BaahuBali - A Milestone for the Indian Cinema

Source : here

I rarely write reviews for tollywood movies as going to theater and watching a Telugu movie became once in a blue moon activity. After so long I felt like writing a review for this magnanimous flick - Baahubali which got the attention of many countries and was ofcourse a treat to watch, After years of dedication and hardwork of the entire cast and crew I felt it would be good to write something about the movie!

Story line, Characters and review

After watching Baahubali the beginning, I was intrigued like many other viewers, not because I was curious about "Why Kattappa killed Baahubali?"  I mean it was very easy to guess why he might have taken that  step. Anyone can guess the story line . Good Vs Bad, Valor Vs Cowardice, honesty Vs lies and so on so forth and in the end the positive things always taste the victory but what intrigued me the most is the question - how will Rajamouli and all other creators make it a memorable watch? I was not disappointed as the movie lived up to the hype. The story doesn't dwell much in past, gives us a brief recap, before plunging directly in to the actual prequel which felt good. The opening song "Oka Pranam" is apt while titles scroll in the background. The opening scene where Amarendra Bahubali enters has stolen all women and mens' hearts in equal numbers! I fell in love with the character, the persona  and the screen presence through out. Even if the way Baahubali pulls a cart, stops the elephant and climbs on it is unrealistic, the grandeur with which it is presented, was received by audience with whistles and hoots.

Shivagami sticks to the same intimidating  glance and demenour she had in part 1 but this time she is kind of crushed between her biological son (BhallalaDeva) and the raised son's (Bahubali's) conflicts which was very much expected. Devasena looked extremely gorgeous as  the warrior princess, who is ever-ready to defend her kingdom and husband and the love story of  Amarendra and  Devasena  seemed OK too as it was not too sketchy and unreal, the way it is shown in many other historical biopics. Also I liked their story more than the dreamy story of Sivudu and Avantika. The sets were humongous as always. If Mahishmati looked Royal, Kuntala Kingdom seemed dreamy. Few scenes seemed to be straight away lifted from some epic hollywood movies and historical biopics but they did have an impact on audience. My personal favorite scene is the fight between the warriors of Kuntala kingdom and the attackers in which Amarendra uses his skills and intellect. The flames on the horns of the oxen which run around the palace is well shot. There are many other favorite tid-bits but my most favorite is when the infant Sivudu (Mahendra  Bahubali) drops his tiny palm on his mother's palm as a promise to come back, before Sivagami leaves the palace with him. May be it is my new found baby love but the scene touched me!

Kattappa holding Mahendra- here

Some minuses

Of course there are loop holes too and it is easy to find them as the movie is continuously put under scanner after so much hullabaloo. I found the scene where Devasena gets in to boat using the strong arms of Bahubali as a bridge, funny and overrated and the song following this scene had too many special effects and did not suit my taste.  Kattappa being so foolishly devoted to his masters, seemed idiotic to me. Sivagami trusting her tyrant husband and son seemed illogical but may be the  only explanation which holds good here is that love blinds people and  makes them lose the  intellect and sanity and with out this trust the story wouldn't have budged, so may be it was inevitable. Avantika's role is wasted after being shown as a great warrior in the first half. I felt Aslam Khan aka Sudeep would have some role to play even in the 2nd part. It would have been good to see him assisting the war forces but there was no hint of him. I did not like the movie after the death of Amarendra Bahubali. May be as I watched a similar and even a better war in first half, I didnt enjoy Sivudu fighting with all his might to ward off Bhallaladeva and his supporters. Last but not the least like every one I was also curious about BhallalaDeva's wife :-)

Summary and My Verdict

The movie has heated up the state more than the summer of the May .All in all, the movie experience is enjoyable due to elements intricately projected in the movie . By elements I again don't mean the graphics or the stunts or war scenes as I honestly liked the CGI and VFX effects more in first half, which were subtle and beautiful. In Bahubali 2 what I loved are the intricacies of expressions, emotions , seamless storytelling which will not bore you even for a second, the grandeur with which everything was projected on screen, cool personas of all the actors and a fitting conclusion for the audience who eagerly waited for 2 years !

The ending scene seemed a bit dragged or may be I was just wanting more of Amarendra Bahubali , but all in all Bahubali makes a magnificent watch and the man of the moment- Prabhas- completely deserves all the attention he is getting. Three cheers to him. While getting awed by him let us take a moment and not forget the wonderful effort by BhallalaDeva (Rana Daggubati) who maintained that awesome physique and was looking great in his negative shade. I read in news that he is blind in one eye which made me appreciate his efforts more. Needless to say RamyaKrishna rocked as Shivagami and Devasena and her attitude were as natural as it can get. Anushka effortlessly looks gorgeous whenever she acts in the historic roles . Last but not the least, a round of applause to Rajamouli and a big round of applause to his dad K.V. Vijayendra Prasad who is the story writer . Good amount of research must have been done while writing the story of Bahubali and many historical movies , relics and books would have been studied to make this an appealing watch and the Mahishmati experience almost a realistic one !

Man who attracted many with just one movie. He sure deserves being the heart throb he is. Source : here

Having said everything, yes I have a big new found crush on Prabhas  and the viewers, by and large  liked Bahubali, though there are some who have done all the autopsies and biopsies and declared that going to theater and watching the movie is a waste of time. I felt the movie can be fully enjoyed only in the theater and can be savored only if judged less. Bahubali did become a milestone for Indian cinema, earning some 1000+ crores worldwide and all the products from the Bahubali franchise are also in demand in the market, including toys, video games, clothing so on so forth !

Hoping to see Rajamouli working on a unique story next and Prabhas to retain the fame, name and work in something different after a long hiatus :)