Inside Varanasi sets where SS Rajamouli has recreated Kashi: How India's biggest film rebuilt ancient temples, ghats

The makers of SS Rajamouli's Varanasi have shared a first look inside the secretive sets of the Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra-starrer.

The production of any SS Rajamouli film is one of the most heavily protected and secretive areas in India. Right from the days of Baahubali, the filmmaker has ensured that his films remain shrouded in mystery, devoid of any leaks, till he decides it’s time to show the public what it is all about. The same is the case with Varanasi, his upcoming and most ambitious project to date. Despite his penchant for secrecy, the filmmaker allowed select international publications access to the sets late last year. The resulting pictures and inside details have only just surfaced now, and they paint a picture of grandeur, opulence, and technical marvel that probably only Rajamouli is capable of.

A section of the recreated city of Kashi for Varanasi movie.

Rajamouli rebuilds Varanasi in Hyderabad

Varanasi stars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead roles. The sci-fi epic explores time travel and spans continents. But a significant part of it is set in Varanasi itself. The north Indian city, locally known as Benares or Kashi, is regarded as the world's oldest city. Its narrow bylanes, ancient temples, and serene ghats draw millions of visitors from around the world each year. Naturally, shooting there was a logistical impossibility. To solve that, Rajamouli built his own Varanasi on open land in Hyderabad.

The film's official social media handle shared some of the unseen pictures from the sets late on Tuesday night.

The sprawling set, covering roughly 700 by 400 feet, according to Rotten Tomatoes, is almost an identical recreation of the city in Uttar Pradesh, scaled down by about 30%. The publication noted that “the level of craftsmanship was striking. Buildings were constructed using detailed reference images of the real Varanasi, complete with precise measurements and decoration instructions to ensure authenticity.”

One of the highlights of this recreation is the Ratneshwar Mahadev Temple, the iconic riverside shrine that has a tilt. The recreation maintains its distinctive tilt, RT reports, ‘down to its depth and angle’. The pictures shared by the makers show there are references to the real buildings from the city pasted across the set, with minute details like measurements and architectural nuances spelt out, right down to the T.

Varanasi across time periods

The film flits across different time periods, from the Treta Yuga to 2027 AD, meaning Varanasi will also constantly change. The film’s team has ensured that both cities are built simultaneously.

A line producer told ScreenRant, “In the past version, most of our scenes that we are doing are closer to the water. The building that you see behind you (pictured in the feature image) is one of the major changes. It is sunken down by about 12 feet. We have the rest of the building constructed, and we have sunk it down, so when we go back to the olden era, we'll have to pull it back up, cut it down into pieces, and rearrange it.”

All about Rajamouli’s Varanasi

The title and first look of Varanasi was unveiled in November at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad at a grand event attended by the film’s cast and crew, along with 50,000 fans. The film, billed as the costliest ever made in India, is set to release in April 2027.