Hyderabad, Nov 15 (IANS) The makers of ace director S. S. Rajamouli’s eagerly awaited magnum opus, featuring Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu in the lead, on Saturday, announced the title of the film as ‘Varanasi’ and also disclosed that Mahesh Babu plays a character called Rudhra in the film.

The makers also delighted fans and film buffs by releasing a mind blowing title teaser of the film on the occasion. The clip, which showed that the story not only shifts time periods but also regions, has a devotional angle to it.

Speaking at the event, director S. S Rajamouli said, “I had this habit of keeping a press meet and announcing the story of some of my films. However for this film, we realised that mere words won’t do justice to the scale and scope of this project. Therefore, we took a decision to make an announcement video. Without telling a word, we wanted to make a video that showed the scale and scope of this film. However, that got delayed and we are releasing it now.”

Despite some anxious moments caused by technical difficulties, the makers released a spellbinding title teaser.

Praising veteran actor Krishna, the father of actor Mahesh Babu, for introducing several technologies to Indian cinema, director S. S Rajamouli said, “When I was young, I didn’t know Krishna garu’s greatness before coming to the film industry. But, after making films, I understood his greatness. To introduce a new technology, you will have to break paths and create new pathways. He has introduced several technologies.”

The director went on to say that he was proud to say that they were introducing a new technology to Indian cinema called Premium Large Scale Format Filmed For IMAX with this film.

The title of the film, which was until now 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.

The event, being hailed as a once-in-a-generation spectacle, saw fans in the thousands turning 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 evening, among other things, featured a dance performance by Shruti Haasan.

Already, the makers have revealed the character and looks of Prithviraj and Priyanka Chopra in the film. While Prithviraj plays the antagonist Kumbha, Priyanka Chopra plays Mandakini in the film.

IANS

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