Mahakali: Akshaye Khanna Unrecognizable First Look Goes Viral

The highly dramatic first look of Akshaye Khanna’s character, ‘Asuraguru Shukracharya,’ has set the internet ablaze.

September 30, 2025: Prasanth Varma, the director of the upcoming movie Mahakali, has officially shown off the first look of actor Akshaye Khanna. Khanna, who looks quite different and dramatic, will play the mysterious “Asuraguru SHUKRACHARYA.”

The poster, which was made by Prasanth Varma, shows the actor with a serious look on his face, long gray hair, a matching gray beard, a big robe, and silver eyes. Varma wrote, “In the shadows of gods, rose the brightest flame of rebellion 🔥 Presenting The Enigmatic #AkshayeKhanna as the eternal ‘Asuraguru SHUKRACHARYA’ from #Mahakali 🔱❤️‍🔥.”

People on social media quickly compared the serious look to Amitabh Bachchan’s Dronacharya character in Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD. Some fans even joked that the look looked like it was “Amitabh Bachchan 40% Downloaded” or maybe even made by AI.

The third superhero movie in the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU) is Mahakali. The first was the hit HanuMan.

Character Significance: Sources say that Akshaye Khanna’s character is very important and will be in several films in the PVCU series, which will bring “intrigue and depth” to the universe. It is not clear if he is an antagonist or a good character.

The film, which is centered on Goddess Kali and will be directed by Puja Aparna Kolluru (the idea came from Prasanth Varma), has not yet officially started production because the cast and other aspects are still being worked out.

Prasanth Varma has said that the female superhero movie is being developed to “challenge beauty standards,” which means that the casting for the lead character will be very different from what is usually done.

The PVCU is a burgeoning franchise based on Indian mythology, and it has already launched a number of projects:

The movie HanuMan, which stars Teja Sajja, is coming out.

Jai Hanuman: The sequel, which stars Rishab Shetty.

Mahakali: The third movie, which was about Goddess Kali.

Adhira: A collaboration with Dasari Kalyan that is based on the stories of Lord Indra.

A movie with Mokshagna Teja in it that doesn’t have a title.