S. S. Rajamouli is reportedly taking world-building to another level with his upcoming film Varanasi, starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran.
The filmmaker is said to be creating an entirely new fictional language exclusively for the movie. While Rajamouli experimented with a similar concept in Baahubali: The Beginning, the language being developed for Varanasi is expected to be far more elaborate.
According to reports, a language expert has been brought on board to develop not just a collection of fictional words, but a complete language with its own grammar, rules and writing system. More importantly, the language is expected to play a significant role in the film’s narrative.
One key sequence reportedly features the main characters entering a cave filled with mysterious ancient inscriptions. To decipher the writings and unravel the mystery, they will apparently have to understand the fictional language.
Rajamouli had earlier introduced the fictional language Kiliki, also known as Kilikili, in Baahubali: The Beginning in 2015. Developed with the help of lyricist and writer Madhan Karky, the language was spoken by the Kalakeya warriors and went on to become one of the film’s most memorable creative elements.
For Varanasi, however, Rajamouli is reportedly planning something much more extensive, with a larger vocabulary, complete written sentences and linguistic details designed specifically around the story.
The film is also being mounted on an enormous global scale. Earlier reports suggested that Rajamouli is planning to release Varanasi in nearly 50 languages across around 120 countries.
Rather than relying heavily on AI-generated voices, the filmmaker is reportedly looking to audition around 1,500 voice artistes for the various dubbed versions.
Rajamouli is said to be particular about retaining the emotions and personalities of the characters across languages. For him, dubbing is reportedly not merely about translating dialogue or matching lip movements, but also about ensuring that the voice captures the emotional depth and personality of each character.
With such extensive attention being paid to language, dubbing and world-building, Varanasi is shaping up to be one of Rajamouli’s most ambitious projects yet.
Starring Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra in key roles, Varanasi is scheduled to hit theatres on April 7, 2027.