The much-awaited Mahesh Babu and SS Rajamouli film was finally announced with the title Varanasi, but the excitement did not last long. A title dispute has now taken over the discussion. Another producer had already registered the title earlier, and when Rajamouli’s team approached him, he refused to hand over the rights. Because of this issue, the makers decided to move ahead with a modified name: SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi.
Mahesh Babu fans were initially happy when the Varanasi title dropped because it kept things neutral. Since everyone had been calling the film SSMB29 from the start, Varanasi felt like the perfect middle ground. But the new title, SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi, feels like a blow to Mahesh’s image.
They feel the film name should highlight Mahesh Babu, not lean toward Rajamouli’s branding. On the other hand, many argue that Rajamouli’s name is globally bigger at this point, and that a film made on this scale is automatically seen as a “Rajamouli film,” no matter who the hero is.
A similar controversy erupted earlier when actor Teja Sajja casually called it “a Rajamouli movie.” Mahesh fans didn’t take it lightly, feeling their star was being sidelined. Now, with the new title officially carrying Rajamouli’s name, the frustration among fans is understandably even stronger. But realistically, a Rajamouli project has always been identified by his vision first and not by who the hero is.
Prabhas fans had to swallow this bitter pill with Baahubali. NTR and Ram Charan fans went through it with RRR. And now, it’s Mahesh Babu fans experiencing the same reality. When Rajamouli makes a film, his name becomes the headline, whether people like it or not.
