Mahakali first song Aigiri Nandini out: Sriya Reddy as the goddess; film opens on 8 January 2027

The team behind Mahakali, the latest chapter in director Prasanth Varma’s mythological universe, has opened the music campaign for the film’s Sankranthi release with a familiar hymn. Aigiri Nandini, the first song from the film, came out on the evening of Thursday, 5 November.

An old hymn, a new arrangement

The track is built on the Sanskrit hymn to the goddess that tradition credits to Adi Shankaracharya. Composer Smaran Sai has set it for a full orchestra, with a large chorus behind three lead voices: Anila Rajeev, Geetha Madhuri and Sai Charan.

Sriya Reddy carries the visuals as the goddess Mahakali. She appears with many arms and a temple behind her, and one passage shows the fierce goddess feeding a baby. A similar image closed the film’s teaser on Monday, 24 August, when Sriya Reddy was seen with an infant for only a few seconds.

That teaser, titled Shukracharya’s War Cry, was built around Akshaye Khanna as Shukracharya, the guru of the asuras. Mahakali is Khanna’s first Telugu film.

Sankranthi release in five languages

Puja Aparna Kolluru directs the film from a story by Prasanth Varma, who started his cinematic universe in 2024 with Hanu-Man. RK Duggal presents Mahakali, and Riwaz Ramesh Duggal produces it under the RKD Studios banner.

Bhoomi Shetty, Rohit Saraf, Samuthirakani, Rakesh Bedi, Rajat Kapoor, Murali Sharma and Nassar are also in the cast. Suresh Ragutu shoots the film, while Sri Nagendra Tangala designs its sets.

Mahakali opens in theatres on Friday, 8 January 2027, in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam, with IMAX 3D, 4DX and ScreenX shows as well. That puts it four days ahead of January 12 Vidudala, the Venkatesh and Kalyan Ram film set for 12 January.