4 min readMumbaiApr 8, 2026 02:37 PM IST
Curiosity around filmmaker SS Rajamouli’s upcoming project Varanasi has only grown since a first extended glimpse was unveiled in November 2025. While that initial reveal hinted at a time-travel action narrative starring Mahesh Babu, new details about the film’s storyline have now surfaced, offering a clearer sense of its scale and direction.
Leaked Synopsis of Varanasi
A synopsis attributed to visual effects company Cinesite, known for its work on films like Spider-Man: No Way Home, has reportedly appeared online. The studio has listed the Rajamouli project in its portfolio, alongside a poster and a brief description that outlines the central premise. It reads: “A Shiva devotee embarks on a perilous quest across time to uncover a lost cosmic artifact of immense power. As he pieces together ancient secrets hidden through centuries, he realises the truth behind his mission, the very force that set him on this path is a calculating mastermind with a vision of absolute global domination. Forever. Unveiled.”
Taken at face value, the synopsis suggests that Mahesh Babu’s character, Rudhra, is sent on a time-spanning mission by Kumbha, played by Prithviraj Sukumaran. As the journey unfolds, Rudhra appears to uncover a deeper conspiracy, realising that Kumbha’s intentions are far from noble. Positioned as the film’s antagonist, Kumbha is driven by an ambition for global dominance, tied to a mysterious artifact believed to originate from the era of the Ramayana. The nature of this object, however, remains undisclosed.
Varanasi spans from 7,200 BCE to 2027
Actor Priyanka Chopra, who is also part of the film, recently shed light on its narrative structure in an interview with Polygon. She indicated that the story stretches across multiple timelines, ranging from ancient history to the near future. “It’s not like you’re sitting in a machine and going into… it’s not Back to the Future. But we do go from 7,200 BCE to 2027. So you travel worlds and realms that our characters move within, which makes it really interesting. So it is a time-travel movie.”
Rajamouli, meanwhile, has reiterated that the film draws thematic and visual inspiration from Indian epics such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Speaking to The Wrap, he described an ambitious sequence that interlinks several episodes from the Ramayana into a single extended set piece. “That episode of the film is a combination of multiple sub-sub-episodes. So this entire thing put together is about 25 minutes in the film, one time in the film. Shooting that set of episodes, each one was like making a film on its own. The emotions that we had to go through that, the audience, the characters had to go through that sequence are different from each episode.”
He also added, “We had to put all our brains together, all our efforts together, to shoot that sequence. We shot it for 60 days, and one of the most satisfying sequences for them.”
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About Varanasi
Directed by SS Rajamouli, of Baahubali and RRR fame, Varanasi is scheduled to release on April 7, 2027. Recent reports suggest that the film might also release in two parts, however, the makers are yet to comment on the same.
