Is Rajamouli’s Varanasi Going To Be Like Kalki?

It is already known the Rajamouli and Mahesh Babu are coming together for one of the biggest collaborations in Indian cinema in the form of Varanasi. And now certain implications are being drawn between Varanasi and Prabhas’s Kalki and let us have a look into this discussion.

It is being discussed extensively that Rajamouli’s upcoming film Varanasi is drawing comparisons with Nag Ashwin’s blockbuster Kalki 2898 AD, mainly because both films explore time travel, mythology and large scale spectacle.

While Kalki 2898 AD was set in a near dystopian future, Varanasi moves in the opposite direction by travelling across ancient timelines and mythological eras.

According to the report, the story spans multiple yugas, from Treta Yuga to Kali Yuga, and even crosses continents, stretching from Antarctica to Africa. The narrative is described as a mythological globe trotting adventure rooted deeply in Indian history and philosophy, similar in spirit to an Indian version of an Indiana Jones style quest.

Mahesh Babu plays Rudhra, an adventurer and devoted follower of Shiva, who is tasked with finding powerful cosmic artefacts scattered across different eras.

Priyanka Chopra plays Mandakini, a fearless woman navigating the modern world, while Prithviraj Sukumaran appears as the antagonist. The synopsis hints at a catastrophic asteroid strike on Varanasi and raises questions about whether a saviour must travel through time to alter the fate of humanity.

Industry insiders note that time travel has been widely used in Japanese, Chinese and Korean cinema but remains relatively unexplored in Indian films. Given Rajamouli’s long standing fascination with Indian mythology and epic storytelling, expectations are high for his vision to unfold on the big screen.