Mahesh Babu fans were waiting eagerly for an update on his next film with SS Rajamouli. The title of the film was revealed to be Varanasi at the Globe Trotter event in Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. Ahead of the official release of the first glimpse, it was leaked online by fans. SS Rajamouli took to the stage and apologised to fans for the delay in playing it during the event. (Also read: Varanasi trailer: Mahesh Babu’s first look as Rudhra from SS Rajamouli film sees him ride bull, wield trishul)

What Rajamouli said

SS Rajamouli took the mic and spoke to the fans after the first glimpse of the film failed to play on the giant screen. The director apologised to fans and said, “Yesterday night we did not test the glimpse on this screen because a drone was flying here trying to leak our one-year-long hard work. We took a chance and now the power is not sufficient to play the glimpse. It might take ten more minutes.”

He added, “It took us 45 generators to power the screen. We were supposed to test our video last night, we worked till after midnight till 2 AM. We don’t know where people came from. They started flying drones and shooting the footage, leaking it. That is a year of hard work of many people, thousands of man power and crores of rupees. People worked day and night for this. Because of that we didn’t have the chance to even test our video. So we took a chance. People came here from so far, we wanted this to be perfect.”

About Varanasi

The film’s announcement video shows an asteroid falling to Earth, with pieces falling in Varanasi, Antarctica, Africa, and other locations. The film seems to span across centuries, hinting at a connection to Ramayana. It ends with a visual of Mahesh holding a trisulam (trident) while covered in blood and riding a bull. Temples can be seen in the background. He is named Rudhra in it.

Prithviraj Sukumaran and Priyanka Chopra’s first looks from the film, as Kumbha and Mandakini, have already been released. The film is touted to hit screens in 2027.