After Dhurandhar’s success SS Rajamouli considers splitting Varanasi into two parts, says report
When SS Rajamouli crafted ‘Baahubali’ as a two-part movie, with the first film ending on a cliffhanger and leaving much unsaid, many were sceptical about whether it would work. However, the ‘Baahubali’ movies changed the landscape of Indian cinema, both for better and worse. While it gave filmmakers the confidence to dream big, it also ushered in a new wave where almost every big-ticket film is conceived as a multi-part, pan-India project. Unsurprisingly, many have backfired. Yet, the trend of franchise films continues unabated.
Meanwhile, it seems that Rajamouli, the man who launched this movement, is now set for another two-part film. According to a new report, his epic action-adventure ‘Varanasi’ will be released in two parts. Much like what director Aditya Dhar did with his ‘Dhurandhar’ movies, Rajamouli plans to split ‘Varanasi’ into two to narrate the entire expansive tale without butchering it to fit theatrical standards.
“Three hours-plus wouldn’t be enough for ‘Varanasi’. They are looking at extending it into a two-part format,” a source familiar with the project’s developments told ‘Bollywood Hungama’. “Rajamouli and his team feel this extended format would afford them the liberty to tell a more expanded story without looking anxiously at the clock.” The movie features Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead roles.
Although the narrative is set in the city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, the Rajamouli directorial isn’t being shot there. The filmmaker has created a massive replica of Varanasi in Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, as the primary location for the movie. According to a ‘Polygon’ report, the makers have even recreated the Ratneshwar Mahadev temple for the shoot. A full-sized temple has also been built to serve as the backdrop for a few scenes set in the past and it will then be buried underwater for present-day sequences.
However, unlike Baahubali’s sets, which remain a major tourist attraction at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad to this day, Varanasi’s sets will be demolished once production is complete, as the makers have erected them on a rented plot.
Interestingly, the movie unfolds across multiple timelines, including the present day and the year 512 CE. “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,” Priyanka Chopra Jonas told the publication.
