SS Karthikeya reveals details of Varanasi sets built for Rajamouli’s epic

Producer S.S. Karthikeya has revealed details about the massive set construction for S.S. Rajamouli’s film Varanasi, starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Prithviraj Sukumaran. The film’s recreated ghats were built brick by brick for authenticity.

Mumbai: The producer of the upcoming film ‘Varanasi’, S. S. Karthikeya has shared insights into building the sets of the S. S. Rajamouli epic.

The film is one of the most anticipated Indian films, and stars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Prithviraj Sukumaran. The film also made an international appearance at Comic Con Experience Mexico 2026, where producer S. S. Karthikeya spoke about creating the world of real Varanasi.

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S. S. Karthikeya, who attended the Comic Con Experience Mexico 2026, said, “The story begins, and revolves, and ends in Varanasi. It’s also called the spiritual capital of India and its one of the oldest city that was built and still inhabited and obviously our director SS Rajamouli had a vision of some breath-taking sequences in the Ghats of Varanasi, which obviously practically we couldn’t have possibly executed there, as the producer our responsibility is to make that happen. We sent out our production design team to Varanasi to get all the possible dyes, measurements, picture references and all of that, and yes to get his vision come true we built the Varanasi Ghats brick by brick to ensure his vision comes true”.

Mahesh Babu’s powerful look as Rudhra, Prithviraj Sukumaran’s intense first look as Kumbha, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s commanding avatar as Mandakini from ‘Varanasi’ have already been revealed, sending social media into a frenzy and fueling nationwide excitement. With these striking glimpses raising expectations, anticipation has now reached fever pitch as audiences eagerly await this grand cinematic spectacle, slated for a massive theatrical release on April 7, 2027.

This is Rajamouli’s 2nd outing after the historical fiction ‘RRR’, which won the Oscar for Best Song in 2023.