Prasanth Varma’s ‘Mahakali’ Sets January 8, 2027 Release for Sankranthi Season

Bhoomi Shetty leads the PVCU mythological epic, with Akshaye Khanna as Shukracharya and Rohit Saraf in a key role.

Actor Rohit Saraf poses with the poster of an upcoming movie Mahakali.

Prasanth Varma’s expanding cinematic universe is returning to the Sankranti corridor with Mahakali. The mythological superhero film is now scheduled to open in theaters on January 8, 2027, placing it at the front end of the Sankranthi festival release season.

Bhoomi Shetty plays the title role, while Akshaye Khanna appears as Asuraguru Shukracharya. Rohit Saraf is also part of the principal cast and has already completed an extensive shooting schedule for the project.

Mahakali is directed by Puja Aparna Kolluru, with Prasanth Varma serving as its creator and writer. RK Duggal and Riwaz Ramesh Duggal are producing the film under RKD Studios. Smaran Sai is composing the music, while Suresh Ragutu is handling cinematography.

The production is being mounted with a strong emphasis on large-format visuals. In July, RKD Studios said Mahakali had entered its final leg of production after completing 125 days of filming, adding that Akshaye Khanna and Rohit Saraf had wrapped their extensive portions. The studio also described the project as being “filmed for IMAX.”

The Sankranti timing gives Mahakali an obvious connection to the film that established the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe. Hanu-Man, starring Teja Sajja, was released on January 12, 2024, during Sankranti and went on to become a major commercial success.

Varma initially planned to follow it with Jai Hanuman in January 2025, but later confirmed that the sequel would be pushed as the scope of the project expanded following Hanu-Man’s success.

That sequel is now moving separately through production. Jai Hanuman, starring Rishab Shetty as Lord Hanuman, was formally launched at Anjanadri Betta in Hampi on February 22, 2026. Recent reporting indicates that the film remains in production in Hyderabad.

With Jai Hanuman still being made, Mahakali is therefore positioned to bring the PVCU back to theaters first, provided the newly announced January 8 date holds. Its female-led mythological premise, IMAX-focused production and the combination of Bhoomi Shetty, Akshaye Khanna and Rohit Saraf give the project a distinctly different identity from Hanu-Man while keeping it within Varma’s mythology-driven superhero universe.