The opening scene has an aged queen drowning herself protecting the life of a new born baby, presumably her grandson, thereby shielding a sovereign legacy. Generations carrying valor and vengeance blended with pride and kingship are what Bahubali offers, with a blockbuster package of breath-taking war sequences, sporadic landscapes and across-the-board epic drama. Though Bahubali has factors which stand out of a usual movie, there are certain things filling the negative side too.
Well, let’s start with the making part. SS Rajamouli, a sealed logo of his name on the movie poster itself is a symbol of blockbuster and that repeats here, he packs everything perfectly but misses certain stuff that could’ve made Bahubali a classic beginning.
He requires special applause for making a drama of this kind that raises the bar of Indian movies to the lines of certain foreign movies, that too in a comparably shoelace budget. His vision of building an empire called ‘Mahishmathi’ is supported by Sabu Cyril, Peter Hein and Senthil Kumar. Those mammoth size sets of Sabu Cyril itself offer that realistic feel of an epic kingdom, while Senthil Kumar ably captures them all, trying maximum to provide novel frames; whereas Peter Hein gives his best at the action sequences. On company of these men, there is MM Keeravani with gripping background score, which simply elevates every sequence to another level. There were more than a couple of sequences every hour offering goose bumps, mainly in the latter half. That quick climax just throbbed my spine, creating a hell of thrill.
While there are too many at the positive side, certain portions and misplacements disturb the mood. The supreme of them are songs, Manohari and Pacha Bottesina were purely avoidable songs, which not only disturb harmony but also lower the standard of the movie. Certain portions of Tamannah too required crop tool, especially the makeup scene, the director’s attempt to mix stunt with beautification didn’t come out well; seemed idiotic.
Epicness of characters is yet another interesting factor of Bahubali. Though Amerandra Bahubali and Bhallaladeva stay as usual hero and villain, the characters of Kattappa, Sivagami, Devasena, Kalakeya and Bijjaladeva make the plot look grand; Satyaraj’s Kattappa inspired from ‘Parvateshwar‘of Shiva Trilogy, being the most interesting one. His performance was best among the actors; came out as a surprise package. Ramya Krishna’s grandeur Sivagami was perfect, impeccable performance. Prabhas looked impressive with the character elevation offered to him; gave the best from him backed by macho looks. Daggubatti Rana looked good with cut shots and CGI action, had nothing great to perform, hope he gets better content in the Conclusion. Anushka’s brief appearance was damn effective, whereas Tamannah revealed more skin than talent. Prabhakar’s Kalakeya war lord was tailor made. Nasser was wonderful as expected.
On the whole, SS Rajamouli’s Bahubali: The Beginning is an introductory part to a forthcoming epic drama, Bahubali: The Conclusion; though certain stereo elements and misplacements come as negative, the visible craftsmanship of talented men make The Beginning a great watch. The IMAX Big Screen Experience of this flick is worth mentioning.
Final Note: Brilliantly crafted; could’ve been better.
