‘Varanasi’: SS Rajamouli to sample 1500 voices for dubbing of Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra starrer across 50 languages

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli is taking an elaborate approach to the global release of ‘Varanasi’, ensuring that the performances of Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Prithviraj Sukumaran retain their emotional depth across languages. The film is set to be dubbed in around 50 languages and released across 120 countries, with Rajamouli insisting on using real artistes instead of AI-generated or synthetic voices for the dubbed versions.

Why SS Rajamouli wants real voices, not AI

According to the Mid-Day report, SS Rajamouli does not want the performances to lose their impact as the film moves from one language to another. The report stated, “Rajamouli [doesn’t want] the performance to get diluted when the film moves from one language to another. For him, dubbing is not just about translating the dialogue and matching the lip movements. The voice has to carry the emotion, personality, and intent of the character. Rajamouli wants the audience in every market to experience the performance, not just know the dialogue.”The filmmaker had earlier dismissed speculation that AI was used to create the film’s glimpse, calling it “a huge insult to their artistic genius”. The report added, “The voice is an extension of that performance, so he wants real artistes behind the different language versions. Over 1500 artistes’ works will be sampled before choosing the voices for the final cut.”

1500 voices to be sampled

As part of this rigorous process, SS Rajamouli’s team plans to sample the work of over 1,500 artistes before finalising the voices for each language version of Varanasi.

‘Varanasi’s global release

‘Varanasi’ will mark only the second Indian film to release in over 120 countries, after Shah Rukh Khan‘s ‘Pathaan’ (2023), which had a theatrical release in more than 100 countries. The film is expected to release in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, French, Spanish, German, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, and several other languages, making it one of the most ambitious global rollouts for an Indian film.Starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, and Prithviraj Sukumaran, the film is set to hit theatres on April 7, 2027.