Rajamouli’s Varanasi with Mahesh Babu is undoubtedly one of the biggest and most anticipated projects in Indian cinema right now. Malayalam star and director Prithviraj Sukumaran, who is also playing a negative role in the film, recently opened up about his experience working on it.
During promotions for his latest Malayalam film, Prithviraj sat down with Bollywood critic Anupama Chopra and was asked about Rajamouli and Varanasi. What followed was pure admiration.
Prithviraj described Rajamouli as the best actor-director he has ever worked with and made a striking statement about the scale of Varanasi, saying that “big” itself is an understatement.
He also shared an interesting experience from the shoot, revealing that Rajamouli made both Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj do 94 retakes for a single shot. Stories about Rajamouli pushing actors beyond their limits have surfaced before, but hearing it directly from a major Malayalam star made it stand out even more.
Prithviraj further said that Rajamouli approaches every day on set with the intensity of someone making his first film, as if it is a make-or-break project. According to him, that level of passion and commitment is what defines Rajamouli’s working style.
Speaking at length about both the director and the film, Prithviraj also revealed that Rajamouli told him this is the biggest film he has ever attempted.
All these statements once again underline the massive scale and ambition behind Varanasi. Expectations are already sky-high, and whenever the film releases, it is expected to create huge noise not just in India but across international markets as well.
Varanasi is scheduled to release on April 7, 2027.
