Rajamouli’s First Reaction On ‘Varanasi Part 2’

Humdinger of Indian cinema, SS Rajamouli is currently immersed in filming the most ambitious movie of his career, Varanasi, a globe-trotting action adventure which is rooted in ancient mythology and based on the epic Ramayana. The film stars Indian superstars Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj Sukumaran in lead roles alongside Priyanka Chopra. 

From the day it was announced, Varanasi has been touted as a two part drama in the media and among enthusiastic audiences though nothing official came from Rajamouli and his team. 

As Rajamouli made his epic actioner Baahubali in two parts, the speculation remained credible to some extent given the massive span of Varanasi, the story which extends from African safari to Antartica icebergs. Now, the long suspense on whether Varanasi will be made in two parts or not has finally ended as Rajamouli’s recent interview with Hollywood media is finally out. 

Speaking to a Hollywood news agency Screen rant during the launch of the Varanasi glimpse in Hyderabad last November (the footage was released today as part of Rajamouli’s publicity strategy), Rajamouli clarified that Varanasi will be a single-part film with a runtime of around three hours.

He stated that the team initially considered the idea of making it as two parts, but quickly dropped the plan after a brief start of the production. Rajamouli is confident that run time is not an along as audiences are invested and pulled into the narration. 

Talking about the much hyped IMAX format, Rajamouli said the idea to shoot the film in 1.43:1 aspect ratio came to mind during the pre-visualization phase of the production as the story spans different worlds and needs a bigger format to capture the magnificence of the narrative. He remained optimistic that India will be equipped with IMAX big screens by the time Varanasi releases. 

Though the release date is still a year away, the film has already been creating unprecedented buzz all over the globe, thanks to the mind-numbing title glimpse that was unveiled a few months ago. Adding to the hype is the recent announcement of the release date by the make in an unique fashion.