Touted as the most expensive production in the history of Indian Cinema, SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus Baahubali is finally here. A period drama, it plays out on an epic canvas.
It’s staggering to see how the director’s vision can make even the simplest of ideas look so grand on celluloid. Rajamouli’s previous film Eega was about a fly and for the uninitiated it must be said that nobody else could have made a regular boring ‘makkhi’ look so unmistakably royal.
Even in Baahubali the story itself is pretty simple and straight forward – a battle for the throne, a royal family and palace intrigues. It’s a story of power and redemption. However the story telling and cinematography is something out of the ordinary.
Baahubali-The Beginning opens with shots of a gorgeous waterfall. The breathtaking aerial frames are awe inspiring. As the camera pans over the lush green fields and dense forests we know it’s a film that deserves to be seen only on the big screen. It can well be called our very own take on 300 with hunky, bare-chested desi boys in dhotis flexing their muscles in Spartan battlefield action.
Not that it’s flawless. 20 mins after the start of the film till the interval the pace slackens. M.M Kreem’s love songs are particularly boring. It’s also the time when we first meet Tamannaah as Avantika, a ferocious female warrior. In the course of a single song, however, when her love interest Shivudu (Prabhas) doodles on her bare arms and introduces her to lipstick and kajal, she realizes she can’t live without makeup and literally abandons her mission and her mace. Thereafter Rajamouli wants us to forget about her and the other flaws and we do.
The sheer brilliance of the narrative, electrifying energy and the two eye candies hypnotise us into submission. Prabhas as the hero and Rana Daggubati as the villain provide enough visual pleasure. Amazing CGI and special effects coupled with a dramatic twist have whet our appetite for the next instalment of cinematic excellence slated to be released in 2016. As dear SRK would say “picture abhi baki hai mere dost.” While we wait for Baahubali Part 2, make sure you book your tickets for this one.
Baahubali – The Beginning is a must watch and ill go with 4 QUINTS OUT OF 5.
Find out why Baahubali has destroyed the box office here.