‘Varanasi’ Director S.S. Rajamouli Wants to One-Up ‘RRR,’ So He’s Getting Help From Imax | Video

It has been four years since S.S. Rajamouli captured the hearts of cinephiles around the world with his wildly over-the-top blockbuster “RRR.” Now, he wants to top even that high standard with his globetrotting, time-traveling epic “Varanasi,” so he’s turning to Imax for help.

In an interview with TheWrap this past November, Rajamouli talked about his plans for what will be the second Indian movie filmed for Imax screens. While plot details are under wraps, the film will star Indian icon Mahesh Babu as Rudhra, a man who is the reincarnation of the Hindu deity Lord Rama, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas in her first Indian feature film since 2019.

“Varanasi is considered one of the most ancient cities of the world, and the spirituality of India is rooted there,” Rajamouli explained. “People in India have a deep emotional connection to the city. The significance might be lost for the audience who are not in India … but the audience will discover the scope and the scale of this film. It’s something I want them to experience for themselves.”

As part of their campaign to expand their filmmaker partnerships far beyond Hollywood, Imax first got in touch with Rajamouli after the success of the director’s two-part smash hit “Baahubali,” with the hopes of making “RRR” a ‘Filmed for Imax’ title.

While the Covid-19 pandemic scuttled those plans, the two sides kept contact, and when development began on “Varanasi,” Rajamouli flew out to Los Angeles to talk about Imax’s format and camera technology. He also learned how filmmakers like Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan have shot their films to get the most out of Imax while still being an enjoyable experience in standard formats.

It was especially important to Rajamouli considering that while Imax is adding more screens in India, many moviegoers outside of big cities will be seeing “Varanasi” at local theaters that don’t have the structural ability to add such a huge screen.

“We were asking questions like, ‘Do we shoot for a CinemaScope screen and then frame for Imax, or do we shoot for Imax and then frame for CinemaScope,” he shared.

Rajamouli said that something in particular he got excited about in his talks with Imax was how filmmakers are able to play with the screen ratio. A recent example can be seen in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” during the now-famous musical number “I Lied to You.” As spirits from the past and the future gather to join in the song and dance, the film expands from a widescreen presentation to encompass the whole screen, creating an otherworldly effect in an Imax theater.

Switching between screen ratios is something that most audiences won’t notice, and the Imax team told Rajamouli as such. But then he asked: What if we could make them notice it?

“‘You can seamlessly blend between the shots,’ they said. And I said, ‘Why should we make it unnoticeable? Let’s make it noticeable,'” he recalled. “Let’s put a point. Expand the shot and then tell them that you are going to do it. Don’t hide it. In fact, be blatant about it.”

As anyone who has seen “RRR” can attest, “blatant” is a big part of Rajamouli’s style. Friendships between the heroes are powerful enough to move mountains. The villains are utterly diabolical. And the dance sequences, like the one for the Oscar-winning “Naatu Naatu,” are the definition of the term “showstopper.” That is what his audience expects.

And Rajamouli only felt further validated in this approach when he made the announcement that “Varanasi” would be filmed for Imax at a concept teaser unveiling in Hyderabad in November. To demonstrate the power of the format, he had his team construct a multi-story, 4K LED screen to show the trailer in full Imax ratio — and showed the thousands who gathered the difference from a standard letterbox ratio. When the scope of a concept shot from the film expanded to fill the whole screen, the crowd roared in excitement.

“My theory proved right when we showed the glimpse at the event,” Rajamouli said. “That expectation rose in them. So yeah, I think we will use that technique.”

“Varanasi,” which is still in production, will be released in theaters on April 6, 2027. Watch Rajamouli’s interview with TheWrap in the clip above.

The post ‘Varanasi’ Director S.S. Rajamouli Wants to One-Up ‘RRR,’ So He’s Getting Help From Imax | Video appeared first on TheWrap.