Kamal Ghorui
After the box office success of ‘Dhurandhar’ and ‘Dhurandhar The Revenge’, rumours are rife that filmmaker SS Rajamouli, who sang praises of the film, might just be gearing up to release his upcoming action-adventure in two parts. ‘Varanasi’ to release in two parts?Despite previously rubbishing reports that ‘Varanasi’ will release as – Part 1 and Part 2, reports on BollywoodHungama state that the filmmaker is now set to adopt a two-part release strategy. With this, the Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj starrer will join a growing list of large-scale Indian films opting for this extended storytelling format.The report states that the time travelling saga, expected to be one of the most expensive Indian films with a budget exceeding Rs 1,000 crore, will now be split into two parts. “Three hours-plus would not be enough for Varanasi. They are looking at extending it into a two-part format. This format has worked wonderfully for Dhurandhar. Rajamouli and his team feel this extended format would afford them the liberty to tell a more expanded story without looking anxiously at the clock,” the report alleges.Much like ‘Dhurandhar The Revenge’, this will reportedly not be a sequel, but a single film divided into two instalments. SS Rajamouli dismisses reports of ‘Varanasi’ being split into two filmsIt must be noted that just last month, the film’s director said in interviews with international websites that Varanasi was planned as a single film and will ‘not have a second part or sequel’. He assured that the film will be a ‘standalone’ movie with a runtime expected to be a little over the three-hour range. ‘Dhurandhar’ box office successSo far, the ‘Dhurandhar’ franchise has crossed the Rs 2,000 crore gross mark, to become one of the highest-grossing films of all time at the box office. The upcoming ‘Ramayana‘ films are also expected to rake in the big bucks at the box office when they release on Diwali 2026, with its second part slated to release on Diwali 2027.
