The phone rings. The director on the other end is SS Rajamouli. The film is massive. The comeback is long overdue. And Priyanka Chopra has just one thing on her mind. “Will you make me dance?”
That one sweet, slightly dangerous request didn’t just bring Priyanka back to Indian cinema after years away. It also dragged her co-star Mahesh Babu straight onto the dance floor, changed the energy of the film, and added a musical heartbeat to one of the most ambitious Indian movies ever planned.
Welcome to ‘Varanasi’. This is the film where gods, time travel, epic action, giant screens, and a lot of dancing collide.
Also Read: SS Rajamouli under fire: Complaint lodged over ‘I don’t believe in God Hanuman’ remark at ‘Varanasi’ event
A comeback that starts with a dance demand
Priyanka Chopra is officially returning to Indian cinema after seven long years, and she is doing it in the most Priyanka way possible by asking for a dance number before even saying yes.
When SS Rajamouli first called her about ‘Varanasi’, he pitched the character, praised its depth, and tried to sell the scale. Priyanka listened patiently. Then she dropped her condition.
She told him she hadn’t danced in an Indian film for years and desperately missed that connection with Indian audiences. If she was coming back, she wanted to move to music again. Rajamouli agreed.
That’s when things got… intense.
“I should not have asked”: how the dance took over the set
Priyanka later laughed about her decision, admitting she may have underestimated Rajamouli’s enthusiasm. Once he agreed, he went all in.
Instead of one gentle dance, the film exploded into multiple high-energy sequences. Rehearsals stretched. Shooting days multiplied. The choreography became demanding.
And Mahesh Babu? He got pulled into it too.
According to Priyanka, Mahesh jokingly blamed her for his sudden dance-heavy schedule. She revealed how he kept telling her that all the extra dancing was her fault. What began as her personal wish quickly became one of the film’s most talked-about elements.
Mahesh Babu can’t stop humming the song
Mahesh Babu, however, seems secretly happy about it.
He has already confirmed that one major song featuring both of them has been shot. The tune, he says, refuses to leave his head. Priyanka apparently keeps singing it on set, much to everyone’s amusement.
The song exists only because Priyanka wanted to dance and now it’s shaping up to be one of the film’s biggest crowd-pleasers.
SS Rajamouli and Priyanka Chopra: a first-time pairing
‘Varanasi’ marks the first collaboration between Priyanka Chopra and SS Rajamouli, a director known for redefining scale with ‘Baahubali’ and ‘RRR’.
Interestingly, Rajamouli wasn’t fully confident at first.
He admitted that he had a small doubt about casting Priyanka. She had spent years working in Hollywood, doing international projects, and catering to a very different audience. He wondered if she would still connect naturally with Indian storytelling.
Those doubts vanished on day one.
Rajamouli described her as “a fish into water,” instantly comfortable, emotionally tuned in, fully committed. Whatever fear existed disappeared the moment the camera rolled.
Why Mandakini needed Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka plays Mandakini, the female lead in ‘Varanasi’, and the role is not easy.
Rajamouli needed an actor who could do two things without effort: dominate action scenes and break hearts in vulnerable moments. He searched long and hard but kept running into compromises, actors who could do one but not the other.
Then Priyanka’s name came up.
He has admired her performances for years, from emotionally fragile roles to fearless, powerful characters. Mandakini required both strength and softness, and Rajamouli felt Priyanka could deliver that balance naturally.
The character can fight, but she can also fall apart. And Priyanka, in his words, “really gives it all.”
A career built on vulnerability and power
Priyanka’s casting makes sense when you look at her journey.
She has delivered deeply emotional performances in films like ‘Barfi!’ and ‘Bajirao Mastani’. At the same time, she has led high-stakes action projects internationally, including spy and political thrillers.
That mix of vulnerability and force is exactly what ‘Varanasi’ demands.
Mahesh Babu as Rudhra and as Lord Rama
Mahesh Babu plays Rudhra, the film’s protagonist, in what is being described as one of his most layered roles yet.
SS Rajamouli has confirmed that Mahesh will portray Lord Rama in one of the film’s sequences, linking the story directly to the ‘Ramayana’. This revelation has fueled massive fan curiosity.
A teaser has already hinted that time travel is central to ‘Varanasi’.
Rajamouli moves the story across different worlds and timelines, one of which draws inspiration from the ‘Ramayana’. He believes these stories are not ancient relics but living emotions.
According to him, epic tales flow in Indian blood. The real challenge is not telling them, but living up to audience expectations while retelling them on such a massive scale.
Adding even more firepower to the cast is Prithviraj Sukumaran, who plays the antagonist.
Varanasi release date and where to watch
‘Varanasi’ is scheduled for a theatrical release on April 7, 2027.
Before that, Priyanka Chopra will appear in the Hollywood action thriller ‘The Bluff’, starring Karl Urban, which releases on Prime Video this month.
But her true big-screen homecoming happens next year, when she returns as Mandakini in a Telugu action fantasy epic designed to shake theatres.
Seven years later, she’s back. She’s dancing. And she’s doing it on the biggest stage possible.