Last Updated:December 22, 2025, 13:04 IST Mahesh Babu trains in Kalaripayattu for SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi, co-starring Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran, aiming for a Sankranti 2027 release. Mahesh Babu is set to headline SS Rajamouli’s upcoming time-travel adventure, Varanasi. As SS Rajamouli advances work on his ambitious time-travel adventure Varanasi, lead actor Mahesh Babu has begun intensive training in the ancient martial art of Kalaripayattu. The big-budget production, currently in progress, marks the actor’s most demanding role yet and brings together a star-studded cast with a Sankranti 2027 release target. The Telugu star essays the role of Rudhra in Rajamouli’s next directorial venture, which follows the filmmaker’s international success with RRR (2022). That film earned an Oscar and a Golden Globe for “Naatu Naatu” and won praise from global icons, including James Cameron and Steven Spielberg. Mahesh Babu’s martial arts training gained attention after Hyderabad-based instructor Hari Krish posted photos with the actor on Instagram. On one image, he wrote, “I never thought my journey would lead me to train a global star of Indian …