Film: Bahubali, Director: S S Rajamouli, Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Ansushka,Tamannah,Satyaraj, Ramya Krishnan, Nasser
Bahubali is a fantasy period saga set in a fictional kingdom from yore. An ambitious project from the ace director Rajamouli , the movie is touted as the most expensive production in Indian movie industry.
Pivoted in an expansive canvas with high-flung technology to boot, the film creates magic on screen, thanks to the spellbinding visuals and imaginatively-designed special effects.
The only shortcoming, if any, is the heavily-worked on story line. And the week screen play, for want of clarity and coherence, falls flat at times.
The movie opens with a baby prince, smuggled into safety by a woman (Ramya Krishnan), after being chased by some soldiers. In a bid to save the baby, she puts her life in danger. She confesses it as her redemption-act for the wrongs she had done in the past. The baby, Shiva, is saved by a tribal woman (Rohini). The movie deals with the realisation of Shiva (Prabhas) about his past. He is propelled back into the world he belongs. The first half of the movie is leisurely paced, with the story line focusing on establishing Shiva’s physical prowess and his romantic interludes with the warrior girl Avantika (Tamannah).
Shiva is the embodiment of the comic book superhuman heroes rolled into one with a desi touch. He is literally invincible; he can fly, get brutally banged on rocks as he comes hurtling down from great heights of mountains and still stand unfazed, pluck out huge boulders and fling at ease and negotiate landslides and snowstorms.
Prabhas may not quite meet expectations as a warrior (particularly in the second half as Baahubali). But his screen presence and charm help him march on with poise.
Tamannah looks ethereal, and essays Avantika, the warrior woman experiencing her first flush of love, with candour.
The duo’s romantic interludes laced with eroticism and humour are adorable. The camera (Senthil Kumar) captures the nuances of their escapades. Whether it’s the alluring figure of Avantika, the cascading waterfalls or the splendid forts, the cinematographer’s eye for details is telling. Maragada Mani’s background score lifts the mood.
The plot thickens in the second half. Ramayana, Mahabharata, ‘Gladiator’ references are too obvious to miss.
Shiva learns about his past and along with him the audience lands in the kingdom of Magizhmati: a kingdom fraught with political intrigues. The power play between cousins, both aspirants to the throne make up the crux of the story.
An ambitious queen mother Sivagami (Ramya)and her overreacher husband (Nasser) is at one end of the tug-of-war. While Baahubali (Prabhas) is noble and generous, his cousin Palvaalthevan (Rana) is ruthless and scheming. Rana impresses with his towering physique than histrionics. His character was not quite fleshed out. Ramya Krishnan dominates the screen for most part here.
Sivagamis real agenda would be exposed in the Part 2 of the saga.
Satyaraj, as the devoted loyal slave Kattappa scores brownie points with his intensity. It’s a touching moment when Kattappa pays homage to the heir to the throne. Anushka is almost inert as the captive, Devasena.
The scene portraying the unveiling of the statue of the king, is spiced up with folkdances. The accouterments looked forced given Bahubali is a period movie.
The war sequence, where the kingdom takes on the enemy at the gates, a primitive tribe could match a high-flying Hollywood production. The inventiveness displayed in forging a new language for the tribe is laudable. Equally good is the performance of Prabhakar as its chief Kalakeya. The battle scenes are grandliose, with spectacular special effects (Kudos to the team) and crowd management. Though over time it becomes a bit tedious.
But amidst all its opulence and splendour, the spellbinding locales and graphics, the style, gloss and grandeur, the content misses out. The rich visuals have overpowered the emotional quotient.
And the moviegoer comes out charmed by the mesmerising visuals than the characters and their predicaments. The first of the two-part saga, ends abruptly leaving a lot to imagination.
The second part will be released next year. A visualextravaganza, the film is definitely a one-time watch.