Prakash Raj talks about his role in SS Rajamouli's Varanasi: 'I play a Maha Shiva Bhakt'

Prakash Raj

Prakash Raj has some interesting films in his lineup, including Spirit and Drishyam 3. He has now confirmed that he will also be seen in SS Rajamouli's ambitious film Varanasi. The actor has revealed that he has already completed a couple of schedules for the big-budget production.

Prakash Raj on his role in Varanasi

At a recent event, Prakash Raj spoke about his role in the film, which will be released in theatres next year. Talking about his role, the actor said, "I am working in Rajamouli's Varanasi. I play a Maha Shiva Bhakt in the film." Some reports also suggest that Raj will be seen playing Mahesh Babu's character's father. However, there is no confirmation of the news yet.

Reportedly, Prakash Raj's character was initially supposed to be played by Rajat Kapoor. However, the actor walked out of the project citing creative differences.

Varanasi release date

Rajamouli's Varanasi will be released a little over a year later. The film is scheduled to hit theatres on the occasion of Ugadi and Gudi Padwa on April 7, 2027. Apart from the festive weekend, the film will also enjoy the benefit of the Ambedkar Jayanti holiday on April 14, 2027.

SS Rajamouli reveals Varanasi is shot for IMAX

SS Rajamouli said, "Firstly, I would like to thank the Rachakonda Police Department. KL Narayan garu, thank you for bringing Mahesh and me together. Usually, before my films, I hold a press meet and narrate the story- it became a tradition. But actually, I don't do that for every film. For Baahubali, I didn't. If there is scope, we will; if not, we won't. For this film, we won't. But we wanted to release an announcement video to set the expectations right. We planned it for March but couldn't. Then the rains came… and now, on November 14, we are finally coming with that video. It's becoming difficult to keep referring to it as ‘this film' without revealing the title."

Lauding Superstar Krishna, he said, "I didn't know much about the greatness of Superstar Krishna garu earlier. I was a fan of NTR garu, but after entering the industry, I understood Krishna garu's legacy. To introduce new technology, you must break many norms, and he did that with multiple films. Today, I am proud to say we are introducing a new format to Telugu cinema - a premium large-scale format, filmed for IMAX. You might think, ‘Aren't there already IMAX films?' The ones we usually watch are blown-up versions of the CinemaScope print. But a few films, like Baahubali and RRR, were actually shot, mastered, and VFX-finished specifically for the format. This film too is being created for IMAX in the truest sense."