There’s a quote I keep coming back to whenever a filmmaker swings for the fences: ambition deserves encouragement, but ambition alone can’t protect a film from criticism.
That’s the lens through which I’ve been watching the rollout of SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi, and honestly, it’s been a wild ride already.
Our industry rarely rewards risk. Most of what we see is safe, predictable, and designed to do numbers in the easiest way possible. So whenever someone tries something strange, something mythic, something built on imagination instead of formulas, I’m automatically rooting for them.
But rooting for them doesn’t mean I stop paying attention.
Varanasi is shaping up to be the kind of universe Indian cinema has never really attempted:
superheroes tied to ancient lore, astras blending with sci-fi, worlds stacked across timelines, gods intersecting with mortals, and a full-on mythological adventure with global ambition.
That’s something I’ll support.
But I’m also going to call it out, especially when the marketing stumbles this early.
Let’s Get Into It: The Marketing Run So Far Has Been… Chaotic
No point sugarcoating it. The Globe Trotter event looked immense on paper, but the execution?
You could almost feel the tension in the room.
Rajamouli’s frustration was visible. Hosting was uneven. Suma basically kept the whole thing from crashing into the floor. And the leak of the first look made the whole setup even more awkward.
But the bigger cracks showed up in the posters and character reveals.
Professor Kum
The first character poster drops, and, well, it wasn’t good.
A pale wheelchair-bound figure with robotic arms. The vibe wasn’t “intimidating antagonist”; it was “Professor X meets Doc Ock meets generic sci-fi NPC.”
The real issue wasn’t even the character design; it was the composition.
He looked tiny, lost in a bland CG background, like someone dragged him into the frame at the last second.
That’s not how you introduce a villain.
Priyanka Chopra as Mandakini
This was an improvement, no question.
Priyanka looks powerful. The sari + gun combination has style.
But the background again? Flat. Uninspired.
It reminded me why Indian “imagined worlds” so often look like video-game cutscenes from 2010.
That said, I’m thrilled she’s back in a full-scale Indian movie. Hollywood never gave her work that matched her presence. Here, she feels like a star again.
Mahesh Babu’s Poster… Yeah
Let me just say it straight: if I saw that poster out of context, I would’ve assumed it was from a Boyapati film.
Dust. Intense stare. That same familiar stock-hero vibe. For a Rajamouli project, that’s honestly shocking. But then came the saving grace.
“Varanasi to the World” – The One Thing That Actually Set My Brain on Fire
Forget the posters. Forget the event.
This teaser was the only moment where I went, “Okay, now this is Rajamouli.”
The VFX supervisor confirmed that everything you see, except Mahesh Babu’s shot, is fully CG.
And yet, it works.
We jump between timelines like it’s the easiest thing ever:
- 512 CE: a ritual unleashing raw cosmic energy
- 2027 CE: asteroid Shambi wipes out the planet
- Ross Ice Shelf: explorers scaling impossible frozen walls
- Ancient ruins underwater
- An African forest with hints of portals to other worlds
- A monkey rescued from hippos—a fascinating detail if it ties into the afars of Hindu gods
- The Ugrabati cave sequence with Mandakini falling through dimensions
- The war in Lanka with Lord Ram, raised by the Vanar Sena, and the colossal figure of Kumbh, charging ahead
This is the kind of stuff you can’t fake.
This is someone’s imagination spilling over.
The way they’re blending timelines, mythologies, portals, and alternate worlds is something I haven’t seen any Indian filmmaker even attempt.
And the score? MM Keeravani absolutely understood the assignment.
But… Let Me Be Honest About the Final Shot
Mahesh Babu riding a Nandi-inspired creature in a dust cloud?
Rough, Premature, not something that should’ve gone public.
When the universe around him looks fully realized and he looks like a half-finished render, it breaks the illusion instantly. If that wasn’t ready, and it clearly wasn’t, they should’ve skipped it.
So, Where Do I Stand Right Now?
I’m in that messy middle space where:
The ambition completely wins me over.
But the execution so far keeps giving me mini heart attacks.
Rajamouli has never let us down, and maybe that’s why every frame is under a microscope.
He’s the one director whose films feel like events not just in India, but worldwide. Of course, his work will be scrutinized. That’s respect, not hate.
But ambition can’t become a shield.
If something looks half-baked, I’m going to say it.
Still… when I step back and look at everything?
I trust him.
He’s earned that trust.
And if Varanasi becomes what it’s hinting at, we might be witnessing the birth of India’s most exciting cinematic universe.
What Worked & What Didn’t in Varanasi
| What Hit the Mark | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| The multi-timeline worldbuilding | It feels massive, lived-in, and genuinely mythic. |
| Keeravani’s score | Gives the teaser its spine and scale. |
| The ancient-world visuals | Bold, textured, and visually fresh for Indian cinema. |
| The Afar/portal concept | One of the most intriguing ideas teased so far. |
| The Lanka war imagery | Straight-up goosebumps. |
| What Fell Flat | Why It Hurts |
|---|---|
| Professor Kum’s poster | Weak composition, uninspiring villain reveal. |
| Priyanka’s CGI background | Flat textures kill the visual drama. |
| Mahesh Babu’s dust-aesthetic poster | Feels like a stock Telugu mass-hero look, not a universe-builder. |
| The final Nandi shot | Looks unfinished and breaks immersion. |
| The overall marketing flow | Outdated live event format + uneven reveals created unnecessary chaos. |
Also Read: Kaantha Review: Dulquer Salmaan Just Delivered the Boldest Film of His Career
Final Thoughts on Varanasi
If Varanasi lands the way Rajamouli intends, it could genuinely redefine mythological sci-fi for the next decade.
But the road to get there? It’s bumpier than anyone expected.
And maybe that’s fine, Big visions are messy., But they’ve got my full attention. If the film matches even half the imagination shown in that teaser, we’re in for something unforgettable.