Bahubali - The Beginning.

After a very long time, have I liked a movie so much as to write about it. Actually, it is more than that. I am completely mesmerized by this film. Already saw it thrice.

There was quite a hype surrounding this movie. I think I heard of the film about 2 years back. Eega/Makkhi had impressed me a lot. I saw Magadheera couple of times. And so I already knew about SS Rajamouli. So, him making an film with enormous budget, already had got everyone excited. Including me.
I watched some Prabhas films and have become a fan of his. Mirchi makes it to one of my best films list. I think he is one of the few heroes who can do Action and act well too. And has very likable onscreen persona, which has rightfully got him nicknames like Darling and Mr. Perfect. So with Prabhas and Rajamouli collaborating, Bahubali already had so much going for it. (And add the gorgeous Anushka Shetty to it). The team did 1 year of pre-production work which is unheard of in Indian cinema. And touted to be India's  most expensive film.

The film finally released on July 10. I was in Hyderabad then. I couldn’t see it first day first show, as I was recuperating from an injury and hence was not going out much. Also other reason was I couldn’t find any places screening Tamil or Hindi. So I waited until my next trip to Pune. Where I finally got to see Bahubali (with my dad and nephew). My nephew really liked the film.

Following is my review of the blockbuster film (it has already grossed 540cr in 30 days).Bahubali is essentially a story of a king loved and revered by his subjects. The king is killed by his scheming cousin brother (who becomes the new king) and uncle. The people are subdued to the new ruler and everyone is forcefully made to forget the old righteous king.I have written the whole story of the file here - Bahubali synopsis

Bahubali's best scenes. Oh it has so many of them - 

•      First scene of the movie, Sivagami looks at the towering waterfall is excellent. The falls look majestic. When she says ‘Hey Parmeshwar’ looking towards the waterfalls.And the hand rising above the rapids holding the child.
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•      Shiva’s parents, Sadhu baba and villagers look in bewilderment as Shiva breaks Shivaling’s foundation. And lifts it by himself. With its size, the Shivalinga must weigh atleast half a ton.
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•      The avalanche scene is good. The CGI looks of lesser quality, but the scene is well done.
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•      Shiva’s real mother, queen Devasena, feels his presence when he enters Mahishmathi Kingdom. The background music makes it a powerful scene. As he walks, he is shown to be an image of King Bahubali.
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•      The scene where Shiva alone manages to hold the rope and stop the huge statue from falling is a great scene. Following with everyone chanting Bahubali’s name.The huge pulleys, thick ropes, hundreds of workers make the whole scene believable.
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•      Bhalaldeva imagines that Bahubali’s statue (hence stature) is 10 times bigger than his is a great scene. It has to be scene in order to understand and appreciate.
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•      Shiva is furious at Bhadra for hitting and humiliating Devasena. And wants to kill him with his bare hands. When Katappa tries to stop he is further infuriated and screams with anger. I think, this was the best scene.The scene continues with Shiva’s incredible leap and somersault in the air, withdrawing his father’s sword, thus reclaiming it. And cutting Bhadra’s head off.
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•      Scene further continues with showing Devasena as her eyes light up for getting revenge.And Katappa keeping Shiva’s feet on his head is a great scene. Very well shot in rain. Shiva fits in the whole screen, looking very tall.
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•      The song ‘Mamata se bhari’ shows young Bahubali growing up. It has some good scenes.
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•      Setting of Manohari song is great. Choreography is excellent.
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•      War sequence has some great scenes –
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•     Bahubali motivates his army whose morale is down and beaten. This is one of the powerful scenes.
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•     His fight with the Kalakeya chief is good.
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•     Bhalaldeva has some good scenes with his weapon (gada), which has an extensible ball head. One scene where the ball retracts, it is shown to be so heavy that it pushes corpses as it slides back into the handle.
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•     Bahubali and Bhalaldeva’s strength is convincingly projected. Both being tall and broad, the fight scenes seem more convincing.
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Now everyone is eagerly waiting for the next part, the conclusion.

Which will tell us -

• When Sivagami already announced Bahubali to be the new king, what transpires after that? For Sivagami to say she took some bad decisions?

• What do Bijjala and Bhalala conspire to get rid of Bahubali?

• And why did Katappa kill his favorite prince Bahubali?

• And how does Shiva avenge his father's death and get the throne of Mahishmathi? So that the kingdom will, once again, have a righteous ruler whom they revere.

Rajamouli has said that part 2 will make part 1 looks smaller. It is a big task to accomplish as part 1 was humongous. If it does, it will be our (viewers) gain.