Introduction:
Baahubali: The Beginning is a full fledged action movie which offered a new change in Indian cinema in terms of script and graphics. The movie was directed by S. S. Rajamouli and this makes it a two part movie which is followed by Baahubali 2 also known as Baahubali 2: The Conclusion which was released in the year 2017. The movie has Prabhas in the central role and the film also has Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty and Tamannaah Bhatia in the cast.
The concept of the film is set in Mahishmati kingdom that is specially made for the purpose of the movie and the major issues that are in focus relate to power betrayal and destiny. Baahubali is a fine mixture of mythology and heroism and an action packed movie the world got to see and enjoy. A triumphant of the movie not only shifted the place of regional films but also the power of India films in an international platform.
Release Date:
Baahubali: The Beginning album was launched in the market and thus made the date of making available for the people on the 10th of July in 2015. It first premiered in different regions including the United States of America, Canada and South Africa on the 9th of July, 2015. The movie was directed by S. S. Rajamouli and produced by Arka Media Works which became huge shock in Indian film Industry in terms of its setting and production standard.
Crew:
| Role | Person(s) |
|---|---|
| Director | S. S. Rajamouli |
| Screenplay | S. S. Rajamouli |
| Writer | V. Vijayendra Prasad |
| Producers | Shobu Yarlagadda, Prasad Devineni |
| Editor | Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao |
| Music Director | M. M. Keeravani |
Cast:
| Actor/Actress | Character Name |
|---|---|
| Prabhas | Shivudu |
| Anushka Shetty | Devasena |
| Rana Daggubati | Bhallaladeva |
| Tamannaah Bhatia | Avantika |
| Ramya Krishnan | Sivagami Devi |
| John Kokken | Kalki Brothers |
| Nora Fatehi | Danseur |
| Nassar | Bijjaladeva |
| Adivi Sesh | Bhadrudu |
| Rohini | Sanga |
| Prabhakar | Kalakeya King |
| Tanikella Bharani | Swamiji |
| Scarlett Mellish Wilson | Danseuse |
| Charandeep | Kalakeya King Brother |
| Teja Kakumanu | Sakethudu |
| Rakesh Varre | Sethupathi |
| Sathyaraj | Kattappa |
| Meka Rama Krishna | Jaya Varma |
| Bharani Shankar | Martanda |
| Deependra Singh | Deependra Singh |
Story:
The movie’s plot portrays a young man by the name of Shivudu (Prabhas) who rises from childhood in a mountainous area among a tribal crew. Moreover, he is losing his kingship of the Mahishmati kingdom and right at this moment, he doesn’t even know his real name which is Baahubali. The film is about a young man named Shivudu, who not only turns from a simple hunter but also finds out that he is a prince of the Mahismati kingdom The film is about a young horned boy, who learns he is the prince of the Mahismati kingdom who is the journey to rescue his mother Devasena, who is captive of the vicious king Bhallaladeva portrayed by Rana Daggubati.
Once Shivudu comes to know about Bhalla’s bloodline he becomes a part of the political rivalry of Mahishmati. The film is full of flashback scenes and the story behind the feud of the Baahubali and Bhallaladeva brothers is well depicted. It ends with sequences of energetic fights, revealing the progress of the main character from a primitive tribesman to a brave and noble king.
Review:
Baahubali: The Beginning was applauded by critics for its operatic themes, its visuals, and the actors’ performances. This was well received considering the film was a combination of ancient Indian mythology and contemporary Hollywood-style movie-making with much jewellery and drama expected to capture people’s imagination on the big screen.
Plus Points:
- Visual Spectacle: It has become quite famous for its cinematics and amazing scenes and setting of the movie. The film features some wonderful visuals by the director of cinematography K. K. Senthil Kumar, especially in the representation of the kingdom’s scale and the complexity of the fights.
- Strong Direction: The screenplay of the film is one of the movie’s strong areas and it has been directed by S. S. Rajamouli. His ambitious approach to the project to create a big picture was matched by the perfect preparation and attention to detail and that ‘epic’ feeling suffused in the film can be felt simultaneously with the intimate one.
- Engaging Storyline: It becomes quite engaging and the balance that has been struck between action, drama and mythology is just perfect. The storytelling is engaging and has an emphasis on the characters’ developments which makes it easy for the viewers to have a relatable emotional connection with the main characters.
- Powerful Performances: In this movie Prabhas who plays Baahubali has done justice to his role by performing both stunts and expressing his emotions. Rana Daggubati as Bhallaladeva is as good, the stereotypical bad guy look and feel which was well portrayed by him. Other actresses like Anushka Shetty and Tamannaah Bhatia also give very good performances and also have good characterization.
- Outstanding Music: The loud music that accompanies the film by M. M. Keeravani helps in the concoction of a wonderful experience. The music is used throughout the film, in the background and even in quite some songs which helps enrich the story with emotional aspects.
Minus Points:
- Length: In the viewers’ opinion, the pace of the motion picture was slow, and some of them considered it to be too long and recorded to last for 159 minutes. Some scenes could have been charged with much more action and as such could have been cut to make the movie shorter.
- Predictable Elements: As for the plot of the movie, it has a rather intriguing storyline and some of the incidents may seem to be quite familiar, especially to anyone who has watched many epic dramas and many a time you feel that something like that must happen and not a twist.
- Character Development: In an overall perspective, the main characters are well depicted along with realistic characterization but the same fact cannot be said regarding some of the side characters where little more characterization or background information would have proved useful and therefore would have helped the storyline.
- Pacing Issues: As for the pacing, it is inconsistent, which in this movie’s case makes it mean that some scenes are fast while some others are way too slow. This contradiction may lead to certain complications concerning the further continuation of the plot of the given show or movie.
Technical Aspects:
The technical execution of Baahubali: The Beginning which is absolutely a very catchy name. The film was made on an estimated budget of around ₹ 180 crore ($ 28 million) and hence is classified as one of the most expensive Indian films up to date.
- Cinematography: It must also be remembered that the cinematography department of K. K. Senthil Kumar also played a major role in visualising that particular film. This is evident in the own use of the wide-angle views which creates scope and detailed view creating the epic feel of the story.
- Visual Effects: The group of visual effects headed by the brilliant VFX supervisor gave their best to design impressive scenes where the fight scenes were involved. The incorporation of CGI with Live Action is well and done perfectly, this makes the movie more realistic.
- Production Design: The stately structures and glamorous dresses well depict the opulentmahishmati kingdom used as a backdrop in the movie. The sharp focus on the mise-en-scene brings out the history of the film’s narrative rather well.
- Editing: However, definitely the fine editing by A. Sreekar Prasad holds together a certain flow albeit some scenes could have catapulted a better-placed pace altogether to watch.
Performance:
The character played by Prabhas aptly titled Baahubali is a unique feature of the movie in contention. His look for the movie especially when preparing for a fight and his acting skills which depicts a noble to an angry young man impress the audience. The same can also be said for Rana Daggubati as Bhallaladeva where he displayed a great acting93 as the evil villain of the story.
Anushka Shetty has done a good job in the movie and she has managed to give her best to her role of Devasena. Though Tamannaah Bhatia was successful in her chosen role, her performance was critiqued by some members including the fact that her specially carved character was inadequately developed.
The cast in supporting roles provide a lot to the movie and are well played; Ramya Krishnan as Sivagami and Sathyaraj as Kattappa. These aspects performed by the actors enhance the film’s feelings and all the twists in the story.
MoviePopTime Review:
My experience watching Baahubali: The Beginning episode got off to a glamorous start if there ever was one. Being directed by S. S. Rajamouli, the film offers amazing visuals, great scenes and an amazing setting that takes the viewer to the world of the film’s fictional kingdom Mahishmati.
Prabhas does justice to his role of Baahubali and he looks very handsome performing sturdy and tender at times. The plot may be familiar but it is quite entertaining and there are those fantastic action-filled scenes, particularly in the second part of the movie.
The music given by M. M. Keeravani also suits the film perfectly as far as the feel appeal of important sequences is concerned. Although, I thought that the experiences were spaced out a little too far, with a little too many dull spells early on in the movie.
Conclusion:
Baahubali: The Beginning is one of the most famous Indian movies with a great plot, fantastic scenes, and impressive actors’ play. Directed by S. S. Rajamouli the film became the new milestone for epic drama films in India and became widely popular among fans all over the world.
However, there are some points one might consider flaws: sometimes it just goes way too slowly and it is possible to predict several of the events that are happening. The beautiful storytelling, merged with technicality makes it a masterpiece that is worth watching for any movie lover.
The success of Baahubali: It was followed by its sequel, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion which went on to carry forward the franchise story. All in all, these films have not only given entertainment to the audiences but have also proven the calibre of Indian cinema by portraying their talents on the international cinema map making them memorable films in history.
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