Rajamouli believes THIS sequence from 'Varanasi' will blow people away

The hangover from the grand title glimpse reveal of SS Rajamouli's Varanasi is yet to subside. Social media is still abuzz with the chatter of the big-budget Mahesh Babu-starrer co-starring Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran.

Among the most exciting things shared by the Baahubali and RRR director during the launch on Saturday night was a challenging sequence that he believes will be one of the most memorable sequences he has ever directed. Rajamouli who has on numerous occasions professed his love for mythological stories such as Ramayana and Mahabharatha, and that a movie based on the latter is a dream project. So he was taken aback when he wrote a sequence from Ramayana while writing Varanasi.

"I felt like walking on air. On the first day, when I saw Mahesh dressed as Rama and doing a photoshoot, I had goosebumps," recalled Rajamouli at the event. "From my childhood, I have told several times that I like the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha a lot. That making Mahabharatha was my dream project. Even when I began working on this film, I did not realise that I would be shooting an important sequence from the Ramayana for this film." 

The sequence, he shared, took 60 days, and was completed only recently. "We had a great time shooting for this episode. Every day was a challenge as every sub episode in the huge episode was like a cinema in itself. It needed fresh planning. We overcame all of it and completed that sequence. It will be one of the most memorable sequences of my films," he assures. 

Meanwhile, a section of netizens are upset at Rajamouli for saying that he is atheist and that he got upset with his wife for believing in Lord Hanuman. The reason for Rajamouli's reaction was a technical malfunction that delayed the launch of the glimpse, 99 per cent of which was rendered with CGI. Mahesh Babu's character, Rudhra, is introduced at the end of it — riding a bull and brandishing a trishul, further underlying the epic's mythological connections. Other netizens chimed in by arguing that a filmmaker can be an atheist and still take on mythological stories if they're passionate.

In his latest 'X' post, Rajamouli thanked fans for being patient and making the long trip to the event. He wrote, "My sincere thanks to all the Mahesh fans who travelled such long distances for the #Varanasi Globetrotter event and walked close to 3km in the cold… and still, even with the glitches on our side, your patience never wavered… I have to say this, you’re as disciplined as your idol… And a big thank you to every Telugu Cinema audience who stood by us on ground…"

Filmed completely for (not on) IMAX, Varanasi is expected to hit theatres in 2027. Recently, Christopher Nolan revealed that his upcoming epic, The Odyssey, is being shot entirely with IMAX cameras.