Priyanka Chopra’s birthday celebrations came with a major reveal for fans as the makers of ‘Varanasi’ unveiled her first official look from SS Rajamouli’s upcoming globe-trotting epic.
The newly released images by the makers introduce Chopra as Mandakini, showcasing the actor in a fierce and commanding avatar.
In the newly released still, Priyanka Chopra appears in a bold, edgy and dramatic look. She is dressed in a dark, structured corset-style top with high-neck detailing and sheer or mesh elements, creating a gothic, warrior-inspired aesthetic. Her hair is styled in a voluminous updo, adding to the intensity of the character. The fire-lit backdrop further enhances Mandakini’s powerful and atmospheric screen presence.
The character reveal comes as production on ‘Varanasi’ enters its final phase. In June, director SS Rajamouli shared an update on the film’s progress following his appearance at the Annecy Animation Festival, where the first glimpse of the film was unveiled.
Speaking about the shoot, Rajamouli said, “What I can say is we have completed a major portion of the shoot, all the important big spectacle action sequences are done. We are [now] into doing the smaller, interconnecting scenes so hopefully, by September, maybe a little bit into October, we should be finishing shooting.”
The filmmaker also addressed whether shooting the film in the IMAX format had influenced his creative approach.
“From the beginning, we knew the sequences that were conceived would be best justified in [the] Imax format – we didn’t change anything just for the format,” he said, adding that any changes were minimal.
Explaining the adjustment process, Rajamouli said, “Because our eyes have been trained to shoot in the CinemaScope format, which obviously I love, [we were] just thinking about, we need to frame this [to] look good both in Imax as well as CinemaScope, the anamorphic framing, so that took a little bit of adjustment for the first few initial days. Then we understood how to do it.”
Headlined by Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Prithviraj Sukumaran, Varanasi has generated significant buzz since its title announcement. Last year, Rajamouli introduced Mahesh Babu’s character with a striking visual featuring the actor riding an ox while holding a trishul.
‘Varanasi’ is scheduled to release in theatres on April 7, 2027.
