SS Rajamouli ‘doubted’ whether Priyanka Chopra would work for Varanasi, director reveals if the film will have 2 parts

After 6 years of her work in The Sky Is Pink, Priyanka Chopra is finally making a comeback to Indian cinema in 2019. Burdened with so many worries and foreign projects, his stay away has not been easy. Like the actress, the director of her next project, Varanasi, SS Rajamouli was also worried about how things would pan out for the star. In a conversation with Screen Rant, the director shared how she feared she wouldn’t be able to fit in the Indian playground.

Priyanka Chopra’s return to Indian cinema was worrying for the Varanasi director, know why

SS Rajamouli had legitimate reasons to be concerned about his heroine’s fit on the Varanasi sets. “It’s been a while since she did an Indian film. I think the last time she did was eight years ago. In between she did a number of Hollywood productions. I was a little skeptical whether she had changed her approach to suit the Western audience and whether she would be willing to go back to her Indian base…” the director shared. Their concerns were easily allayed by the Bajirao Mastani actress, who calmed down almost immediately and called it a ‘fish in water’.

The 52-year-old actor revealed that he chose the actress for the role of Mandakini because of her ability to play both evil and vulnerable characters. He described himself as a fan of the actress’s work.

He explained how he had initially considered dividing the film into two parts. But the idea of ​​splitting Varanasi was swiftly rejected, and instead he stuck to a longer film, which is expected to be around 200 minutes or 3 hours according to the filmmaker. "For a while we considered Varanasi as a two-part film. But we immediately abandoned the idea and the runtime of the film will be around three hours."

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The upcoming magnum opus Varanasi is creating buzz even before its release. From a grand unveiling event in Hyderabad to the recent confirmation of the release date of April 7, 2027, the response has been overwhelming. Starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead roles, the mythologically inspired story is raising the expectations of fans across the globe.