Feb 05, 2026 7:10pm IST
‘Varanasi’: Mahesh Babu And Priyanka Chopra Debunk The Use Of AI In ‘Wildbeests’ sequence
After delivering universal blockbusters like “Baahubali 2” and “RRR”, SS Rajamouli is going all out with his forthcoming venture, “Varanasi”, featuring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran in prominent roles.
Said to be one of the most expensive Indian films with a budget of ₹1300 crore, recent visuals from the mythological action-adventure biggie that surfaced on the internet show the lead actor (Mahesh Babu) in Maasai Mara alongside wildebeests. While social media wondered if this sequence was courtesy of AI, the ensemble cast debunked it and shared that the makers received extensive support to access the protected land from the Kenyan government.
Calling the experience of shooting with real animals “intimidating and exhilarating at the same time,” Priyanka Chopra says, “Everything was animal dependent. So the crew hardly slept. When the family of elephants would move, that’s when we had to go and say our lines,” as per Variety USA.
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Mahesh recalls his first day of shooting and calls it a surreal experience. “We had these vehicles, and they would take us there, drop us, and Sir (Rajamouli) was somewhere in another vehicle, because he had to go around the wildebeests,” he recalls. “Then the vehicle that dropped us went away, and we realized that we’re just standing there with the wildebeests. All of a sudden, we could hear the ground shaking, because these animals were just (running).”
Calling that moment an “achievement”, he adds, “I don’t think any other actor would have done what we did.”
When the 3-minute teaser of ‘Varanasi’ was unveiled in November in front of the international media and fans at a mega event launch in Hyderabad, there were speculations about whether AI tools had been used to produce the imagery.
While the filmmaker denied the use of AI tools for the teaser, Rajamouli shared that these kinds of tools can be used as supplementary and fast pace the basic process of filmmaking.
Bankrolled by K. L. Narayana and S. S. Karthikeya under the banners of Sri Durga Arts and Showing Business, ‘Varanasi’ is set to hit the screens on April 7, 2027.
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