S.S. Rajamouli on the Cinematic Feat of ‘Varanasi,’ Mahesh Babu’s Work Ethic and Recreating India’s Sacred City on Screen: ‘To Meet My Own Expectation Is the Biggest Challenge of My Life’

S.S. Rajamouli has worked with some of Indian cinema’s biggest stars, but Mahesh Babu managed to surprise him in unexpected ways.

“As an actor, not much surprised me, because I was watching his films from a very long time. I know what he is capable of,” the “RRR” director says of working with Babu for the first time on “Varanasi.” “What came as a surprise is his work ethic.”

Chief among those surprises: Babu’s strict discipline around mobile phones. “He comes into the office without his phone. He keeps the phone in his car and steps into the office,” Rajamouli says. “At the shoot, I have never seen him come with the phone into the set. Only after he gets back into the car, he takes his phone.”

The observation was striking enough that Rajamouli made his own vow to “not touch my phone when I’m with my family members,” he says.

“Varanasi” spans thousands of years and traverses multiple continents, with locations ranging from Antarctica to Africa to the titular Indian city. Babu plays the dual roles of the protagonist Rudhra and Hindu God Rama, Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays a character named Mandakini and the main antagonist Kumbha is played by Prithviraj Sukumaran. 

Rajamouli describes Babu’s discipline as unprecedented. “It’s not that he is continuously busy in the office. He does his job, and we discuss with him if there is anything he needs to practice, and sometimes there are two, three hours, he just sits at his table observing all the people who work. He does not get his phone. He just observes,” he says.

While Babu surprised Rajamouli with his work ethic, Priyanka Chopra Jonas brought unexpected global dimensions to the production. While shooting in Africa, local crew members approached the actress for photographs after filming concluded. “I was asking them, ‘So you watch her movies?’ And they said, ‘We are fans of her work because of what she does for UN as a brand ambassador, what she does in Africa,'” Rajamouli recalls.

The revelation deepened his appreciation for the actor. “I thought, wow, this woman is something. She has achieved so much on her own, and my respect for her grew,” he says.

Rajamouli had long admired Chopra Jonas’ work, dating back over 15 years. “I felt a little loss” when she began working more in the West, he admits. But seeing her success in Los Angeles changed his perspective. “Seeing those huge hoardings of PC [Priyanka Chopra Jonas] in L.A. for ‘Citadel,’ and for the previous one, ‘Quantico’ — that felt really great. Here is our desi girl making it big in the West.”

The character of Mandakini required specific qualities that Rajamouli believes Chopra Jonas uniquely possesses. “She can be a really kick-ass girl, and she has to be really vulnerable. [There are] very few actors who can do both in the same character,” he says. “She did a fantastic job, and I’m so happy that I have her on board.”

Recreating the city of Varanasi on a soundstage presented unique challenges. Production designer Mohan Bingi made multiple visits to the sacred city, capturing thousands of photographs and 360-degree camera footage to authentically reproduce the ghats.

“It is so chaotic, so many colors. There is no symmetry, but it’s beautiful,” Rajamouli says. “You place a camera, look at each element. One element does not resonate with the other, but you see it as a whole, everything makes sense. That is the beauty of Varanasi.”

The goal was immediate recognition without exposition. “I shouldn’t put a subtitle saying it’s Varanasi. The moment you see it, you should feel it,” he explains. “The majority of credit goes to him [production designer Bingi].”

Rajamouli reveals that his directing method relies heavily on collaboration with his technical team while maintaining clear boundaries between creative vision and technical execution. “I really depend on them,” he says. “I explain the story in minute detail to all my technicians in terms of emotion. At every shot, we have a discussion of what I want from this shot.”

However, he deliberately avoids micromanaging technical decisions. “I won’t give them any instructions. I might say a close-up, but I would not say what lens, what distance, nothing, what lighting. How do you light it? I have absolutely no technical conversation with my technicians,” he explains. “I just depend on them, believe them, that they can deliver what is needed.”

Despite the global attention following “RRR’s” Oscar success, Rajamouli maintains a focused philosophy about approaching new projects. “I strongly believe you should leave all the success behind you and start afresh for a new film. I sincerely believe that in my heart and every cell in my being,” he says.

His approach treats each film as if it were his first. “This has to be the best film that I can ever make,” he explains. “Of course, I take all the lessons that I have learned in the previous films — keep it in the back of the mind, not bring it to the fore. Keep all the knowledge in the storage, and leave everything out and start afresh.”

The director, whose “RRR” won the Academy Award for best original song, explains that “Varanasi” represents a creative milestone in how he engages with Indian mythology. “Almost every film of mine, I draw inspiration from [Indian epics] ‘Ramayana’ or ‘Mahabharata,’ some character, some instance, something,” he says. “For the first time, I am directly taking an episode from ‘Ramayana.’ I feel elated. I feel lucky to get the chance to recreate that, what I have been dreaming for years.”

The weight of bringing such material to screen is significant. “There are so many people who were asking me, like, you should do ‘Ramayana’ or ‘Mahabharata’ in the true sense, how people would like to see it,” he says. “I know at some point of time I will be attempting that. To meet that expectation, to meet my own expectation is the biggest challenge of my life.”

As for whether a full “Ramayana” adaptation might follow, Rajamouli reflects on the unpredictability of creative opportunities. “I never expected I would make an episode of ‘Ramayana’ in Varanasi. It happened. I thought I would make it much, much more later,” he says. “Some things are not in our hands. It happens when we least expect it.”