• Source:JND
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Mahakali: Filmmaker Prasanth Varma has unveiled the much-awaited first look of actor Akshaye Khanna from his upcoming film Mahakali. Akshaye will be seen playing the role of ‘Asuraguru Shukracharya’, and his intense look in the new poster has left fans stunned. The poster shows Akshaye in a stern avatar with long grey hair, a flowing beard, and a piercing silver glint in his eyes. His outfit, a large robe, adds to the mystique of the character. 

Sharing the poster on social media, Prasanth wrote, “In the shadows of gods, rose the brightest flame of rebellion. Presenting The Enigmatic #AkshayeKhanna as the eternal 'Asuraguru SHUKRACHARYA' from #Mahakali .” Many fans were quick to say that Akshaye looked almost unrecognisable. However, the look immediately reminded audiences of Amitabh Bachchan’s Dronacharya from Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD. One fan commented, “Amitabh Bachchan 40% Downloaded.” Another wrote, “Amitabh from Kalki anukunna.” Some even suggested the poster looked AI-generated. One person wrote, “Why this delay? If someone had asked Amitabh during the time of Kalki’s shoot, he would have given two stills right away. For this poster, your so-called artificial intelligence tricks must have been used a long time ago.”

About Mahakali Movie 

Earlier reports had confirmed that Akshaye Khanna was brought on board for a pivotal role in the film. While reports did not clarify whether his character would be negative or positive, they said his role would add significant depth to the growing PVCU (Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe). “All we could reveal was that his role would add intrigue and depth to the growing PVCU universe. His role would span across multiple films in the franchise and would prove to be an exciting addition. We were hoping Mahakali would be received as well as HanuMan was,” a report in Hindustan Times read.

Meanwhile, the film has not yet gone on floors, with Prasanth and director Puja Aparna Kolluru finalising casting and production details. According to sources, Prasanth wanted a very specific type of lead for Mahakali, as this would mark the first female superhero of the franchise. “Prasanth was particular about whom he wanted to cast as the lead because this would be his first female superhero, and it required a certain charm while challenging beauty standards. Hopefully, all details would be ironed out soon, and the film would officially be rolled out,” the report further added.

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About PVCU

The PVCU was launched with Teja Sajja’s superhero film HanuMan, which became a huge success and drew inspiration from the lore of Lord Hanuman. Its sequel, Jai Hanuman starring Rishab Shetty, is already in development. Mahakali is the third film in the franchise, based on Goddess Kali, and aims to further expand the cinematic universe. Other projects include Adhira, inspired by Lord Indra, and another yet-to-be-titled film starring Mokshagna Teja.

On the other hand, Prasanth had earlier explained the vision behind Mahakali. “Casting a big star to play Mahakali is no longer challenging, but that’s not the point. Since the film was being made to challenge beauty standards, I wanted to ensure we did our bit not to propagate them, too,” he said. At one point, big names like Karthi and Ranveer Singh were linked to projects within the PVCU, though those plans never materialised. With Akshaye Khanna’s look as Shukracharya now revealed, the buzz around Mahakali has only grown stronger.