James Cameron Expresses His Wish To Visit Sets Of SS Rajamouli's Varanasi, Wants To Be Second Unit Director

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli’s upcoming epic action-adventure film, Varanasi, is one of the highly anticipated projects. The first glimpse of the magnum opus was unveiled at a grand Globe Trotter event at Ramoji Film City last month, which witnessed over 50,000 fans, making it one of the largest live fan gatherings in recent times. Varanasi stars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, and Prithviraj Sukumaran in key roles.

The glimpse has generated massive buzz and heightened excitement not only in India but across the globe. Renowned filmmaker James Cameron has expressed his desire to visit the sets of Varanasi. He conveyed the message to the RRR director over a video call.

James Cameron wants to visit Varanasi sets

Recently, Cameron and Rajamouli connected over a video session ahead of the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, where the former expressed his interest in visiting the sets of Varanasi.

In the video shared on the YouTube channel of 20th Century Studios India, the cinema legends started their conversation with the Titanic director, talking about Rajamouli’s busy schedule. "You must be very busy with Varanasi now. If I can reciprocate when your new film is coming to market, please keep me in mind. I love to have a dialogue with other filmmakers," Cameron said.

Rajamouli thanked the filmmaker and added, "You made me the first person, or probably the only person amongst 1.45 billion Indians to watch Avatar Fire and Ash, which feels very special." Cameron then asked Rajamouli, "May I come to your set sometime and watch you create your magic?"

Accepting the offer, Rajamouli replied, "Oh, that would be an absolute pleasure, sir. You are most welcome. I mean, not just me, not just my unit, my entire film industry will be thrilled."

To which James said, "I can't think of anything I'd rather do. I think you're shooting for a while, right, on the new film on Varanasi?"

The Baahubali director said yes, and added, "It's almost a year now and another seven, eight months to go. Yes, we are in the middle of the shoot."

James added, "Okay, plenty of time. Well, tell me when you're doing something fun. I don't know, something with tigers. I’m gonna hold you to it. I’m gonna come to your set. You can give me a camera. I like to operate. I can get some shots for you, some second unit, maybe."

Watch the full video here.

Varanasi will see Mahesh Babu playing Rudhra, Prithviraj Sukumaran portraying the antagonist Kumbha, while Priyanka Chopra Jonas will play the powerful role of Mandakini.

Varanasi will be released in the summer of 2027.