Mahesh Babu’s much-awaited Varanasi is currently being shot at Ramoji Film City. An action sequence is being filmed under action choreographer King Solomon. The combination has already excited fans, as Solomon has worked with SS Rajamouli on some of his biggest action films.
King Solomon has won two National Film Awards for Best Stunt Choreography for Baahubali 2: The Conclusion and RRR. Fans are now hoping Varanasi will help him complete a hat-trick with another Rajamouli film.
But while the action work is moving ahead, the shooting schedule remains something to watch closely. Reports suggest that around 70-80 days of shooting are still left. Rajamouli had earlier said that the team was hoping to finish the shoot by September or, at most, early October.
That leaves limited time before the film’s planned April 7, 2027, release.
The bigger challenge will come after the shooting is complete. Varanasi is being made on a huge scale, with big action scenes, large sets and heavy VFX work. VFX work has already started on some of the completed portions. However, a lot of post-production work will still be left after the full shoot ends. And there might be some patch work shoot also to be completed.
Adding to the workload is Rajamouli’s plan to take Varanasi to a truly global audience. The film is reportedly being planned for release across 120 countries and will be dubbed in around 50 languages. The director has opted for human voices instead of AI-generated or synthetic voices, which means the dubbing process itself will be a time-consuming task.
The director is known for taking his time to make sure his films are ready. Varanasi is also not a film where the post-production work can be rushed. The VFX, editing, sound, music, dubbing and final work will all need enough time.
Rajamouli is still targeting April 7, 2027. The big question is whether he can finish the remaining shoot and complete the massive post-production and dubbing work without affecting the quality of the VFX or the overall cinematic experience.
For a normal film, this timeline may not look too worrying. For a Rajamouli film of this scale, every day matters.
