Actor Vijay Deverakonda announced his new film Ranabaali on Monday, marking his reunion with fiancée Rashmika Mandanna after seven years. Sharing the first look, a critic wrote, "Ranabaali glimpse is sensational. Largely created using AI..." Director Rahul Sankrityan denied AI was used, saying, "Every frame was worked in older ways, invested months of time."

Actor Vijay Deverakonda announced his new film, Ranabaali, earlier known as VD14, on Monday, January 26. Set in the pre-Independence era, the film marks his reunion with fiancée Rashmika Mandanna after seven years, following their last appearance together in the Telugu film Dear Comrade.

Along with the release date, a first look was unveiled, which a user criticised, claiming the video allegedly used Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Ranabaali Director Reacts To Critic Claiming First Look Was Made Using AI

A film critic and founder of a Telugu cinema website took to his X (formerly Twitter) to share the first look of Ranabaali and wrote: "#Ranabaali glimpse is sensational. Largely created using AI, it highlights key aspects of the pre-Independence era, exposing how the British plundered India’s wealth and carried out genocide."

Director Rahul Sankrityan reacted to the critic and denied that AI was used to generate the visuals. He wrote "Thank you @idlebrainjeevi garu. But AI was not used, every frame was worked in older ways- invested months of time."

Check it out:

About Ranabaali

Set in the 19th century, Ranabaali is inspired by real historical events that took place between 1854 and 1878. Rashmika Mandanna will portray Jayamma, while Arnold Vosloo will play Sir Theodore Hector.

The film is presented by T-Series, with music composed by the iconic duo Ajay-Atul, adding further scale and grandeur to the project.

Ranabaali Release Date

Produced by Naveen Yerneni and Y. Ravi Shankar under Mythri Movie Makers, the action-thriller is slated for release on September 11, 2026, in multiple languages, including Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Ranabaali will mark the third film in which Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna appear together as lead actors, following their collaborations in Geetha Govindam and Dear Comrade.