The makers of Ranabaali have released the first teaser of the Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna period action drama, giving audiences their first proper look at the film’s brutal, historically inspired world. The two-minute-32-second teaser dropped on Wednesday, ahead of the film’s October 16 theatrical release.

Vijay Deverakonda, sharing the teaser on X, tweeted, ” Never Forget. The Men who came as guests and stayed as oppressors. The Men in our villages, who decided to draw blood. ‘The Savage’s Oath'”

#NeverForget


The Men who came as guests and stayed as oppressors.


The Men in our villages, who decided to draw blood.

‘The Savage’s Oath’#RanabaaliTeaser https://t.co/4V4TaMBqz4 pic.twitter.com/ZbmTTm1UdJ

— Vijay Deverakonda (@TheDeverakonda) September 9, 2026

The teaser opens with a sombre title card that reads: “In memory of eight million Indian lives lost under British rule, 1876-78,” a direct reference to the Great Famine of 1876-78 that devastated the Madras Presidency and killed millions across Southern and Western India. The visuals paint a picture of suffering and colonial exploitation, with drought-stricken villages and starving civilians forming the backdrop against which the story unfolds.

Arnold Vosloo, the South African actor best known for playing Imhotep in The Mummy franchise, is introduced as Sir Theodore Hector, described as the “Demon of Drought,” a ruthless British officer who plunders India’s wealth and shows no mercy to the people under his control.

Vijay Deverakonda then arrives on screen as Singanamala Bobbili Ranabaali, and the energy of the teaser shifts entirely. In a rugged, battle-worn look that has nothing in common with the urban, romantic characters his audience has come to expect from him, Deverakonda is presented as a feared figure who stands in direct opposition to the British forces. He is repeatedly referred to as “savage” by the British characters, a label the teaser reclaims as a badge of honour rather than an insult. The combat sequences are raw and physically intense, with Ranabaali shown fighting British soldiers with a ferocity that suggests he has nothing left to lose.

Rashmika Mandanna appears briefly in the teaser as Jayamma, Ranabaali’s wife, though her screen time in the promotional material is limited. The teaser focuses primarily on establishing the world, the antagonist and the protagonist’s position within it.

The teaser builds to a climactic moment where Vijay delivers a line that landed immediately with audiences: “Not a grain of this land will be exported out.” Towards the end, a visual of what appears to be a demon’s hand closes the teaser, leaving fans curious,

The film is set in 19th-century Rayalaseema during British rule, specifically between 1854 and 1878, and is reported to be inspired by real events involving rebellion, drought and chapters of colonial history that have largely been forgotten. The screenplay is written by Pramod Tammineni.

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Ranabaali is directed by Rahul Sankrityan, who previously directed Vijay Deverakonda’s Taxiwaala and Nani’s Shyam Singha Roy. The music is composed by Ajay-Atul, while cinematography is handled by Nirav Shah, with editing by Karthika Srinivas R.

This is the third on-screen pairing for Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna after Geetha Govindam and Dear Comrade. The two married earlier this year, with the movie team releasing a song promo to congratulate the couple.

The film is produced by Naveen Yerneni and Y. Ravi Shankar under Mythri Movie Makers, with T-Series presenting it. It will release simultaneously in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam on October 16, placing it in the Dussehra holiday window alongside Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2 and Dhanush’s Om.