Let us begin with the key points of this INR250 crore (nearly US$40 million) two-part film: it took 1,000 workers and 200 days at Ramoji Film City Studio at Hyderabad in South India to build the set of the kingdom spread over 20 acres (8,000,000 sq-ft); the lead actors (Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty) were meticulously trained in martial arts, horse riding and sword fighting by experts from Vietnam under the guidance of stunt choreographer Peter Hein; the VFX footage in particular shots cost Rs5,000/sec; 2,000 bodybuilders, 1,000 extras, 200-250 horses and over a dozen elephants were involved in the war sequence shot over 120 working days; a 100-foot statue of the film’s antagonist Bhallaladeva (Daggubati) was erected; the waterfall shown in the trailer is three miles long; and a new language known as ‘Kiliki’ was invented for the film with around 750 words and new grammar rules.

This itemisation of the period drama that is Bahubali may sound simple in print, but when you watch the 159-minute mega production on the big screen you come out of the theatre completely awestruck and immediately start comparing it with blockbuster Hollywood films like Thor, Troy, Avatar, Lord of the Rings trilogy and others. It also reminds us of big-budget, mega-cast Bollywood productions of yore such as Mughal-i-Azam (1960), Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), Karanti (1981) and Razia Sultana (1983).

Directed by S.S. Rajamouli (Magdheera, Makki), Bahubali reinforces Indian film industry-wallas claims — give us the finances and we will make even greater films. Within the first week of its release, it had already garnered more than Rs300 crores and the cash box is still going ka-ching. The second part of the film will be released in 2016 and even Salman Khan’s Bajarangi Bhaijaan, hasn’t been able to make a dent in its profits.

Bahubali — the Beginning is supposed to be the most expensive film ever produced in India!

Bahubali — the Beginning resembles Hollywood’s opulence while keeping intact the Indian spin on good versus evil. It may be difficult to digest the arid plains alongside cascading giant waterfalls and tropical gardens magically emerging from snow-clad mountains, but this is Rajamouli’s VFX-created imaginary world where the first of the two-part epic fantasy unfolds.

Shivudu (played by South Indian superstar Prabhas) is a human with god-like strength and valour who lives at the foot of a massive waterfall that both fascinates and frustrates him. He is not able to scale the slippery rocks or the mountain. But when he eventually makes it to the top, he comes across a kingdom in turmoil. Bhallaladeva (played by Dagubatti also a well-known visual effect coordinator), the despotic king of Mahishmati, has imprisoned Queen Devasena (Anushka) for many years now. Shivudu, unaware of his connection to the kingdom, spends his days wooing Avanthika (Tamannaah Bhatia), one of the followers of the queen. But when he replaces her in a mission to rescue Devasena, his past unknowingly catches up with him.

The most engaging part of Bahubali — the Beginning is the war sequence during the last 20 minutes or so, achieved through a combination of special effects and thrilling in-camera shots. The only let down are the songs — because it’s an Indian film, the only known way of showing the blossoming romance between the lead pair are the needlessly inserted songs.

Art director Sabu Cyril employs the sophisticated VFX footage well to give depth and scale to magnificent sets while cinematographer K.K. Senthil Kumar offers beautiful vistas combining the real with computer-generated imagery seamlessly, making the release of its second part in 2016 seem like a long way off.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, July 26th, 2015

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