Director SS Rajamouli has confirmed that his upcoming film “Varanasi” is being shot entirely on IMAX-certified digital cameras. That makes it the first non-English language film shot completely in the format. The filmmaker detailed the decision this week in comments reported by Hollywood Reporter India and Eastern Eye.

The film stars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Rajamouli said the story includes sequences set in Antarctica alongside mythology-inspired visuals featuring towering structures and sweeping backdrops. The larger IMAX frame, he said, was necessary to capture the scale he had envisioned.

“The format is to encompass the scale,” Rajamouli said. He explained that the bigger screen lets him present the film’s world as originally conceived. A standard aspect ratio, he said, would compress it.

Varanasi is only the second film shot entirely in IMAX, following Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.” The production filmed across India, the forests of Kenya, and Antarctica, according to trade reporting. That makes it one of the few features to shoot on the continent at all.

Production is roughly 80 percent complete, with large-scale action sequences already finished and only smaller connecting scenes left to shoot, the director said. Completed sequences are being edited and sent to the visual effects team in parallel with ongoing filming. The workflow is meant to keep the schedule on track.

Rajamouli also confirmed in July that the film will release as a single installment with a runtime of about three hours. That closed off earlier speculation the project would be split into two parts. Industry estimates place the budget near 150 million dollars, which would make Varanasi the most expensive Indian film produced to date.

Varanasi is scheduled for release on April 7, 2027. The project reunites Rajamouli with the large-scale, effects-heavy filmmaking that defined “Baahubali” and “RRR.” Both films drew large international audiences alongside strong domestic box office numbers. The production had already shared birthday stills of Mahesh Babu from the film’s Africa shoot earlier this month.