Varanasi to be India's most expensive film? Budget of Priyanka Chopra's grand comeback revealed

Mahesh Babu

SS Rajamouli's highly anticipated next, Varanasi, continues to keep the audience hooked. Starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, and Prithviraj Sukumaran, the film has already completed a year in production, as it eyes for April 7, 2027 release date. Meanwhile, the budget of the ambitious project has been revealed and it hints that the film could become the most expensive film to be ever made in the country.

Varanasi budget revealed

If reports are to be believed, the grand film is reportedly mounted on a massive Rs 1,400 crore budget. With a colossal film like that, it is being positioned among the most expensive Indian films ever made. Recently, an international profile revealed the project's estimated cost at USD 150 million (around Rs 1,400 crore). The massive scale of the film alone signals at Rajamouli's continued ambition to take Indian epic storytelling and present it with Hollywood spectacle.

With that, Rajamouli has also broken his own record by recording the budget of his new offering higher than that of his last. His last film, RRR, was made on a budget of USD 72 million (Rs 550 crores), which was inflated due to its extensive VFX and massive action sequences.

During a recent interview with Variety, Priyanka Chopra spoke about her personal and professional choices, revealing why she signed up for Varanasi, and more. Talking about the film, she said, "This is unlike anything I've ever done. We travel from like Antarctica to … And just the worlds that he creates are so larger than life, and nobody has the vision that he does. So even I'm excited to see more."

About Varanasi

The details about the plot in Varanasi have been kept tightly under wraps. The film is believed to be a sweeping time-travel cinematic spectacle. It will reportedly feature a grand 25-minute Ramayana battle sequence.

Beyond its technical scale, the film also carries emotional weight. Varanasi marks Priyanka Chopra's return to Indian cinema after decades of focusing on her Hollywood ventures, thus making it one of the most closely watched homecomings in recent years. The film is believed to be gearing up for a theatrical release of April 7, 2027.