BAHUBALI 

 The Beginning

Remember HERCULES, ACHILLES, LEONIDAS we all have seen the greek gods on-screen. Those huge sets and the jaw dropping fight sequences, bulked bodies and brilliant acting performances. SS Rajamouli brings you a hero from our own land, BAHUBALI. A movie that took three years in making and as per its budget it is the costliest and the most extravagant film of India till date, the movie provides that cinematic experience. When you watch it, you realize it takes you to a new land of flora and fauna. The result of astounding VFX work is visible from the very first scene. The movie reminded me of so many films; The mother waiting for her son to come back caused me to remember our very own RAKHI JI and her KARAN ARJUN! On a serious note, The 'Jal Parbat' and area around gave me a glimpse of AVATAR, the fight sequence reminded me of HERCULES, the grandeur of the MAHISHMATI palace, and the rivalry amongst brothers jogged my memory to TROY and many similar instances. SABU CYRIL's art direction is top notch so is K.K SENTHILKUMAR's cinematography and Rajamouli's vision altogether making BAHUBALI a visual treat. The sheer magnitude of the film leaves the audience spellbound.

There are movies and then there is a BAHUBALI ! 

It takes guts to even think of making a film out of the usual love,sex and 'pyaar mein dhokha' routine. And SS Rajamouli told us from his last film Eegaa (Makkhi)  that he has all that it takes to make out of the usual movies and with BAHUBALI he not only makes a movie, he makes sure he is making a blockbuster!

Its hard to start saying things about a movie so good. I would like to start with the star cast. Casting could not have been better. Starcast as follows :

Prabhas as Amarendra Bahubali and Shiva

Rana Daggubati as Bhallala Deva

Tamannah as Avantika

   Anushka Shetty as Devasena

Sathyaraj as Kattappa

           Ramya Krishnan as Shivagami          

      Lets start with Shivagami played by Ramya Krishnan. That flair, elegance, charisma,and rage in her eyes, she makes role of a Raajmata who can take care of a child and use a dagger to kill her enemy completely believable. More than her dialogues its her eyes that emote in most of the scenes.Last i remember seeing her in a hindi movie was 'Badey Miyan Chotey Miyan' opposite Amitabh Bachchan. Even if this was a dubbed movie, i would like to say welcome back!

Another gem of an actor was Sathyaraj who plays Katappa. Everyone who will watch the movie will remember him.The man is simply fabulous as a warrior and a loyal guard to the throne.His character reminds of  'Bheeshm Pitamah' from The Mahabharata. His sword fight in the beginning with the merchant is a delight. That contrast in his acting style from other actors is what makes him stand out. And specially the last 'CLIFFHANGER' scene of the movie after which everyone one will be left asking why did he do what he did ? And anticipating what next from Katappa ?  

For a lead film actress in her early thirties to play a de glam character and that too in first part play the mother of  a hero same of her age in reality! Trust me many actresses wont dare do this with a fear that they might end up getting the roles  of mother only. But this Mangalorean beauty stuns the audience with her portrayal of Devasena, old mother who is shown bearing the tortures of the villain for the last 25 years while waiting for the return of his son and rightful heir to the throne.

 Tamannah plays Avanthika, a female warrior and member of a tribal group who are the rebels against the king and constantly try to rescue their queen Devasena. She looked beautiful and her fighting scenes are done brilliantly. The song between Shiva & Avanthika, where he disrobes her and changes  her look to get her close to her feminine side, could have been avoided but even that has been shot beautifully. It reminds me of the dance between Shiva and Sati written in Amish's The immortals of Meluha. Gets hard to believe that Tamannah was a part of 'HUMSHAKALS' 

"Villain ho toh BhallalaDev jaisa ho, nahin toh naa ho."  Rana plays the villain, a cousin brother to the king who has always believed himself to be the rightful heir to the throne. His character is heavily inspired by 'Duryodhana' from Mahabharata. From his intentions, to the power, to his evil tricks and his hunger for the throne all are similar to the character above mentioned and Rana plays it very naturally.

This image itself shows you why Prabhas was the best casting for this role. His god like physique, that ruggedness, the sheer strength and the simplicity with which he single handedly beats the shit out of at least 100 men and everyone in the hall believes a man that powerful can! This much is enough to say how much i loved and enjoyed watching Shiva aka Mahendra Bahubali son of the late king Amarendra Bahubali.Both played by Prabhas. If i were Prabhas i would hire an agent for crossover movies, like NOW!

Let us look at other aspects of the movie.The synopsis of BAHUBALI; two brothers fighting for the throne, the good and bad, treachery with the good, son comes back not just good he is even better and in the end he takes revenge(that is left for part 2 to be released in 2016) 
Anything else and i will be taking away the cinematic experience for which everyone should make a quick trip to the nearest theatre. 

The end war sequence of around 30 minutes is what has made me way too excited for BAHUBALI- The Conclusion(2016). It also assures us of the bright future for Indian film industry. The way that entire sequence is shot and the VFX used ,are at par with any Hollywood movie of its genre. We need not just look at the west for an EPIC, as we can now create our own 
Having said that there are a few things that could have been edited, the song between Shiva and Avanthika could have been just a great background score as the film itself was flowing freely and songs were just acting as hurdles(at least in hindi). There is an item song too shot on Prabhas and three gorgeous women, maybe that is to attract the masses. The VFX during the avalanche looked a little fake but apart from that the team held it all tight and crisp.For our hindi audience, i would say go to watch it keeping one thing in mind that it is a dubbed movie and while dubbing in another language that same intensity gets compromised to a certain level, that happens with BAHUBALI too but all the other departments cover the flaws and they provide a product on screen that is marvelous. 

 So, i was waiting for 2016 to watch the next season of GAME OF THRONES but now i am eagerly waiting for BAHUBALI-The Conclusion ,2016 should come already!