Rajamouli builds a new language for Varanasi, due April 7, 2027

SS Rajamouli is returning to one of his signature obsessions: building a language from scratch. For Varanasi, reports suggest the new tongue is not just something characters speak—it is something audiences will see.

A language carved into the story

According to a Variety India report, the team has hired a linguistic expert to develop a full language and an ancient script for the film. The characters use the language during one of their journeys through time, and the script appears on the walls of a cave. The cast must decipher the inscriptions to find what lies hidden.

That is the key shift. In Baahubali, the invented language was largely heard. In Varanasi, it seems to function as a visual clue and a puzzle, not just atmosphere.

Kiliki 2.0?

This is not Rajamouli’s first constructed language. For Baahubali: The Beginning in 2015, he worked with lyricist and screenwriter Madhan Karky to create Kiliki, also called Kilikili. The Kalakeya warriors spoke it during their assault on Mahishmati. But Kiliki was primarily a spoken language on screen.

Reports say the Varanasi language comes with a written form—an ancient script. That changes how the film can use language: it can hide secrets in plain sight, literally on the cave walls.

Why this is rare for a single film

Fully constructed languages are usually franchise tools. Game of Thrones had Dothraki and High Valyrian; J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth had elaborate languages and scripts. Those worlds kept expanding, so the investment paid off across many stories.

Varanasi, by contrast, is reportedly planned as a single film. Committing to a language and an ancient script signals how much detail Rajamouli wants to pack into one theatrical experience.

• The language doubles as a mystery: characters must read cave inscriptions to move the plot forward.
• The ancient script gives the time-travel story a tactile, archaeological layer.
• It separates Varanasi from Kiliki, which existed mostly as spoken sound.

What fans should watch for

When early footage arrives, keep an eye on the cave walls. Unfamiliar carved lettering may show up before any dialogue explains what is happening. That would make the script the film’s first puzzle—a small detail with a lot of storytelling weight.

Varanasi stars Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Prithviraj Sukumaran. It is set for a theatrical release on April 7, 2027, giving fans plenty of time to debate the new language long before the first frame hits the screen.

Source: The Times of India