'Varanasi': Mahesh Babu opens up on SS Rajamouli's process of transforming him into Lord Ram

Mahesh Babu will be next seen in the film 'Varanasi', directed by SS Rajamouli. While the actor's character name is Rudra in the film, in one of the sequences, he will be playing Lord Ram. And recently, he opened up about the prep he went through to perfect the portrayal of the lord. Let's learn more about it. In an interview with Screen Rant Plus, Mahesh Babu talked about SS Rajamouli's method to get into the skin of the character. The actor said, "He (Rajamouli) has a process. There’s a method to it." The Telugu superstar added that since he was playing Lord Ram in the movie, it was important that the posture be correct, the walk should be right, and even the way the character stands needs to be perfect.Mahesh Babu added, "He (SSR) wanted to nail that, and so the whole of last year I was prepping for that for 2 months or 3 months, you know, we had to go take kalari classes. Kalari is a very intense form… Kerala form of martial arts… When you go through that, your body opens up, and it’s very easy to get into these postures."The actor shared that SS Rajamouli wanted to change his running technique as well. He revealed, "So I trained with a track and field team for 6 months, and there would be only two shots in the film, by the way."Mahesh Babu expressed that this was the kind of commitment he was willing to make for the movie. However, he acknowledged the fact that the whole process was fun if a person is in that mindset. The actor shared that it didn't feel like hard work because of the same.The film stars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead roles. The title teaser was released last year. At the launch event, SS Rajamouli announced that the film has been shot in IMAX format.Priyanka Chopra will be playing the character named Mandakini, while Prithviraj is set to essay the role of Kumbha, the main antagonist.Oscar-winning composer MM Keeravani has composed the music for the movie. The movie is set to release on April 7, 2027.