A photo of Mahesh Babu as Lord Ram, allegedly from the shoot of Varanasi, is doing the rounds online. The image shows Mahesh Babu in yellow-hued attire, presumably from Lord Ram’s vanvaas era. While there
is no confirmation of the photo’s authenticity, it has gone viral across social media platforms, and people are even comparing Mahesh’s look to Ranbir Kapoor’s in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana.
On Reddit, the image was simply shared as a screenshot from KoiMoi’s report. The portal’s caption read, “Mahesh Babu’s Lord Ram look from Varanasi takes the internet by storm.” In the image, it appeared as if the actor was in the middle of the shoot, with the crew watching him give his take. Have a look at the photo here:
One comment read, “Namit and Ranbir better be prepared. Kahi SSR 10 minute mein puri ‘Ramayana’ movie ko overshadow na kar de, as he did with teaser.” Someone else wrote, “These leaks are on purpose. Hollywood started doing it, and now everyone else just follows.” Another comment simply read, “PR.”
Another comment read, “He looks like the character.” Someone else wrote, “Yes, he looks amazing; can’t say about his acting but he suits the character. Idk why this looks like an AI image tho.” Someone commented, “I trust in SSR to get the best out of MB.” A comment read, “OMFG This is my Ram😭He looks great.”
Meanwhile, SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated releases in recent times. Rajamouli said at an event last year, “On the first day, when Mahesh came in Lord Ram’s get-up for the photoshoot, I had goosebumps. I was torn. Mahesh has the charm of Krishna, but the calmness of Ram. Still, I was confident. I even set that photo as my wallpaper and then removed it so that no one would see it.”
Besides Mahesh Babu, the film also features Priyanka Chopra and marks her Indian cinema comeback. Prithviraj Sukumaran stars as the antagonist, and many viral theories suggest that he might play a version of Kumbhkaran. However, this has yet to be confirmed. The film is scheduled to be released in 2027.


















