There are blockbusters, and then there is Baahubali. The second part of the franchise, which opens tomorrow, is all set to break all previous records in all three languages– Telugu, Tamil and Hindi.
The advance booking for the film has broken all previous records.
“We are full for the next four days in every single show,” informs a personnel from a leading multiplex chain in Delhi. In Mumbai, the advance booking queues are humongous, whereas in Chennai, there are no tickets for the Tamil version of Baahubali 2 until May 2.
Baahubali’s affable writer K Vijayendra Prasad who is director R Rajamouli’s father says there are many such ‘Baahubali legends’.
My favourite is a leave application going around on Whatsapp, which has people taking Friday off from work, the official reason given for asking for leave is, ‘To know why Katappa killed Baahubali’. There are so many such stories that I hear everywhere. Wherever we go for promotions, we see happy expectant faces of people, who are waiting for Friday to arrive.K Vijayendra Prasad, Writer of the Baahubali franchise
Don’t the expectations of the audiences scare Vijayendra and his director-son?
Not at all! Not in the least. No, we are not scared. Because we know we’ve lived up to people’s expectations. You see, when the first part of Baahubali came two yeas ago, it was like nothing that audiences had seen. My inspiration for Baahubali is the Mahabharata. But my interpretation of the conflicts in the Mahaharata are entirely my own. What people saw in the first part was the inspiration. Now they’ll see the actual drama that binds the popular characters.K Vijayendra Prasad
The first part, says Vijayendra was only a precursor of the experience.
Baahubali was the trailer. Now comes the real film. The actual drama unfolds now. It’s not just the question, ‘Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?’ that controls audiences, but the entire bouquet of characterisations, landscapes and storytelling. Audiences feel they own the world of Baahubali.K Vijayendra Prasad
Vijayendra ji admits that ending the first part with the the million-rupee question on Kattapa was a masterstroke.
We knew it would generate curiosity. But we never thought it would become such a talking-point across the nation. For two years people have been discussing Baahubali and why he was killed by Kattapa. It is unheard of, I agree. But I repeat, we are not scared of the audiences’ expectations. We know what we have created.K Vijayendra Prasad
Errr…History?
“That’s not for me to say. But you are welcome to say it,” quips the gamely veteran who has written most of his son Rajamouli’s films.
Rajamouli says that he will take a long vacation after the release of Baahubali 2. What about his dad? “I go right back to work. To me, my work is my holiday,” is the Baahubali writer’s parting shot.
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