Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra recently grabbed attention online for their funny banter during promotions of their upcoming film Varanasi. A clip from one of their interviews has gone viral, leaving fans amused and sparking a debate about Priyanka’s Telugu film debut.
Actors Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, Prithviraj Sukumaran, along with director SS Rajamouli, interacted with foreign media during the first glimpse launch of Varanasi. In an interview with Screen Rant Plus, Mahesh Babu jokingly insisted that Varanasi is Priyanka Chopra’s first Telugu film.
During the conversation, Priyanka said, “For me, I haven’t done a Telugu movie in like, I don’t even know…” Mahesh quickly interrupted and said she hadn’t done one at all. Laughing, Priyanka agreed and said, “Yeah, I haven’t done one,” while Mahesh added that this was her first time. Priyanka wrapped it up by saying, “It’s complicated,” which made the moment even more amusing.
Fans were quick to connect this banter to Priyanka’s role in Ram Charan’s 2013 film Zanjeer, which was released in Telugu as Thoofan. Many found it funny that Mahesh appeared to completely ignore that film. One fan commented, “PC saying this is my first Telugu film is a humiliation to Thoofan and Ram Charan.” Another wrote, “MB saying it’s her first Telugu film had me laughing.” Several Reddit users joked that no one wants to remember Thoofan.
However, Ram Charan’s fans defended the film, saying Zanjeer was mainly a Hindi movie and only dubbed in Telugu. Some argued that it should not count as a straight Telugu film. Others pointed out that the movie was shot simultaneously in both Hindi and Telugu, with different actors, making it a proper bilingual project.
Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, Zanjeer marked Ram Charan’s Hindi debut and Priyanka Chopra’s Telugu debut. Interestingly, Priyanka was supposed to make her Telugu debut earlier with a film titled Apuroopam in 2002, but the project was shelved.
Meanwhile, Varanasi is one of the most awaited films and is scheduled to release in theatres on April 7, 2027. Until then, fans are clearly enjoying the playful moments between its star cast.