S.S. Rajamouli celebrated Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s 44th birthday by dropping the first character posters for his upcoming time-travel epic Varanasi. The director released two contrasting images on Thursday, officially introducing the actor as “Mandakini” to his global fanbase.
Key Details
- Release Window: Varanasi is scheduled for a worldwide theatrical launch on April 7, 2027.
- The Co-Stars: Mahesh Babu steps in as the lead character Rudhra, while Malayalam actor Prithviraj Sukumaran plays the primary antagonist, Kumbha.
- The Scope: Production has spanned 14 months so far, shooting across Antarctica, Kenya’s Maasai Mara, and the holy city of Varanasi.
Rajamouli shared the dual stills on X. One poster highlights an intense, fierce persona with Chopra Jonas wearing an all-black corset-inspired outfit and wild curls. The second captures a completely different energy, freezing a carefree moment of her leaping mid-air in Kenya. He kept the caption brief. “Grace when she smiles. Fire when she doesn’t. Mandakini… @PriyankaChopra in #Varanasi,” Rajamouli wrote.
This project breaks a long theatrical hiatus. Varanasi marks the actor’s first Hindi-language cinema release since 2019’s The Sky Is Pink. It also happens to be her first time working with Rajamouli, who is directing his first feature since the Oscar-winning RRR hit theaters in 2022.
Chopra Jonas teased the sheer scale of the production recently on the Hey Jonas podcast. She detailed her extensive action choreography training and mentioned filming multiple slow-motion jumps for the project.
The mythology-infused sci-fi script spans thousands of years, jumping from ancient civilizations up to the year 2027. Mahesh Babu’s role as Rudhra is rumored to include a 20-minute sequence portraying Lord Rama.