Priyanka Chopra confirmed this week that S. S. Rajamouli’s Varanasi stays locked for April 2027 and revealed that the crew rebuilt the Varanasi ghats inside Hyderabad. The update lands months after Sri Durga Arts and Showing Business announced an April 7, 2027 Ugadi opening for the Mahesh Babu starrer before going quiet during final filming.
Fans read that silence as a delay, yet the timing behind Chopra’s comment points to a sharper studio calculation.
Notice the timing.
Trade circles spent recent weeks whispering that Rajamouli might push the ₹1,400 crore adventure toward Diwali 2027, where Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana Part 2 already sits.
I’ve watched Hyderabad soundstages become Rajamouli’s safety net since leaked footage from Odisha spoiled an early shoot with Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj Sukumaran in March 2025.
Closed sets stopped phone leaks cold while keeping the 1.43:1 IMAX schedule intact past August’s 80 per cent completion mark.
That control mattered again when Middle East travel disruptions forced Rajamouli to scrap Antarctica filming in March 2026 and build icy sets in Hyderabad alongside Georgia exteriors.
Visual effects supervisor V. Srinivas Mohan still has months of rendering ahead, which explains why exhibitors grew nervous about April 7.
Keeping that Ugadi and Gudi Padwa date protects a clean nine-day holiday runway through Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14.
Chopra didn’t drop that April confirmation by accident — she handed producers K. L. Narayana and S. S. Karthikeya free calendar insurance without a press note.
Her interview quiets delay chatter while shielding M. M. Keeravani’s musical epic from a Diwali pileup. If you’re running a multiplex chain next spring, do you bet your IMAX screens on April 7 holding firm?
