5 Things We Learned On The Set Of Varanasi, The Action Epic From RRR Director

Anyone who's been in this business long enough can tell you all about the typical Hollywood set visit experience, a carefully-curated tour through certain soundstages in which talent offer up rehearsed soundbites — which may or may not give an accurate impression of the film once it's all said and done. No more, no less. It's typically not as luxurious or as prestigious as it may seem from afar, or at least rather more mundane than studios would like fans to think. There's always the thrill of watching movie magic come together from a behind-the-scenes perspective, of course, but it's difficult to ignore the shameless marketing angle and manufactured enthusiasm behind it all. That's the film industry for you, folks!

Every now and then, however, comes a genuinely once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that shows you how it's done. In November of 2025, /Film was one of the exclusive few outlets invited to Hyderabad, India, to visit the set of "Varanasi," the latest big-budget behemoth from "RRR" mastermind S.S. Rajamouli. With little more than a proof-of-concept trailer, the Tollywood blockbuster quickly made waves internationally and reminded many of us that there's a wider world of cinema out there, far beyond the limits and imagination of Western audiences.

In addition to attending that title reveal event and interviewing the main creative team — including Rajamouli and stars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Prithviraj Sukumaran — we were also able to explore the sprawling outdoor set that will serve as the main setting and home base of production on "Varanasi." To say that this is unlike anything that Hollywood has to offer is both accurate and wildly inadequate. Hopefully, the following observations and takeaways will be enough to paint a picture of what's in store for moviegoers once "Varanasi" finally arrives in 2027.

Move over, Chris Nolan, because S.S. Rajamouli might already have you beat. As much as the "Oppenheimer" and "The Odyssey" director has turned his fastidious attention to detail into an entire brand unto himself, the early impressions from "Varanasi" are convincing enough to leave pretty much everyone else in the dust. Upon arriving at the set, we were immediately confronted by the sheer size and scale of the production — totaling nine acres, requiring a crew of over 350, and costing millions of US dollars. Modeled extensively on the real-life historic Indian city of Varanasi, the massive set is filled with dozens of standing buildings, entire roadways, and even marketplaces, all dressed up and intricately designed to resemble their real-world counterparts.

According to our guide, production designer Mohan Bingi, Rajamouli maintained a hands-on approach to almost every aspect of the set, personally signing off on countless details and adhering to incredible levels of fidelity. In addition to several location-scouting trips to the sacred city, the creative team used drones and radar technology to map the entire layout. The results speak for themselves, from weathered steps to worn-down building exteriors to murals created by local artists. To those wondering why not simply shoot on-location: this was actually considered... but the logistics of controlling crowds and other challenges quickly made it impractical.

In a testament to the filmmaking efficiency Rajamouli is bringing to "Varanasi" and its ambitious shoot, we were soon ushered into a second-story alcove that doubles as Rajamouli's on-set editing bay. Incredibly enough, the outdoor set is designed to be somewhat movable to allow adjustments and reshoots as needed. This was only the beginning of the surprises in store for us.

As much as stars like to talk about the "immersive" sets they're privileged enough to act in on any given blockbuster, it appears that "Varanasi" is about to set a whole new standard in that regard. Simply walking through the sandy streets and among the crumbling monuments on a hot, steamy day was enough to transport us into this world completely — and that's without any of the more extensive set dressings that are sure to be added during the actual shoot. Every temple or unassuming house turns out to be a treasure trove full of production design and costuming, many of which may not even ultimately be in focus during any given scene. While the "Avatar"-sized imagery in the trailer footage teases the grandeur and larger-than-life tone of the upcoming action epic, S.S. Rajamouli is sparing no expense in capturing the verisimilitude of the tiniest, most intricate details he can.

That extends to some of the cooler surprises hidden throughout this set, as well. For just one example, a temple lurches in the main square at an unusually tilted angle. When asked about this, several crew members eagerly regaled us with stories about the Ratneshwar Mahadev Temple, a real-life Hindu temple in the city that bears the same slant, down to the exact degree. Located right by the Ganges River, which snakes through the heart of Varanasi, the set is built to accommodate the floodwaters that will be unleashed during filming and extends several feet below ground level. 

On the day of our visit, this holy river is nothing more than a dusty canal of gravel and sand. It's not difficult to imagine this landscape transforming into a bustling metropolis teeming with life.

How many people are able to say that they received higher priority attention on a movie set than anyone at the top of the call sheet? That's technically what happened here, given that none of the trio of Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Telegu heartthrob Mahesh Babu, or Malayali actor Prithviraj Sukumaran had even set foot on the set of "Varanasi" before our group of journalists did. That's pretty much where any bragging rights begin and end, of course, especially since the three leads were busy shooting on location in the African safari and bumping elbows with all sorts of wildlife. According to a recent tweet, production will soon move to Antarctica, further confirming this shoot as a true globetrotting event.

Still, this represented an interesting twist on the usual tradition of interviewing cast members after the fact. No filming was scheduled on the day of our visit, which gave us free rein to explore the ins and outs of each quadrant of the set. On the bright side, this freed up several key members of the below-the-line crew to walk with us and provide running commentary on the most minute aspects in front of us. Of particular interest, a piece of the set was reused from a sequence in "RRR" in which Ram (Ram Charan) is forced to publicly flog his best bud Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao, Jr.) on a crowded street. On the other hand, however, it was up to us journalists later that day to fill in the film's main trio of stars on what they had to look forward to once they finally arrived on set, which has certainly happened by the time of publishing.

What was most striking about visiting the "Varanasi" set wasn't necessarily the immaculate production and set design or the amount of backbreaking craftsmanship that clearly went into bringing this city to life — it was everything surrounding this walled-off little world of ancient Indian architecture. As easy as it was to look around and get lost (quite literally, mind you) amid the alleyways and side streets, one particular corner of the set revealed a mounting source of concern and frustration for the crew. In the image above, you can see a gorgeously rendered archway and other buildings giving way to a jarring sight: a modern-day skyscraper under construction, uncomfortably close to the set.

Jeremy Mathai

This is just a taste of the overall situation, with dozens more already popping up to the right of this viewpoint and posing a major threat to the security of filming on "Varanasi." Only six months prior, the set stood in an isolated location with absolutely nothing else of interest within miles. But Hyderabad is a city on the rise, which means every available inch of real estate is up for grabs. S.S. Rajamouli already had to deal with security snafus during the title reveal and trailer event days earlier, with tech rehearsals interrupted by fans armed with drones trying to catch a glimpse of the footage before it was officially revealed. With dozens of skyscrapers offering tantalizing vantage points and no ability to construct walls to cut off prying eyes, "Varanasi" is doomed to a Marvel Cinematic Universe-like scenario of leaked set videos on the internet.

Though not exactly a deal-breaker, it's just another headache for Rajamouli and his creative team.

The most fascinating tidbit of all, however, was hiding in plain sight all along. At first blush, it's clear that this main shooting location on "Varanasi" tells a very particular tale. Every faded mural, street vendor mockup, pavilion, awning, and attention-grabbing shop sign is one part of a larger canvas, coming together into a whole that captures a snapshot of Varanasi at a specific moment in time. But, as we were told, this won't be the only glimpse of this city we get throughout the action blockbuster. No, a narrative as all-encompassing as this one promises to jump from era to era — and this set will jump along with it, so to speak.

Not only is this slice of Varanasi city meant as a central hub of production, built to stand up to 2-3 years, but it's also accessible enough for the crew to return for reshoots at any given point in production, with little more than a week or two's notice, impressively enough. That will certainly come in handy, considering this set will host both present-day scenes and sequences from the distant past. That required designing the set with this in mind, making it nimble enough to be completely redressed depending on the story's exact setting on any given day of filming. "Varanasi" is confirmed to incorporate a time-travel element, as Priyanka Chopra Jonas explained in an interview with /Film, along with at least one major action set piece scheduled for this set, featuring hundreds of extras. 

Taken as a whole, production on "Varanasi" is guaranteed to be a long and grueling saga. Will it be worth it? We'll see when the Tollywood epic hits theaters on April 7, 2027.