We always knew that Baahubali 2 was going to be something special. Now, a few days after its release, the gushingly positive reviews, throngs of audiences crowding cinema halls and unprecedented box office collections show us just how special it turned out to be. Here are reasons why the Baahubali franchise, including Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion broke new ground in Indian cinema.
Typically, the rest of India doesn’t know or care much about South Indian cinema. The Baahubali franchise changed all that. Not only was Baahubali: The Beginning a mammoth success, its sequel has proved to be the most awaited movie in ages. The imperfect lip-synch of a movie dubbed into Hindi from the original Telugu and the occasionally incongruous transliteration of the dialogue did not matter.
The 4K high definition format, the computer wizardry, the visually stunning animation and incredible cinematography has ensured a stunning and highly impactful movie; the like of which we have never seen before in India. The technical brilliance is being seen as India’s answer to Hollywood.
The way that the first part ended left everyone longing for more. We all wanted to know the answer to the question why did Katappa kill Baahubali? It became a meme widely circulated on social media.
It was an unusual cinematic device for Indian cinema – the ‘beginning’ was the telling of a story later in time; the sequel consisted of a flashback which then took forward the story to its conclusion.
The story is about warring princes, fiery, brave women, a powerful matriarch and a sniveling, evil powerless patriarch. It is about the triumph of good over evil or love, duty, loyalty; a story steeped in cultural pride and set in a mythical past… These are the stories Indians have always loved, but we never saw one presented in quite this fashion.
The epic battles, gorgeous palaces, fantastic scenery and stunning costumes are all on a very grand scale. The visual grandeur and the impact it has had on audiences is unprecedented too.
The movies were made with a budget of Rs 430 crores, making the Baahubali franchise the most expensive movies in Indian film history. Filming locations included Ramoji Film City, Kerala and Bulgaria. At one point, choreographer Peter Hein had to manage 2000 stuntmen and elephants together.
The film franchise did unprecedented pre-release collections (in the region of 500 crores before the release of Baahubali 2). It is also the highest grossing Hindi movie in its first weekend; having collected about Rs 128 crore. The fact that the movie has garnered largely positive reviews is almost by the way. The fact that the public have put their money where their mouth is, is the ineluctable proof of the film's having scripted its own unique success.
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