Hyderabad, Jan 30 (IANS) It's official! Ace director S S Rajamouli has now confirmed that this much awaited pan Indian magnum opus, 'Varanasi', featuring actor Mahesh Babu in the lead, will hit screens worldwide on April 7 next year.

Although rumours began doing the rounds that the film would release on April 7 next year on Thursday, the official confirmation about the film's release came on Friday.

Rajamouli took to his X timeline to share the release date poster and wrote, "April 7th, 2027… #VARANASI." Mahesh Babu too tweeted the same phrase on his timeline.

The title of the film, which was intially being referred to as 'GlobeTrotter', was revealed at a grand event organised at the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad in the presence of several thousand of excited fans last year.

The title launch event itself was hailed as a once-in-a-generation spectacle, as fans in the thousands turned up for the event, making it one of the largest live fan congregations ever seen in the Indian entertainment space.

The event featured one of the biggest stages ever erected for a film event, with a 100 ft height and a 130 ft wide screen to supplement it.

The makers have already revealed the character and looks of Mahesh Babu, Prithviraj and Priyanka Chopra in the film. While Prithviraj plays the antagonist Kumbha, Priyanka Chopra plays Mandakini in the film. Mahesh Babu plays a character called Rudhra in the film.

Director Rajamouli also went on to disclose details of an episode that he shot for 'Varanasi' at the event. The director said that particular episode would be among the most memorable sequences of all his films.

"From my childhood, I have told several times that I like the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha a lot. That making Mahabharatha was my dream project. Even when I began working on this film, I did not realise that I would be shooting an important sequence from the Ramayana for this film. But while writing every scene, I felt like I was walking on air. On the first day, when I saw Mahesh dressed as Rama and doing a photoshoot, I had goosebumps," Rajamouli said.

"We had a great time shooting for this episode. We shot for 60 days. It got completed only recently. Every day was a challenge as every sub episode in the huge episode was like a cinema in itself. It needed fresh planning. We overcame all of it and completed that sequence. It will be one of the most memorable sequences of my films," the director had informed.

--IANS

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