பாகுபலி -A SS Rajamouli Film

[ajaybaskar]

Watched Baahubali again and thought of pointing out a few aspects which really stood out.. (Spoilers ahead)

The casting

It's been a while since I've seen such a perfect casting in a film. Ramya Krishnan and Sathyaraj were stunning. And the former is so majestic in her walk. She lived the role. After Padayappa, this is her best role till date. And the character was so well written that she is equally as heroic as the leads. Sathyaraj as Kattappa is that kind of role which demands the hard and soft sides of the person. He is loyal, honest and at the same time is menacing to the opponents. Sathyaraj fit the role to perfection.

I am not a huge fan of Prabhas. I have watched only one movie of his - Chatrapathy. Even in Bahubali, he was not so convincing in the first hour or so. But after he enters Magizhmadhi to save Devasena, he is totally in control of the role and his macho physique compliments his character. And kudos to the guts of Rana. He was acting as a hero in many films when he signed Bahubali. But still agreed to do the antagonist Bhallala Deva.

Narration

There is nothing new with the main plot. Its an age old Ambuli Mama story which many film makers have made films of in the past. But here SSR makes us glued to the seats with the narration. The buildup to the war with the Kalakeya is so well written so that the audience themselves feel the tension. He has again proved that he is a master story teller.

Background Score

Maragadhamani has had a longstanding association with SSR and both share a wonderful chemistry when it comes to bringing out the best in terms of BGM. Be it the pulsating score on the war sequence or the majestic score in the interval block, Maragadhamani has taken the film to a new level with his music. And he has done the whole orchestration in India is something that we need to be proud of.

The pre release business

The budget of the film is rumored to be 250 crores. And to earn back the amount, they knew Telugu market wasnt alone enough. So they made it a bilingual, cashing in on brand Rajamouli. His Magadheera dubbed version was a hit here and his Naan Ee was a runaway hit in Tamil. They also ensured that they got the best promotion and best theaters in hindi speaking region by releasing the hindi version under the Dharma productions banner. Above all this, they split the film into two. Now the budget is the same, revenue is twice. And whats even better? Bahubali's huge success has now ensured that Bahubali 2 will get an even bigger opening.