{"id":34390,"date":"2026-08-09T10:48:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T05:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34390"},"modified":"2026-08-09T10:48:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T05:48:52","slug":"mahesh-babus-look-in-s-s-rajamoulis-varanasi-unveiled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34390","title":{"rendered":"Mahesh Babu&#8217;s Look in S.S. Rajamouli&#8217;s &#8216;Varanasi&#8217; Unveiled"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tTwo new character stills of <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/mahesh-babu\/\" id=\"auto-tag_mahesh-babu\" data-tag=\"mahesh-babu\">Mahesh Babu<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/s-s-rajamouli\/\" id=\"auto-tag_s-s-rajamouli\" data-tag=\"s-s-rajamouli\">S.S. Rajamouli<\/a>\u2018s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/varanasi\/\" id=\"auto-tag_varanasi\" data-tag=\"varanasi\">Varanasi<\/a>\u201d were released Sunday to mark the actor\u2019s birthday, showing his character Rudhra on location in Africa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe film\u2019s story spans thousands of years and traverses multiple continents, with locations ranging from Antarctica to Africa to the titular Indian city. Babu plays the dual roles of the protagonist Rudhra and Hindu God Rama, <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/priyanka-chopra-jonas\/\" id=\"auto-tag_priyanka-chopra-jonas\" data-tag=\"priyanka-chopra-jonas\">Priyanka Chopra Jonas<\/a> plays a character named Mandakini and the main antagonist Kumbha is played by Prithviraj Sukumaran.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe images were shot at the Kilimanjaro and Maasai Mara locations, two of the African settings featured in the film. In one still, Mahesh Babu reclines on a bamboo raft in a jungle setting, dressed in a loose olive-toned shirt and dark cargo trousers, with tousled curly hair and a full beard. The other image shows him in profile against the African savannah, with giraffes and zebras visible in the background.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  size-large alignnone \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure  lrv-u-font-family-secondary u-color-medium-grey lrv-u-border-b-1 u-border-color-light-grey-tint-two u-margin-b-150 lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:1000px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-variety-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Varanasi-Mahesh-Babu.jpg?w=1000\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Varanasi-Mahesh-Babu.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Varanasi-Mahesh-Babu.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Varanasi-Mahesh-Babu.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Varanasi-Mahesh-Babu.jpg?resize=910,607 910w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Varanasi-Mahesh-Babu.jpg?resize=681,454 681w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Varanasi-Mahesh-Babu.jpg?resize=450,300 450w, https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Varanasi-Mahesh-Babu.jpg?resize=250,167 250w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(min-width: 87.5rem) 1000px, (min-width: 78.75rem) 681px, (min-width: 48rem) 450px, (max-width: 48rem) 250px\" height=\"667\" width=\"1000\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column lrv-u-padding-t-1 lrv-u-padding-b-1\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-line-height-normal lrv-u-font-size-14 u-font-family-neue u-letter-spacing-007-rem u-margin-b-050\">Mahesh Babu \u2013 \u201cVaranasi\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"u-color-medium-grey u-font-family-neue-xxs\">Sri Durga Arts\/Showing Business<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe stills mark the latest in a series of character reveals from the production, following<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/news\/priyanka-chopra-jonas-varanasi-images-birthday-1236815343\/\"> images of Priyanka Chopra Jonas <\/a>released for her birthday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tBabu, who spent a year preparing for the role, underwent three months of Kalari martial arts training solely to adjust his posture for the character\u2019s period-appropriate bearing. \u201cI\u2019m playing Lord Rama\u2019s character, it required posture\u2026 you can\u2019t stand like modern characters,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/news\/mahesh-babu-priyanka-chopra-jonas-ss-rajamouli-varanasi-1236650759\/\">has said to <em>Variety<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tHe also trained with a track and field team for several months to modify his running style. \u201cWhen I saw the shot, I was really happy. It was worth it, because that six months of training for that one shot was really worth it,\u201d he said. \u201cThe way I walked changed, the way I stood changed, everything changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cVaranasi\u201d is Rajamouli\u2019s follow-up to the Academy Award-winning \u201cRRR.\u201d M.M. Keeravani, who won the Oscar for \u201cRRR\u2019s\u201d \u201cNaatu Naatu,\u201d is returning to score the new film.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVaranasi\u201d opens in theaters worldwide on April 7, 2027.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two new character stills of Mahesh Babu from S.S. Rajamouli\u2018s \u201cVaranasi\u201d were released Sunday to mark the actor\u2019s birthday, showing his character Rudhra on location in Africa. The film\u2019s story spans thousands of years and traverses multiple continents, with locations ranging from Antarctica to Africa to the titular Indian city. Babu plays the dual roles&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mahesh-Babu-Varanasi.jpg?w=1000&h=563&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}