Renowned filmmaker SS Rajamouli has shared thrilling news regarding his next venture, ‘Varanasi’, starring Mahesh Babu. This film will be a trailblazer for Telugu cinema, being shot in the stunning 1.43:1 IMAX aspect ratio. While the absence of IMAX screens in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh poses a challenge, Rajamouli remains hopeful for a new 1.
The first glimpse of SS Rajamouli’s next ambitious project, ‘Varanasi’, starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, and Prithviraj Sukumaran in lead roles, was shown on a massive screen at a grand launch event in Hyderabad. There, the filmmaker revealed that his movie is being made specifically for viewing in the IMAX format.
SS Rajamouli responds to a post asking about IMAX screens
Rajamouli, at the Hyderabad event, shared that the movie will be filmed in the 1.43:1 aspect ratio. A Mid Day report quoted him saying, “We are introducing a new technology to Telugu cinema. It will be a premium large-scale format filmed for IMAX.”However, while the movie is being made in Telugu, there are no IMAX screens in either Telangana or Andhra Pradesh. In fact, most of the IMAX screens are available only in metro cities of India. A concerned X user questioned, “There is no IMAX in Hyderabad, where the actual event took place, and this news was confirmed. Can we expect an IMAX in Hyderabad by 2027?”SS Rajamouli responded to the post, saying, “I really hope that by the time ‘Varanasi’ releases, or even before, we’ll at least have a 1.43 IMAX screen in India and an IMAX in my land, Hyderabad.”
SS Rajamouli on IMAX filming at the ‘Varanasi’ event
At the event, SS Rajamouli felt proud that he and his team “are introducing a new format to Telugu cinema: a premium large-scale format, filmed for IMAX. You might think, ‘Aren’t there already IMAX films?’ The ones we usually watch are blown-up versions of the CinemaScope print. But a few films, like ‘Baahubali’ and ‘RRR’, were actually shot, mastered, and VFX-finished specifically for the format. This film too is being created for IMAX in the truest sense.”
