Why Does India Love Its Movie Stars So Much? Varanasi Star Priyanka Chopra Explains It All [Exclusive]

You might think you love movies, but nobody is doing it with as much passion as those riding and dying with their favorite stars in India. After breaking through to worldwide acclaim with 2022's "RRR," director S.S. Rajamouli is looking to recapture lightning in a bottle with his highly-anticipated Telugu-language follow-up "Varanasi." But, even more so than that musically-inclined epic, this one carries a high wattage of name recognition all across the international scene. Rajamouli has enlisted the main trio of Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Telugu heartthrob Mahesh Babu for his three leads, and the cumulative reaction among fans at home has been enough to put the rest of the world to shame.

That's by far my biggest takeaway from visiting the set of "Varanasi" in November of 2025 in Hyderabad, India, which I attended on behalf of /Film. On the very first day of the trip, I (along with a group of jet-lagged journalists) were brought along to witness the long-awaited announcement for "Varanasi." This outdoor event was well over a year in the planning and featured upwards of 50,000 fans, the debut of the first "Varanasi" trailer, and the most massive outdoor LED screen (130 by 100 feet) I've ever laid eyes upon — all meant to celebrate Rajamouli and, in particular, his three uber-popular actors.

Compared to how Western audiences have seemed to lose interest in their own movie stars, the near-religious fervor Indian film fans reserve for their own couldn't help but stand out. That was on the top of my mind when I spoke to the three stars of the show after the festivities. According to Chopra Jonas, there's a very good reason why India does things differently when it comes to their movie stars: It's simply part of their culture.

It's impossible to describe the sheer energy and electricity in the air during an event like the one that first heralded "Varanasi" to the world in late 2025, a unique atmosphere that far exceeds easy comparisons like San Diego Comic-Con ... by orders of magnitude. Fortunately, studio Sri Durga Arts hosted a livestream on YouTube that comes somewhat close to capturing what it was like to attend in person. The raucous cheers and spontaneous applause whenever the movie's three leads appeared on the giant screen — but particularly Telugu sensation Mahesh Babu – needs to be seen to be believed.

So, leave it to Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the world-famous actor and pioneer who helped make Indian cinema much more mainstream around the globe, to have her finger on the pulse of the debate raging around movie stars and their box office appeal in the West. During an exclusive interview with her, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Babu, Chopra Jonas described why moviegoing audiences in her homeland embrace their stars to this extent:

"I really try and explain this to a lot of my colleagues and friends, that the kind of love and affection that Indian fans have for their movie stars is unprecedented. India loves its movies. We go out in throngs. We take our families. It's the thing to do when there's nothing else. It was always, like, movies and cricket. In India, these are the two things which are like the royalty of entertainment.

"And, as you saw, there's so much love for their movie stars in this country, which — you can't explain it. It's just in the fabric, it's just in the culture, it's just in the being."

That might go a long way towards explaining why Hollywood blockbusters are beginning to lag behind the rest of the world, to the point where animated exports like "Ne Zha 2" are vastly outperforming our own films at the box office. Given the overwhelming success of "RRR" and the planned IMAX rollout for "Varanasi," well, that recent trend doesn't look like it'll be changing anytime soon. When it comes to Indian and U.S. cinema, however, Priyanka Chopra Jonas is uniquely positioned to see the difference between how audiences respond to their home country's productions.

She went on to explain how this "Varanasi" event compared to any other major movie market around the globe, including my own here in New York. The overwhelming reception of Mahesh Babu's uproarious fanbase alone leaves an impression, but the intensity runs even deeper. According to Chopra Jonas:

"Mahesh is one of the biggest Telugu movie stars. And to be able to see his fan base show up for all of us and welcome both me and Prithviraj with such open arms — ['Varanasi' is] my first Telugu movie. I've never done a properly full-fledged movie here. So, it was just incredible. But even when I work abroad, when you see like Indian fans, wherever it is, and I'm sure you've seen this because you're from New York, that kind of affection and love is very different.

And I feel very privileged to have had such an incredibly long career based on the love of fans of Indian cinema. And it's a very hard thing to describe, but I'm glad we enjoy it."

The rest of us will finally understand what Indian audiences already know when "Varanasi" hits theaters on April 7, 2027.