Varanasi Title Dispute Will Be Sorted, Says Bharat Bushan

Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce president Bharat Bushan expressed confidence that the dispute over the title ‘Varanasi’ will be resolved amicably. “Discussions are on, and it will be sorted out smoothly,” he told Deccan Chronicle.

The disagreement arose after director S S Rajamouli announced his forthcoming film starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, and Prithviraj Sukumaran with the title ‘Varanasi’. The confusion stems from the legal ownership of the title, which currently lies with Rama Bramha Hanuma Creations, headed by CH Subba Reddy.

According to registration records with the Telugu Film Producers Council, the title ‘Vaaranasi’ was registered a couple of years ago and has remained with the same production house since 2023. The title was recently renewed for the period June 24, 2025, to July 23, 2026.

While Subba Reddy registered the title, Rajamouli’s team used a slightly different spelling during the grand launch held on November 15 at Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad. It remains unclear whether Subba Reddy has lodged an official complaint against Rajamouli’s team for using the title.

Meanwhile, a source claims that producer K L Narayana already holds the rights to the title in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and English, and only needs to secure the Telugu rights.

Explaining the process of title registration, former secretary of the Telugu Film Producers Council Mohan Vadlapatla said, “The Telugu Film Producers Council began registering new film titles only in the last three years, while the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce has been doing it for decades. Title disputes have occurred earlier as well and have always been settled. A title is time-bound with one-year validity. For renewal, the applicant must provide details proving that the film has commenced and is in production. If not, the title can be transferred to another applicant.”