Ram Charan before they became the mega-stars they are today, effectively shaping their careers through his films.
With Varanasi, he is working with Mahesh Babu, who is already one of the biggest superstars in Indian cinema. The student asked whether directing an established star changes the filmmaker’s approach. Rajamouli answered, “I never choose an actor just because he is a superstar. I choose someone who truly fits the character. Once I choose them, I expect them to trust me, and I’ll guide them to give the performance the character needs.”
Also Read: Varanasi plot leaked: Mahesh Babu’s Rudhra travels through time for an ancient artifact, as Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Kumbha tricks him
He then spoke specifically about Mahesh Babu’s work on the film. “Yes, Mahesh Babu is a huge superstar. But with Mahesh Babu in Varanasi, I expected him to give 100 percent, because that’s what I know he is capable of,” Rajamouli said. “But once I started working with him, he completely exceeded my expectations. He went beyond everything I had imagined and gave 200 percent.”
“He really nailed the character and surprised me with how much he brought to it. He did much more than I expected, and that made working with him on Varanasi a really special experience,” Rajamouli said.
About Varanasi
The film casts Mahesh Babu as Rudhra, along with Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Mandakini and Prithviraj Sukumaran as Kumbha. According to multiple reports, Mahesh Babu wrapped his shooting after 606 days on set. Production began in January 2025 and involved extensive location shooting across multiple continents, including what is reported to be the first Indian film to shoot in Antarctica. The makers auditioned over 1,500 voices for dubbing to maintain authenticity across the film’s multiple languages and settings.
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Varanasi is produced by KL Narayana under Durga Arts and is set for a worldwide theatrical release on April 7, 2027. It will release in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam and multiple international languages, positioning it as one of the biggest global Indian film releases of that year.
The film will be Rajamouli’s first release since RRR (2022), which collected over Rs 1,200 crore worldwide, won the Oscar for Best Original Song for Naatu Naatu and established the director as the most commercially successful filmmaker in Indian cinema history.
