Spoilers ahead…
Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/article/baahubali-2-the-conclusion-movie-review-baradwaj-rangan
The war is over. Mahishmati awaits the coronation of its new king, Amarendra Baahubali (Prabhas). But while peace may good for the country, it’s bad news for the screenwriter. For a while Baahubali: The Conclusion plods along a predictable path. It’s never boring. SS Rajamouli always finds something fanciful to tuck away into the narrative – like the old world’s equivalent of the girl’s photograph presented to the boy’s family in an arranged-marriage scenario. But we’re stuck with a rather generic romance/comedy mix. Amarendra falls for the sword-wielding princess Devasena (Anushka Shetty, who’s very good), while a cowardly royal (Subbaraju) clowns around. Even Kattappa (Sathyaraj) is found hamming it up, as he awaits the “nation wants to know” page in the script.
Part II suffers from a unique disadvantage. In most masala movies, some waffling around with romance and comedy is par for the course in the first half, till things start accelerating around the interval point. But then, most masala movies aren’t breathlessly anticipated sequels either.
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2017 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Jyoti S Kumar
April 28, 2017
thank you Sir. From morning, I have no idea, how many times i would have refreshed this page, waiting for the review.
Before, everyone starts debating the movie, Sir, I would like to draw your attention to an issue with the website, which I feel is a big one for a website. From morning, I have been googling Baahubali review and reading the reviews from many papers. I even went to the extent of moving through the first 4 pages of the google search results. But Film Companion is nowhere to be seen. Considering that this website thrives on movies and reviews, ideally it should come in the first ten search results if not 5. These are things that content developers and SEO specialists should be able to handle. I hope you will consider my humble opinion.
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Jyoti S Kumar
April 28, 2017
one or two of the earliest reviews that came up in reputable newspapers literally dismissed the movie. So much so that, I was wondering whether the reviewers were displaying the quality of making oneself look better by dissing the efforts of others. Hence the reason, I was looking forward to your review even more, knowing it will be balanced. And sure it is.
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Ramnivas Kannan
April 28, 2017
Hello BR!
The Grandeur of Imagination and the part about RajaMouli’s interest in Wolf Whistle earning and How he doesnt like to earn em by illogical means is Mirror image of his film making.
However – When it comes to Masala WAR movies, dont you think there is literally anything else other than scenes from Ramayana and Mahabarata, We were told about their Epic, but still – Brother rivalry and Loyal dog help the throne ?? – Any thoughts !!
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Ratish Ravindran
April 28, 2017
Saw the Telugu version today but unfortunately it did not have subtitles. But the visual and the kinesthetics conveyed the story well enough. Rajamouli and Peter Heins have set a new benchmark for indian filmakers. Please take a bow gentlemen. My only grouse was the end got drowned in the bgm. It was so loud that I felt my eardrums would malfunction.
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Anu Warrier
April 28, 2017
I have to watch it this weekend! Hopefully, the Tamil version will be playing somewhere here. Otherwise I’ll have to depend on the sub-titles and that’s a distraction when there’s so much to be seen on the screen.
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Dora
April 29, 2017
Thank you for the condescension free review and recognizing the movies for what they are – incredibly grand fantasies. i was appalled by a review on rediff which was entirely about the reviewer showing how much he knows about world cinema. btw, I don’t know why the katappa angle was so hyped. I felt that the beginning was spectacular even without the cliffhanger
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Rohit Sathish Nair
April 29, 2017
Dora: Are you talking about Sreehari Nair’s review?
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Deepa
April 29, 2017
Just back from the 10 pm show. Wanted to watch the movie before reading your review, cos frankly speaking your review pops up every time I watch any movie after reading the review.
Good review.
PS: The last scene was so close to LOTR…the ring falling into the fire, semblance galore. But still , a movie worth watching on big screens. Little bit of pruning could have helped the pace.
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Anuja Chandramouli
April 29, 2017
I really wanted to love the movie (though the first part brought out the nitpicker in me) but unfortunately there is no getting around the fact that this is Kaaka biriyani served gourmet style with lots of overpriced champagne to make it go down easier.
As a huge fan of the masala genre I wouldn’t really denigrate anything massy but even so Baahubali the Conclusion was truly disappointing. Every single character is monochromatic – Baahubali Sr and Jr. are pure white to Balla’s jet black. Sivagami is the proud matriarch who morphs into those annoying mommies on tv serials who can’t get along for nuts with the chippies their sons fall for. As for Katappa he is subservient to a fault (in a manner scarily reminiscent of Hitler’s underlings) and given how slavish he is I didn’t buy the jocular bonding with his King or his belated upbraiding of Sivagami. And the big reveal was sooo pfffft.
Devasena was a really interesting character and it would have been nicer if she had opted to avenge her husband’s death by her supremely capable self instead of opting to languish in a cage while waiting for her son to grow up and brave the waterfalls after getting a whiff of a hot babe’s charms.
‘In other words, the story comes first for Rajamouli.’ Oh please!!! But I am not surprised you gave this a good review BR. Rajamouli has a severe case of whatever it is that Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been chronically afflicted with (A flying ship for crying out loud!! Barf!!) and you have always professed a strange liking for SLB’s overwrought nonsense which for me is little more than cinematic masturbation. #shudder
I think I’ll rewatch simple, sweet and superb Power Paandi with the amazing Rajkiran to get rid of the taste of Kaaka biriyani. #Blergh
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dora
April 29, 2017
Rohit Sathish Nair on April 29, 2017 at 01:07
Dora: Are you talking about Sreehari Nair’s review?
Yes
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GODZ
April 29, 2017
@Anuja…So you went to taste the Kaaka Briyani the second time knowing very well the same Kaaka Biryani will be served this time as well? You really seem to love kaaka briyani..Are not you..? Its really Strange because for your Geeky standards, the First part is more trashier than Second part..Is it not? I would rather suggest you to vomit soon..
Anyway for rest of ordinary indian movie fans..
This is a monumental achievement in Indian Cinema. This film broke so many mindsets..South indian cinema is not Indian cinema…Special effects can be seen only in English movies.Period movies are not salable any more etc etc. I am not saying this is a master piece..Personally this movie characters and Action scenes are better than those overrated, inflated, fatty Hollwyood Super hero movies..
But I was simply spellbound by the “Dam Breakage” Scene..Its almost LOTR – Two towers and Never in my wildest dreams I thought that I could see such a scene in an Indian movie..Baahubali is just a beginning..All Current and Future film makers will try to beat the gold standards set by Baahubali interms of Visual Effects and Grandeur..This is just a Grand beginning of a new chapter in Indian Cinema..Its not that usual Blah blah fan excitement..When was the Last time we saw a whole nation excited for a South indian movie? Is that not amazing..
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Ragenikanth
April 29, 2017
i have not seen the movie yet wd be unfair to commet
but i can say for sure the excitment and demand for tickets atleast in bangalore is not even half of what we witnessed for kabali
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TheManWithTwonames
April 29, 2017
Wow. Right from the opening credits, which were stunning, I was too absorbed/gripped by what’s happening on the screen. There were lots of terrific mass moments, that I stopped counting. This has to be one of the best movies that I have watched in recent times.
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Anon
April 29, 2017
Anuja, I totally get where you’re coming from but I remember being hit with overwhelming emotion at least 2,3 times in the first chapter. The war sequences were a slog to endure for me but even I could not help but get chills at masala done supremely right scenes (statue lifting scene, kattappa recognizing Shivudu as bahubali, the shot of kattappa knifing/swording bahubali senior in the back). I mean I still remember them 2 years on and I saw the movie just once. I’m really looking forward to the second one. And yeah, I’m excited for a South Indian movie storming all parts of India.
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pato
April 29, 2017
Anuja: Isn’t portraying characters as “white” and “black” a trope of masala movies??
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
April 29, 2017
pato: More so for a fantasy film!
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Rohit Sathish Nair
April 29, 2017
Dora:
Check this review of his:
http://www.rediff.com/movies/special/the-best-indian-film-you-will-see-this-year/20170320.htm
The Baahubali review was more or less Anuja Ma’am’s reaction. The above one is a different beast altogether.
As much as I agreed to a good number of his points, it felt like a pistol on my head.
Some reviewers surprise you (the as-you-like-it surprise) with how they unearth subtext from a movie and make themselves clear about it. The one with his Christian guilt subplot was the rare ‘WHAT?’ subtext I saw someone unearth.
Long story short: Raja Sen moved to NDTV and now Rediff has someone who out-RajaSen-s Raja Sen
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sanjana
April 29, 2017
Who cares about nitpickers like Nair when Baahubali 2 storm has overtaken the entire nation, part of world, Mars by storm? By the way, Rajasen has given a favourable review.
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Anuja Chandramouli
April 29, 2017
Anon: Even I loved some of the mass moments in the first film. The beginning with Sivagami’s primal plea to Parameshwari was particularly good and I had gooseflesh. However, part 2 was a disappointment in this department and the way I see it tends to amplify some of the flaws from the first one. For instance, I can’t say I am a fan of how servile the Katappa character was on account of the fact that he belongs to a ‘low caste’ and this time around they all simply equate him to a dog. And despite the strong women characters, the implication seems to be that they are not on par with the males and don’t have or deserve pride of place.
But that’s not all, Rajamouli is quite the craftsman and I was sorry that the storyteller in him became distracted with the giant budget and got caught up with the overblown often garish special effects thereby stripping the meat off the bones of this story which could have been so much more. If I wanted that kind of empty spectacle why I’d be watching some of Shankar’s crappier offerings!
Devoting 3/4th of the film to the flashback and giving so many characters the short shrift is shoddy narration in my book. For instance, I would have liked to know a lil bit more about the woman who gave birth to Balla’s son and her thoughts on his obsession with a caged woman. What about the dynamics between Baahu’s birth mother and Foster mum? And poor Avantika was robbed! She was little more than a glorified extra.
Pato: Agreed but that sort of characterization in a masala flick is palatable only if the pay off is worth it and you are high on the adrenaline rush from the action or emotional arcs. I should have clarified that the film takes itself and its inherent epicness very seriously indeed and given that Rajamouli is a details man, I find his lapses unforgivable. I loved his Magadheera and Eega, so this is a massive letdown especially since the mass moments did not really do it for me this time around.
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brangan
April 29, 2017
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Rohit Sathish Nair
April 29, 2017
sanjana:
His hate for this kind of mythmaking notwithstanding, his opinion is valid. And the Raja Sen thing was more about them being polar opposites to the laundry-list reviewers.
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Ajay
April 29, 2017
WTF. rapid fire plus minus review. I am going with 3.5 stars. What are you becoming ,Rajeev masand?
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Anu Warrier
April 29, 2017
Anuja, haven’t watched the film but I loved the first part – it satisfied the Amar Chitra Katha loving child in me. Re: Baahu’s birth mother – if you mean Baahu 1, didn’t she die in child birth? And re: Sivagami’s reaction to Devasena – won’t two strong women clash? The MIL-DIL dynamics generally calls for clashes, especially if they live together. 🙂 I’m hoping to get to this one over this weekend.
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Anuj
April 29, 2017
BAAHUBALI is what happens when a visionary film maker implements his vision with a touch of self indulgence, yet always keeps his audience sensibility in mind first. Whether you make a film catering to a minimal audience (Piku, Pink, Kapoor & Sons, Neerja, Kahaani etc) or whether you make a mass entertainer (Dangal, Sultan, PK, Bajrangi Bhaijaan etc), every film maker has to put himself/herself into the shoes of their respective “target audience” and envision a film. Commercial film making does not have scope for unlimited self indulgence without caring about the audience. Sanjay Bhansali learnt this when he made a Saawariya & a Guzaarish and hence what followed were Ram Leela & Bajirao Mastani. Wonder when the rest would follow suit.
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Anuj
April 29, 2017
Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, all versions all languages, cutting across geographical barriers, cutting across regional and linguistic divide, cutting across economic divisions, Indian cinema’s biggest moment since SHOLAY is here… Baahubali 2. SS Rajamouli has done to Indian cinema what BR Chopra did to the small screen with the MAHABHARATA television series back in the 80’s.
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Anuja Chandramouli
April 29, 2017
Anu Warrior: I meant Baahu junior’s birth mum Devasena and the tribal chieftain’s wife who adopted him. Since practically the entire film is about the flashback I felt some of the characters from the first film got cheated. And again, the MIL – DIL thing aside, it all felt incomplete to me. We don’t even get an inkling of the equation between Baahu Sr and Balla. Given that the latter loathes him, I wondered if it were possible for Baahu sr to be so clueless.
But don’t bother with my grousing… Practically everybody I know has absolutely loved the film. It is definitely worth watching anyway… So happy viewing!!
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kaizokukeshav
April 29, 2017
SS Rajamouli is the safest player out there in film industry. Instead of giving him awards, he should be given a doctorate degree in movie making. Bahubali is more of an industrial experiment, the story, marketing and vfx teams set the correct variables to analyze the potential of story writing and reachability. He has to answer his funding providers, so audience shouldn’t expect novelty in writing. Rajamouli has been experimenting with Technology since Magadheera. VFX experiment succeeded with flying colors and this is can actually replace the IT boom in Inda. He shares similarities with James Cameron for pushing the boundaries of Technology in his jurisdiction, but not for classic writing or gray charecterizations.
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TheManWithTwonames
April 29, 2017
Anuja: Sorry for jumping in, but this is my explanation for sivagami’s actions and hostility towards devasena. Bahu has been her loving son ever since he has born. He has never placed a foot wrong in her eyes and has always carried out her orders/which means her orders were always right. So, when he finally says that sivagami is wrong, she is dumbfounded. She is not strong enough to introspect/come to terms with the fact that she was wrong, she is flawed. Once she gives out a promise, an order or a statement there is no going back in this film’s universe. The movie is not just epic interms of the story, but also epic in the sense of the emotions felt by the characters.
How ironic that femists were slating the movie for its treatment of tammanh’s character in the first movie, and the important/key moment in this film’s story is devsena declaring her desires and right to marry whom she desires.
And regarding devasena not using her fighting capabilities, she was deliberately waiting for bahu Jr to turn up. Though, I must confess her abduction by bhalla felt a bit out of place. She could have defended herself. I felt she isn’t someone who could let bhalla step on her head. For someone so aware/sure of herself that was too much to take.
I’m extremely frustrated that people have called out the melodrama as a means to demean the film. Melodrama is the zone in which this film operates.
Br, did you watch the Tamil version or the Telugu one?. Just, curious because for part 1 Telugu version was significantly better than Tamil interms of lyrics, dialogues, expressivness, epicness etc. There was a lot of heft/weight in prabhas’s dialogues in Telugu than Tamil. For instance consider these song lines from first part.
“Bangaara kalalni, kunte lo gaayaalni kadupulo dhaachukunna jeevanadhi” to
“Munnaalin Ranathai Yethirkaalathin Kannaavai
Madiyilae Yaenthi Kondu Jeeva Nathi”
,they have deifferent meanigs and dont come off with the same intensity.
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Anu Warrier
April 30, 2017
Anuja, ah, yes, that occurred to me after I hit post on that comment. I loved Part 1 and am looking forward to Part 2. Will tell you how I feel after I watch. 🙂
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Anon
April 30, 2017
Anuja, agree with you on everything, except I think I liked it even less than you. The only emotion I felt through the movie was for Rana’s body and beautifully fuming face. Oh and also, “when will this movie end?” It’s ruined movie one for me as well. What a let down.
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brangan
April 30, 2017
kaizokukeshav: Why should we have grey characterisations in every film? In the masala/myth mode, black is always black; white is always white. Heck, in Star Wars, even the costumes reflect this — Luke Skywalker in white and Darth Vader in black.
TheManWithTwonames: Oh man, don’t even get me started about how people throw the word ‘melodrama’ around without understanding that there’s a difference between using it as a mere style and using it in the sense of “genre,” infusing your script with a heightened sense of happening.
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brangan
April 30, 2017
Some of the commentary around this film is plain baffling. Rajamouli has made a particular kind of film, and it’s a very good film of its type. But how does one go from there to “best Indian movie ever” and “nothing Bollywood has done in 100 years comes close to it”?
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sanjana
April 30, 2017
Brave’s heroine is also skilled in shooting arrows. Not three at a time.
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Gowri Shankar Chalat
April 30, 2017
I really enjoyed the film especially the pre interval scene. Its the case with almost all rajamouli films except eaga. The entire movie experience may not be that satisfying but he entertains with with a few kick ass moments. Hope in the future he gets to work on more complex stories.
The climax portions felt hurried. They may have edited a few scenes considering the length. I hope they release a directors cut kind of thing with a little more detailed version of the climax with characters like aslam khan, etc.
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Anuja Chandramouli
April 30, 2017
TheManWithTwoNames: Explanations aside, I think Baahubali 2 is one of those flicks which you either love or hate for whatever reasons. I still think Dharani’s Dhil, Dhool and Gilli, Pokkiri and Rajamouli’s Magadheera or Eega are better examples of South Indian masala at its most awesome. I am sure a lot of folks here would find that laughable especially since Baahubali is considered the first of its kind given the scale on which it has been mounted. While the VFX may have been groundbreaking, I think Tollywood has always gone for subjects with epic grandeur, mythic tropes and masala elements. As a kid, my favorite film which I watched over and over again was Chiranjeevi’s Kadhal Devadhai (don’t know what the Telugu original was called). It was truly mind blowing masala and in fact Chiru was far more charismatic/intense/sexy than the likes of Daggubati and Prabhas who are earnest and just about competent at best.
My point is that it’s all old hat and could have been much better. But of course all this wouldn’t have mattered in the least if it had made me go ‘Hell yeah!’ which it didn’t. But that’s just me.
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Vikram s
April 30, 2017
BR, saw it yesterday without reading your review. To your point on Prabhas coming off as generic, my view is that he is playing an archetype…the superhero…and the hazard in playing it is that there is no scope to do nuance….(unless we are talking Nolan’s Batman)…and, in comparison to Prabhas, Rana comes off better coz, even though he is playing the villain, there is some scope to play with it around the edges (eg, the sniffing chains scene)….
I felt that Ramya, Sathyaraj and Anushka had the meaty performance scenes…eg, when Sathyaraj smears blood to Ramya’s hands)
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TheManWithTwonames
April 30, 2017
Spoilers ahead:
Anuja: I get what you’re saying. I loved Ghill, Dhil, Dhool. Ghilli is a film that is close to my heart. It relased when I was in my third standard, and I loved vijay as a child. That was his best movie till date in my opinion. It was better than its Telugu equivalent. I still make references to that movie while talking to my friends, such as “podu Saar podu Saar thookitu poi pota LA podu Sir”, ” vaai vaai vaai, indha vaai mattum illana unna nai thookitu poirum”, “idhuvum mukkiyam dhaan”, etc. I even thought vijay should take up kabaddi and give us an Olympic medal, ignorant fanboyism. That aside, weren’t those films a different type of masala films. They weren’t this epic naa. They are what they are, loveable films.
But, Even if you couldn’t love bahubali, there were lots of individually brilliant moments that could have made you go wow. Say, you found the story meh, weren’t there many moments that made you sit up and go “Wow”?
I seriously don’t believe this is a “love or hate this type” of film. I mean, how can anyone with a beating heart not fall in love with the synchronized archery scene between bahu and devasena. And the head slicing scene couldn’t make you go “hell,yeah?”
I loved the film and watched it twice the first day, with an unbelievable atmosphere. Wished, the film had not ended so soon. To each their own I guess.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
April 30, 2017
GODZ : Great comments
“When was the Last time we saw a whole nation excited for a South indian movie? “
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Anuja Chandramouli
April 30, 2017
TheManWithTwoNames: ‘To each their own I guess’ I second that. Believe me, I really really do.
That said since you brought up the synchronized bow fight and head slicing scenes please bear with me while I crib about both (apologies in advance since I am going to piss you off) The synchronized bow fight may not have got my blood rushing simply because I found the run up to it with Baahu’s simpleton act and elaborate duplicity extremely tedious. Now for the head slicing: I thought it was ‘You go Girl!’ cool when Devasana sliced off the vile molester’s fingers but it was annoying that her man had to go one up by lopping off the miscreant’s offensive noggin. In fact this scene was pretty disturbing simply because Amarendra Baahubali was way over the line. I am not one of those who clamour for the immediate castration of rapists though I hate perpetrators like poison, simply because as far as I am convinced violence is hardly ever the solution for anything. When a civilized society makes the choice to behave on par with its worst criminals, it is a sad day indeed indicative of a bleak, dystopian future.
Scenes like this IMO brought into glaring focus, Rajamouli’s less than laudable tendency to glorify war (apparently heroism can be bred only on the battlefield), vengeance ( Devasena’s stupid ass decision to make no attempt to free herself simply because the son has to avenge the father), and elevate royalty to the level of Gods even though they are all flawed (fatally so in some cases) humans (which is fine as long as we don’t deify them). These are all insidious evils which I feel need to be addressed even if it is in the context of a record busting blockbuster. And I’ll admit that I am being a buzz kill but the thing is despite being proud of the success of a South Indian film I don’t think it represents our best work.
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brangan
April 30, 2017
Anuja Chandramouli: When a civilized society makes the choice to behave on par with its worst criminals…
Are you serious? Given this “rule,” the entire sub-genre of the vigilante masala movie would cease to exist and we’d have movies where heroes hand over villains to courts of law and let the justice system take over.
The point here is that Amarendra’s action is called out. And he is punished for it.
The film does not glorify him. It calls him out on it. This itself is a marked improvement on 100s of masala movies.
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Anuja Chandramouli
April 30, 2017
BR: Are you serious? Given this “rule,” the entire sub-genre of the vigilante masala movie would cease to exist and we’d have movies where heroes hand over villains to courts of law and let the justice system take over.
I am not talking ‘rules’ here BR. Personally it is my belief that anything goes in art and film makers are within their rights to make whatever they feel like and critics likewise are within their rights to point out the things that don’t work for them for whatever reasons. I was merely using this scene to point out some of my issues with the stuff glorified in this flick.
Sure Baahu is punished but in punishing him Sivagami is portrayed as having misunderstood his innate nobility and made a tremendous boo boo or thavaru if you prefer. The film insists Baahu is always right and Balla is always wrong even if that is not the case. And the subjects clearly feel there has been a horrendous miscarriage of justice and weep their hearts out till the genius in that lot points out that they should celebrate the fact that God has come to live in their midst. Duh!!!
Which is why I pointed out that the film elevates those of high birth and condones their every act. Had an issue with that flawed premise and pointed it out since unlike your average masala film Baahubali takes itself very seriously indeed and is glutted with self righteous claptrap.
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Anuja Chandramouli
April 30, 2017
BR: Lol!! After rereading that line of mine you italized I realized that also is awfully close to self righteous claptrap especially for a Batman fan 🙂
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TheManWithTwonames
April 30, 2017
Anuja: Bahu is more of a hothead than devasena. That is all there is to it. Maybe, if rajamouli makes this film again devsena would have killed him. If we take both the films the women don’t hesitate to kill when necessary. Movies can’t be mathematical equations naa.
Plus, you’re comparing something that happens in a mythical movie universe to our contemporary world, is it a valid comparison?
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TheManWithTwonames
April 30, 2017
The film insists Baahu is always right and Balla is always wrong even if that is not the case. And the subjects clearly feel there has been a horrendous miscarriage of justice and weep their hearts out till the genius in that lot points out that they should celebrate the fact that God has come to live in their midst.
Yes, he is GOD in this movie universe. He is portrayed as the Krishna himself in that Hamsa song. He kills the rakshasha by that ritual in his introduction scene. He subdues an elephant with the help of vinayaga. But, the film never stresses that he is always right.
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TheManWithTwonames
April 30, 2017
The dharma that is taught to him might be flawed, but he adheres to it. The film doesn’t judge his dharma, it just states that he strictly follows it.
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sanjana
April 30, 2017
Anuja’s points cant be ignored. Especially instant justice even if it is mythology. Nowadays when crowds are taking over, this point has to be given a thought. Especially cutting off fingers is too gruesome. I prefer cutting off head!
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Pavan
April 30, 2017
Anuja and sanjana: The point of instant justice reminds me the story of Shishupala (since someone invoked Krishna’s name here). Krishna was declared as the agent of Shishupala’s death (he happened to be the last of the three incarnations of the cursed gatekeeper Jaya). This worried the latter’s mother who happened to be Krishna’s aunt. As a mark of respect, Krishna said that he would spare a 100 mistakes after which he shall be killed. Now bring a woman Rukmini between these two people. Add to it the fact that she had a voice and wanted the one she loved irrespective of others’ opinions.
Now just think. Despite their divinity, they too were humane, with their own share of faults and flaws. Shishupala was holding grudge against Krishna for eloping with his to-be-wife and if seen as a human, he was right. When he shouts at the rajasuya yagam of Pandavas about the same, he was just voicing his opinion, his most honest opinion. Was he wrong in doing so? No. Krishna learned that 100 mistakes were done, got pissed off and beheaded him with the Sudarshana chakra. Just because one talked against him, Krishna killed him. But does that make Krishna evil and Shishupala bad? Weren’t both having their own flaws and minds? What about the thought process of Vishnu who was orchestrating the happenings from Vaikuntham?
The issue of Baahubali resonates here. Sivagami wanted her word to be honoured, and was thinking herself right. Amarendra wanted to honour his promise to Devasena, to protect her from any adversaries, and was thinking himself right. Here, Rajamouli wasn’t sitting in either of these places. He was with Bhallaladeva. He was creating an opportunity for him. He was making things clear for him. Why not think that way? The civil war, Kumara’s death, the big reveal etc., these are Bhallala’s stories. Sivagami and Amarendra are just pawns there.
To conclude this long one, I would like to say two things. One is, the story of Shishupala says that justice is never instant, it is just based on the actions of the humans around and their natures. One must think about fate here too. And if mythology, surely boss. Second is, to expect that characters in films behave the same way as we do in real life in every situation is inappropriate. It is as bad as coercing a bride into an unwilling marital relationship. There is no love to embrace them the way they are. What exists is just forcing on: the thoughts in a hall, food at a table and sex on the bed. No love, only expectations.
PS: If you find this interesting somewhat at least, please let me know. That would encourage me (somewhat) to take blogging seriously. Thank you. 🙂
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brangan
April 30, 2017
Pavan: I know the question was meant for Anuja and sanjana, but I’d say you have it in you to become a great blogger. Best.
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sanjana
April 30, 2017
Actually I am thinking about shariat laws. Stoning, flogging and the like.
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Pavan
April 30, 2017
brangan: Thank you Rangan. Coming from you, this should help me start blogging from July.
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Anu Warrier
April 30, 2017
Anuja, again without having watched the film, so forgive me. 🙂 But I wanted to relate to your point about the plot scenarios – The film is set in a period where a) humans were deified b) royalty was beyond flaws c) when heroism was indeed defined on a battlefield d) when women had a certain say, but not much in their own lives, let alone others e) when vengeance, the sort that Devasena demands for herself was considered par for the course.
Heck, like Pavan says, think of the Mahabharata. When Draupadi, after her humiliation in the Kuru court and her condemnation of the court, its elders, its dharma, is granted a boon by Dhritarashtra, she asks for her husbands’ freedom, amongst other things. Having granted all that, she is then told to ask for another boon – her reply is that her husbands will avenge her humiliation. She then proceeds to spend years, not only plotting the Kuru downfall, but egging Bhima on the path of vengeance, fanning the flames of his anger. (He’s the most easily manipulated /least obedient to his [idiotic] elder brother.)
There’s some release in knowing you can take your own revenge but you-want-the-man-to-take-it-for-you-damn-it! 🙂 I think judging this film by modern mores/morals/politics would do it a disservice.
Not trying to convince you to change your mind here. 🙂
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MANK
April 30, 2017
Rather than saying i liked B2 better than B1, i would say that B2 gave me a better understanding of the first one. and when taken together as a single piece, it is much more clearer what SSR was going for here. as i mentioned at the time, BI left me underwhelmed. it fell somewhere between a wannabe serious Hollywood epic like ben hur and our own mythic masala. but everything comes together perfectly well with the conclusion. This is a full blooded indian masala epic.characters and events are taken directly from the Mahabharatha and Ramayana and brilliantly tweaked by SSR. we havent seen the likes of this for a very long time.
My take on the characters will be
Bahubali Sr. – he is a composite of Rama and Arjuna
Bahubali Jr -Lord Krishna
Devasena- seetha and Draupadi
Sivagami – kaikeyi and Gandhari
Bijala deva- dhritharashtra and shaguni
Kattappa – Bheeshma & drona
Ballal deva- he is the most interesting character in the film. a mixture of duryodhana, raavana , Karna and Kamsa
and so are the scenarios
the opening portions of b2 reminds one of the virata parvam from mahabharata where arjuna enters the Virata’s kingdom disguised as brihannala to teach dancing to the princess. and his real self self is unmasked after a battle where saves the kingdom from its enemies. the next act which combines events from panchali vasthrashepam and ramas vanavasam and to the final act of the epic battle between the titans – rama raavana, Krishna – kamsa, bheema -dhuryodhana , well i can go on and on
i still believe that this should have been a single movie. there was lot of flab that could have been cut out of both movies to make a strong and lean single piece out of it. Of course it wouldnt have become such a movie event if it wasnt in 2 parts, but speaking purely on artistic terms this would have worked very well in one part. because , the several character arcs and ‘echoes ‘ looses its impact when they are spread across 2 films
But that aside, this is an indian film to the core. SSR looks to hollywood films for his visual cues – LOTR here, ten commandments there – but the characterization and the scenarios depicted in the film are something that can be seen only in an indian film. that explains its depth and its pan indian appeal. SSR constructs some brilliant echoes and recurring motifs
bahubali and bhallal deva locked in an oedipal battle for sivagami’s love and sivagami choosing bahu. this repeats in the case of devasena where she again plumbs for bahu. devasena and sivagami being almost mirror images of each other, a fact that comes alive in the 2 coronation sequences, first in the case of bhallal deva and in the latter case of bahu jr.
yes there are problems while adapting this masala myth for today’s times. the women characters suffer. as was the case of Avantika in the first part – who transforms from ferocious warrior into meek glamour girl post a rather bizarre love scene- , sivagami who came out rather well in the first movie is wildly inconsistent in this film. the same goes for the devasena’s character too. but all in all SSR has delivered a game changing movie epic for our times
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Anuja Chandramouli
April 30, 2017
Hey Pavan,
Good luck with the blogging! As for the rest of your points, can’t really argue since I am in perfect agreement with you for the most part. (Especially after four books on mythology where I got really up close and personal with the foibles of the Gods and Goddesses).
Despite the mythic elements in Baahubali though, I think the material is a little too shallow and nowhere as profound as it pretends to be. As for Hindu mythology itself thanks to populist or agenda driven retellings from the not so good ol days of yore complex characters were reduced to archetypes of good and evil, and the ugly notion that a man or woman’s birth alone determines what they can become became deeply ingrained in our collective psyche and as a direct consequence we are plagued by the evils of caste system to this very day.
There is a lot of beautiful truths and unmatched wisdom in our mythology in addition to less savoury shit which is why it behooves us to learn the good stuff and leave out the bad.Therefore, I feel compelled to call out Rajamouli when he reinforces the worst of our mythology, aggrandizes war (After a point in our history war became a sport and a fave pastime for the Kshatriyas and the petty infighting left us weakened and sitting ducks when the foreign invaders showed up on our doorstep) or encourages us to fawn over royalty, remain subservient and follow orders blindly and ‘loyally’ when a misguided matriarch orders you to plunge a sword into the unguarded back of the clueless schmuck you were pals with. (If you have been following TN politics you will understand why I am averse to the adoration of charismatic leaders who are hardly ever worth it)
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brangan
April 30, 2017
Anuja Chandramouli: Okay, I am completely in disagreement over your readings 🙂
Despite the mythic elements in Baahubali though, I think the material is a little too shallow and nowhere as profound as it pretends to be.
Myth is not necessarily = profound. Rajamouli is reaching for echoes from myth that will make for a good story. I don’t think he – or anyone else — thinks this is a profound movie. If I want profundity and myth in one package, I will take Bharat Ek Khoj, thank you very much 🙂 This is more like our masala movies, but taken seriously, and as a “genre”.
I feel compelled to call out Rajamouli when he reinforces the worst of our mythology, aggrandizes war
If that’s how you want to read this, then I cannot stop you. But then, you’ll have to call out every action scene in a mainstream movie for “aggrandizing” war, every romantic duet for “reducing the heroine to a sexy prop” and so on.
I can understand if you do have a beef with these conventions, but Rajamouli has done no more than others in following them. (Of course, this is much greater than your average masala-myth, but I’m just using the template/format to make a point.)
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Anuj
April 30, 2017
For people cribbing why Bollywood never made a Baahubali, remember we had a film called Mughal E Azam way back in 1960 which had nothing short of spectacular camerawork and action sequences/sets for its time. Not that its relevant anymore, Baahubali is a humane Indian story at its heart which takes heavy inspiration from the Mahabharat characters and hence strikes a chord with every Indian anywhere in the world! I can safely say, if there’s one man who can bring the Mahabharata or The Shiva Trilogy to the silver screen, its gotta be SS Rajamouli. Whether he selects bollywood actors, tollywood actors or hollywood actors for these films, its completely up to him.
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Rishikesh
April 30, 2017
I saw you in your review of part 1 that you saw it as a masala film, I did too..but I feel it is the kind of stuff that is exclusively designed for the big screen..which also means that writing doesn’t work one bit and except for scale and spectacle there is very little the film has to offer..I watched it in my PC, and found it terribly boring..it was well made 24 that came to my mind..that was a masala too where the hero for a fir bit of first half is unaware of powers that lie within him..but emotional beats were far stronger..the separation with step mother touched your heart..his discoveries one after the other excited you..and the face off with villain was also exciting…none of that happens in Bahubali 1..I know i shud have watched it in big screen itself, but if the beats were stringer I would have been glued in a min screen watch as well..
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Anuja Chandramouli
April 30, 2017
BR: ‘Okay, I am completely in disagreement over your readings 🙂’
Actually that warms the cockles of my heart it does, since I am in perfect disagreement with your readings most of the time 🙂 🙂 These things usually boil down to personal preferences over principles, so we can safely agree to disagree right? 🙂 🙂
‘Myth is not necessarily = profound. Rajamouli is reaching for echoes from myth that will make for a good story.’
I agree with the first part BR. But IMO this is hardly a good story otherwise I would have forgiven the film just about anything. Given a big fat budget to play with Rajamouli got carried away and over – indulged his fascination with VFX and sacrificed the story on the altar of wow factor. I had similar issues with Avatar too which many consider the very height of epic awesomeness. All that eye popping splendour was merely a cover for some seriously average storytelling.
All said and done, these are just minor quibbles I have with Baahu 2 and I am not going to shout slogans outside Rajamouli’s house despite the frenzied tone of my arguments which we can put down to the fact that I am jobless on a lazy Sunday 🙂 🙂
Anu Warrior: ‘I think judging this film by modern mores/morals/politics would do it a disservice.’
But Annuuu…. This is a fantasy world which he created not some recreation of ancient history which called for him to stay true to the spirit of the times. It could have been anything he wanted it to be which is why I am unwilling to let him off the hook.
Okay I am going on and on. Somebody STOP ME!
PS: I got trolled on Twitter for equating BAAHUBALI with Kaaka biriyani. One unforgiving soul said that it is unfortunate that there are people like me in India. Ouch!!
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sanjana
April 30, 2017
Twitter, anuja! Even angels fear to go there!
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Anon
April 30, 2017
http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/baahubali-the-conclusion-attention-to-detail-makes-it-a-riveting-watch-117043000230_1.html
So, that article reflects a lot of my thoughts. When I went to watch BB 1, I really had no expectations and was completely willing to suspend disbelief and ended up really enjoying the intrigue and emotional highs. But by BB2, all sorts of sub conscious expectations crept in and somehow it never hit a single emotional high for me. I think I’ll like it if I watch it again.
Btw, gotta say that the BB2 trailer was outstanding and made the movie look way better than it was. The supercut in the trailer second half that summarizes the whole climax is a way better watch than the actual climax – way more intense. The climax was v diluted effectwise, cos I was throurouhgly tired of the blood thirsty mother-son duo. In fact, when BB jr. sinks that sword into Bhalla’s thigh, I felt bad for Bhalla, just as I did throughout the film. He is constantly given the short shift by his mother and I kept waiting for him to do evil things so he could live up to his black characterization, but he just keeps waiting and waiting and getting more and more emotionally hurt.
Thank God Rajamouli split this into two and took the call to have part one with all that intrigue and that immense cliffhanger – best decision. Second one’s filling in the gaps makes the story very sappai. I wish BB sr had at least gotten to rule as king for a bit – was a little hard to buy people’s devotion 25 years on to someone who had never been king. Also both him and his wife act super entitled in someone’s else’s court – Bhalla and sivagami were right to be pissed. They really ruined sivagami in this one and made her someone else. But I’m not complaining that much – you can see in every frame how much work these guys have put in and I’m really happy it is doing humongous business and people seem to love it.
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Anu Warrier
April 30, 2017
But Annuuu…. This is a fantasy world which he created not some recreation of ancient history
Anoooouuujaa… But it is a fantasy world based on our history and our myths with all its tropes, and its flaws and what passed for ideal qualities in a man/ woman……
And I’m going on and on and on without even having watched the film after which I just might end up doing a 180! But I do have tickets for the matinee, so we can joust later.
May I just say, agree or disagree, I enjoy your comments and your frenzied arguments. I do wish we could meet over a coffe and disagree some more. 🙂 Perhaps we might find ourselves in agreement more often than not.
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apala
May 1, 2017
I understand the excitement and tons of money the film is making – but seriously is this is the best thing from Indian cinema in the last 100 years? I don’t know what made people throw such heavy adjectives!! It’s not such a great cinema.
I liked the movie – clearly as a masala entertainer, as it set out to do, I believe. Beyond few well crafted scenes, this is very similar to our Rajini/Vijay/Ajith commercial films besides some super human powers given to the characters. We cannot accept a balloon jumping or a train jumping hero – but we should be vowed at all the flying things here? Okay then.
It’s fun to watch, more so on the first part of the film. The second half seemed really long and labored through. (BTW, guys why are you bringing kids to a film with so much violence and blood?!). I guess I am in the minority here, maybe!
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Shankar
May 1, 2017
I just watched it today…sometimes in films like these, you just have to let go and enjoy the spectacle…it was one for sure. I did think at times, that some of the VFX was not great…I mean I could pick places where it seemed forced but overall nothing to complain in that department too. I loved the swan ship…I mean just the conceit. The movie revolves around a few characters…I mean Amarendra has “gambeeram” and I was reminded that Prabhas was a good pick. Infact I thought Rana was a touch one note, all snarls and nothing else. I must go back and watch the first part again, but I thought he had more shades in that one. I loved the choreography of Amarendra’s movements, and not just in the 3 arrows scene. As luck would have it, they were playing trailers of Wonder Woman in a small screen on the side as I was exiting the theater and the action sequences looked suspiciously like Baahubali! 🙂 To be honest, looking back at the two films, I’m now more interested in Amarendra than Mahendra…I mean I’m a sucker for masala tropes. I loved the commoner scenes, waiting for his reveal as the heir to the throne when Devasena lights his clothes. I mean, I go back often and watch the scenes where Tariq’s identity is revealed and Kaajal Kiran starts sobbing. What to do, I’m like that only! 🙂 Every film is going to have its problems…sometimes you just have to let go and enjoy…this was a satisfying treat.
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R
May 1, 2017
An analytical mind can appreciate, not enjoy…Music, Sport, Cinema…. what’s next?
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Anuja Chandramouli
May 1, 2017
Anu Warrior: ‘May I just say, agree or disagree, I enjoy your comments and your frenzied arguments. I do wish we could meet over a coffe and disagree some more. 🙂 Perhaps we might find ourselves in agreement more often than not.’
Awww… Thanks and ditto, I feel the exact same way. Hope we can make the coffee and conversation thing happen sooner rather than later 🙂
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Anuj
May 1, 2017
For once i do agree with Rangan in his assessment that part 2 is not as intriguing as part 1. Part 2 could not really match up to part 1 in terms of a completely satisfying movie watching experience. While part 1 was something fresh, unique and refined, certain sequences in part 2 were stereotypical and sometimes plain absurd. A certain scene of a ship flying through the clouds (an apparent dream sequence) or certain absurd and over the top action scenes could have been edited and choreographed in a much more refined manner like in the first part of the franchise. Unlike part 1, even the music in part 2 was unsatisfactory and sometimes, plain unwanted.
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sanjay2706
May 1, 2017
Shocked at how people take the “Hamsa Naava” song literally! BB2 isn’t a movie like Interstellar that has to get the laws of physics right. BB2 is a folklore,it’s a myth, much like all the absurd things written in holy texts. Mahabharata is filled with absurdity and yet is one of the greatest stories told in our history.
What’s important is the logic behind character’s actions and their motivations and Rajamouli got most of that right. Rajamouli is far more imaginative than other “masala” directors and has the incredible ability to convince the audience even if it feels absurd.
There are many things that he didn’t explore.The rivalry between BB and Bhalala Deva, Mahishmathi’s politics and economics, But that’s from a different type of director and for a different type of audience. Maybe comic books and the spin offs can have all of that stuff.
Every cuisine has it’s USP and taste.
Rajamouli has made full justice to that cuisine.
Now Shankar is making a “Sci-fi” and not a fantasy film. So it’s important to get the science right..I doubt he will.
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brangan
May 1, 2017
sanjay2706: Yeah, I am very surprised at how literally some people are taking this masala-myth fantasy.
There are many things that he didn’t explore.The rivalry between BB and Bhalala Deva, Mahishmathi’s politics and economics,
Oh, I don’t think anyone wants the latter. That would be more like Kubrick and Spartacus, whereas Rajamouli is clearly after the Cecil B De Mille / Ten Commandments mode. So the larger politics aren’t in the picture except for how the people like Amarendra etc. Which is exactly like how Moses was the people’s choice (and lived with them) as opposed to Rameses, who held the throne and brooded about the lack of love from his father (the mother in this film) and the people. Even the Devasena angle is a riff on how Rameses married the one betrothed to Moses — except that the ties that bind are quite different here.
The one thing I felt that some of the spectacle could have been sacrificed for deepening the relationships — not in the sense of a dramatic work, but even in these archetypes, it would have been nice to see — for example — a scene of Sivagami struggling over her decision to cast off Amarendra.
But then Rajamouli’s film’s aren’t deep in terms of characters. And this is not a complaint. Perhaps deliberately, he keeps the psychological stuff very broad and chooses to invest specifics (and nuances) in the screenplay instead.
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viswanadh
May 1, 2017
I had mixed feelings while watching this movie. BB1 had the novelty factor going with fantastic war scenes and great costumes along with superb screenplay. I thought there was something missing in the second part, although I can’t clearly say what it was. Some scenes in second half (climatic portions) were forced and rushed, like in regular Telugu movies. I thought Aslam khan will be called for help. Instead you are shown a less than satisfactory fight scenes, which seem rushed and without a plan. But then, Shivudu wasn’t as bright as Amarendra! I guess the climax was his ‘jeep flying into helicopter moment’, like in Magadheera. A brain fade or simply disinterested after 5 years of hardwork?
Whatever it maybe, I will catch it one more time because the emotional scenes worked well. I particularly liked the characterization of Devasena and Amarendra. This movie has done the unthinkable for me – a son going against his loving mom’s will for a woman! The characterization of sivagami was the catalyst for the WKKB moment and the rest all just fall into place. There were quite a few goosebumps scenes, but on a whole, the impact was lesser than BB1. Make no mistake, this movie is much better than stupid hero-centric movies without any coherent plot, we see these days.
BTW, I noticed that the brightness levels are somewhat lesser than usual for this movie. Not sure if it’s the problem with the movie itself or the IMAX format (I watched the telugu version @Luxe IMAX from one of the front rows). Others who watched in totally different places also said the same thing.
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Ragenikanth
May 1, 2017
everyone takes a dig at shankar on masala movies
the fact remains he has given us far better movies than SSR
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MANK
May 1, 2017
Brangan, i wouldnt read any judeo-christian mythological references from the film. . more than Ten commandments, i thought it was a take off on the Karna -draupadi-Arjuna triangle. As i said in my earlier comment, his visual cues are mostly from foreign films, but the characters and the scenarios are 100 percent indian. of course there are a lot of similarity between hindu myths and non hindu ones , so there are bound to be similarities.
regarding people reading things literally, well they havent seen masala with this depth and on this scale for a long time. they are actually mistaking this for movies coming from hollywood. there are lot young audience and reviewers who dont even know what masala is, because the real serious masala as a genre disappeared from indian screens long time ago. as you say in your review these days people use masala just as a flavor.
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Thulasidasan Jeewaratinam
May 1, 2017
The writing is glorious, specifically on how each setup is paid off brilliantly. Of course, a number of setups that was paid off are no barometer on the brilliance of any screenplay, but given, when was the last time one has written such intricate layers of relationships deepening into ruins over each layer? I marvelled at the politics that unfolded in the mid-section, I didn’t care about the war at the end, I wasn’t bothered much by it because it is a given fact that Bahubali will triumph over it.
Oh yes, the setup and payoffs. Purely on that basis – the ones that aren’t so oblivious (Spoilers, duh!):
Bahubali and Katappa glancing over at people of Devasenai kingdom taming bulls, when visiting their kingdom first time. In the end, a whole bunch of bulls with flamed horns are “tamed” by Bahubali, not including the bull that almost killed Devasenai.
Bahubali and Katappa’s fight against bandits when Devasenai makes her first appearance: the whole conceit of Bahubali and Katappa exchanging axe (weapon) mid-fight is given much attention. It pays off in the end, when Katappa kills Bahubali using the same sword that Bahubali passes onto him mid-fight.
During the baby shower sequence, Kumara Varma gifts Devasenai tiger’s skin, proceeds to flaunt the knife the Bahubali gifted him during the earlier portions. During this, Rajamouli cues in a Close-Up of Naseer, grinning over it. Much later, we discover that Naseer uses it as a bait for Sivagami to lure her into believing that Kumara Varma was sent by Bahubali to kill Bhalla Deva.
Pinjaris are shown to like drowning people into the water as their hobbies. They die in the end, washed away by a flood from a cracked dam by Bahubali; drowning them.
Bahubali’s dead body was severed by an axe by Bhalla Deva after Katappa has executed him. This is possibly to severe his heart. The same is paralleled during the climax duo fight between Amarendra and Bhalla Deva, where the latter tries burying his fingers deeper into Amarendra’s chest, wishing to pierce out his heart.
Also, Bahubali killed amidst flame engulfing the backdrop. Bhalla Deva burnt into flames by Devasenai.
Bahubali is shown to solve water issue during his exile by stretching a tree to its elastic limits to spring the water from the source into the land. Amarenda hatches the same plan; this time to spring the war men into the castle.
Rajamouli sets up the arc of Bhalla Deva, beginning his scene with Naseer luring him to kill his own mother. He detests, possibly for a better time. His arc in the flashback emancipates and ends with him eventually killing her, with his own arrow.
Amidst the hoorah zingers between Devasenai and Sivagami in the baby shower sequence, it’s easy to miss out the sewing of hatred seed into the heart of Rakesh Varre (I missed out his name.) Devasenai, while throwing out her zingers, slams the newly appointed Commander in Chief, comparing him to a dog. This could have what sprouted his personal anger in Devasenai, eventually leading up to the scene in which he proceeds to harass her, but gets his fingers chopped off.
I skipped over the obvious ones like where Devasenai struggles over the archery, only to be impressed by Bahubali’s archery later on.
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brangan
May 1, 2017
MANK: Not reading judeo christian references. sanjay2706 brought up the point that rajamouli did not explore politics and economics, so I’m just talking about the TYPE of film this is– that the template is a populist/massy one (like De Mille) and unlike Spartacus, which was more political and psychological.
But even otherwise, all myths have similar things. A baby borne across water could be Karna or Moses. I’m just talking about the movie template Rajamouli adheres to.
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brangan
May 1, 2017
Of course, I’m not saying Rajamouli copied from any specific film. I’m fairly sure, the statue scene in the first scene was inspired by this — but Rajamouli makes it completely his own by making Shivu appear at that moment and reveal himself as saviour. The visual may be similar, but the context is very different.
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brangan
May 1, 2017
Another tweak:
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brangan
May 1, 2017
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
May 1, 2017
Anyone who thinks Rajamouli is a far more “accomplished” filmmaker than Shankar has probably not even had a modicum of introduction to his earlier movies – Student No.1 Simhadri, Chatrapathi, to name a few. It was after Maghadheera that he shot to limelight. Shankar, on the other hand, never really had a major downfall at any point in his career. He knows his audience and what to deliver.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 1, 2017
Anne Baxter …………..(Sigh…….)
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Raj Balakrishnan
May 1, 2017
Rajamouli should be congratulated for showcasing Hindu culture, basing his film on Hindu mythology and glorifying Hindu tradition. Glad that Baahubali has gone on to beat all records.
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Gowri Shankar Chalat
May 1, 2017
I think no other film in the history of Indian Cinema has achieved what Baahubali has. Not in terms of quality but in terms of Pan India popularity. The biggest blockbusters that we know like Lagaan, Dangal,etc. did well in the southern states only in the Urban areas. But Baahubali is doing extremely well in all the 4 south Indian states and the North in the A, B and C centres.
I don’t think any other film has achieved this till now. I think this is the only Film that can be termed an All India Blockbuster.
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MANK
May 1, 2017
Obsessed with Ten commandments are we ? 🙂
It was a very ‘stagish’ film wasn’t it?. And such heightened camp,with everbody speaking in classical aphorisms , sometimes with hilarious results – the man who is foolish enough to use you as a footstool will not be wise enough to rule egypt, can a women who is so rich in love could be so poor in pity. and my favorite Blood makes poor mortar.
I marvel at how different William Wyler’s Ben-hur was from this film . it appear true to life in comparison with this. even though it was also operatic melodrama.so is the contrast in Heston’s performances in both films
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MANK
May 1, 2017
Honest Raj, absolutely true. even magadheera was no great shakes.. the saving grace been the flashback portions which was executed with style. perhaps it was the success of that section that inspired SSR to try out a full length mythical fantasy. i like yamadonga though. even if its just for the fun of seeing NTR jr riffing on NTR sr. Mohanbabu was really good in that film. its surprising he never achieved the stardom of someone like chiranjeevi and simply faded away in to supporting roles after a point.
Shankar’s earlier batch of films -Gentleman, indian , mudhalavan are much much better than SSR’s films. but having said that, i dont think Shankar has it in him to make a masala fantasy like Bahubali. this film is on a different level altogether. i wonder what SSR is going to make next to top this. if he as any creative ideas left in him to make anything more. he seems to have thrown everything in to this. bulls with horns on fire, palm trees used as catapults, archery as mating dance and what not. wonder why he wants to make Mahabaharatha ?, he has already mined a lot of the material from the epic for this film.
btw this film has entered the top 3 at the american BO , the first indian film to do so. it made more than 10 mill$ in just 3 days. Amazing!
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brangan
May 1, 2017
I am just pointing to scenes that have a kinda-sorta link to Baahubali (in the loose, archetypal sense)…
The raising of the statue/obelisk by slaves, the man obsessed with a woman who loves his brother, the man who raised someone as his own son being forced to banish this son…
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Kay
May 1, 2017
Anu, waiting to hear (read) your thoughts on the movie 🙂
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shaviswa
May 1, 2017
Bahubali type movies should not be analyzed, you should experience them
(Bahubali padathai ellam aaraaya koodathu, anubavikkanum)
🙂
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Bharath_20041213@yahoo.com
May 1, 2017
“Anyone who thinks Rajamouli is a far more “accomplished” filmmaker than Shankar has probably not even had a modicum of introduction to his earlier movies – Student No.1 Simhadri, Chatrapathi, to name a few. It was after Maghadheera that he shot to limelight. Shankar, on the other hand, never really had a major downfall at any point in his career. He knows his audience and what to deliver”
Honest Raj, I do not deny what you are saying. But the catch is Rajamouly’s films have been consistently improving and his career graph is on the rise. I am not sure if it is the same case with Shankar though.
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GODZ
May 1, 2017
On a Lighter Note or who knows thats what Rajamouli intended..It does not matter how powerful you are even if you are Baahubali, If you caught between the dynamics of two powerful woman and those women happens to be you mother and Wife, you are “Bali” Finally..
Baahubali has its own flaws and it has numerous resemblance from many movies..But it does not evoke a response like “I have all Seen it before”..Its more like “We can Do it too..” I think the success of Baahubali is Rajamoulis Sincerity..He is very sincere in one thing through out the series..He never wanted all that spectacle and grandeur to hide his Simple story line..He always uses them to support that simple story line and never allowed them to suppress..I guess Shankar needs to learn a lesson in this..Thats where his “I” movie failed terribly..That too had a simple story line but all those spectacle sounded like a standalone version of themselves without fully supporting it..That does not mean Rajamouli is a better movie maker than Shankar…Its like Comparing Stephen Spielberg and James Cameron…They have their own style of film making and Vision and this argument of “Who is best” is not going to help indian cinema..Because their is this notion currently, that if you budget is the highest, its the grandest and the best which is not the case…
Baahubali is a unique True Indian movie..Because it gave life to those imaginative Kings, queens and Warriors of Ambulimama/Chandama Stories that exist only in the minds of Indians but was never fully/Truly realized. I hope that flim makers will make “that kind of movie” that appeals to full demographics of India and Tap that huge huge market rather than constraining themselves to regional cinema…Its that unifying vision is what the Indian cinema needs currently
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Ravi K
May 1, 2017
Honest Raj wrote: “Anyone who thinks Rajamouli is a far more ‘accomplished’ filmmaker than Shankar has probably not even had a modicum of introduction to his earlier movies – Student No.1 Simhadri, Chatrapathi, to name a few. It was after Maghadheera that he shot to limelight. Shankar, on the other hand, never really had a major downfall at any point in his career. He knows his audience and what to deliver.”
All of Rajamouli’s films have also been hits, even his earlier ones that aren’t as outré as the ones he made from Magadheera onwards. IMO Rajamouli is better at the craft and better at creating arresting, iconic images than Shankar, and that his premises are more novel. Shankar still gets in the way of his own films, with a fairly rigid template across the boards that includes some speed-breaker songs, lame comedy track, and poorly written female characters. Enthiran was the most focused of his films, but even that had some flab in songs like “Kadhal Anukkal” and “Kilimanjaro.” At least Santhanam’s role in the film was small and actually ended up being crucial to the plot. The Shankar template seems dated, despite his use of VFX and technology.
Magadheera still had some of those traditional elements, with the Brahmanandam comedy and a couple of songs I usually skip, but with the reincarnation and historical flashback setting this was where Rajamouli started to move into new areas.
Maryada Ramanna is underappreciated, perhaps because it’s not as audacious as his other films. But it’s a rather brilliant adaptation of Buster Keaton’s “Our Hospitality.” It mostly takes place in one house, and Rajamouli keeps finding ways to get the protagonist to stay in that house, lest he leave and be killed by the family.
My favorite film of his is Eega. It’s endlessly inventive, funny, and often visually stunning. Perhaps it takes a little too much time to get going, but once it does it is a hell of a film! Even Bahubali is a well-done version of the kinds of films we’ve seen before, but can you say you’ve ever seen anything like Eega?
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keshavfound
May 1, 2017
Baahubali 2: Amar Chitra Katha at its exaggerated worst
Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/58438870.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
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Jyoti S Kumar
May 1, 2017
There is a YouTube vlogger who does trailer reactions and reviews of movies. When he suggested that there is a similarity between BB and 10 commandments / 300 ( for the action) he got trolled heavily!
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Ramchander Krishna (@ramctheatheist)
May 2, 2017
There were multiple gripes I had with this film.
One – The irritating word play in Tamil by Mr Karky who seems intent on wanting to show-off and make his presence felt. It was more distracting than impressive.
Two – Very very predictable writing. As per the script’s demands, Devasena needs to end up in court, charged for a crime she’s not guilty of, so that Bahu Sr can be stripped of his right to the crown and we as audience would still feel for them. Now, is a guy groping women and getting his fingers chopped off the only way you can think for Devasena to be accused in court? It’s like in script discussion, “Machi I need a woman to end up in court for no fault of hers da. What do I do?” and another chewing paan and suggesting, “Oh woman ah? Someone molested her. She hit back. As per law, what she did is crime. But audience will feel that’s right. Because general consensus is if anyone touches a woman he should be killed. We won’t bother educating our children because that’s more long-term process and all. Who has time for it? So yeah let’s do this. Plus feminism wave now after the horror films wave, so more brownie points.”
Three – Extremely irritating to see Sivagami fall for simple lies. And Kattappa saying he’d rather kill Bahubali than let Sivagami’s hands be stained with guilt was all 1970s emotions. And we know Bahubali isn’t going to die, so we’re just waiting as minutes tick by for Bahu to finish off the formalities. And a lot of unnecessary dialogues. I would have loved several crucial moments to be a lot quieter without serialish dialogues.
Four – The head chopping, finger chopping and all forms of killing gave me a headache more than an adrenaline rush. REVENGE in caps seems to be the most powerful emotion in the Bahubali series. And that too if your mother’s honour is at stake, then hero HAS TO GO MAD AND KILL ANYONE IN SIGHT. And I was wondering if Indian mythology really glorifies revenge. I can’t think of any example. So all this comparison with mythology is just superficial. Films like LOTR also have violence and gore but there’s a strong philosophical core. And that’s when I realise even more the importance of films like Pisasu that speak of forgiveness. The ghost of a woman is able to forgive the man who killed her. Something like that is not even remotely imaginable in Bahubali’s testosterone-driven world.
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Anu Warrier
May 2, 2017
@Kay, Ha! At the risk of Anuja rescinding her offer of coffee with me, I loved the film. 🙂 I even had her plaint running through my head as I walked into the hall – and the minute the credits began to roll, I forgot all about them and engrossed myself in the film.
Do I wish there was more nuance to the characters? Of course. Complex characters are fun. I wish they had spent a little more time delving into the relationship between the brothers – in the first, you see Rana willing to kill his brother when he gets a chance, but not very heartbroken when the moment passes. So there’s both love and resentment there. I wish they had delved into the relationship between Bhalla and Sivagami, between Avantika and Sivudu, between Avantika and Devasena, between Devasena and Sivudu’s foster mother as Anouja says.
Unlike many people, I actually wish they had made this a trilogy, with the epic battle coming off in the last instalment while the second dealt with Sivudu-turned-Mahendra coming to terms with a new ‘mother’ and his patrimony, Avantika and the rebel faction coming under his flag, Devasena’s relationship with this son she had waited for, for 25 years, and with the young woman he’s fallen in love with, and Sivagami’s anger and guilt at the way she’s treated Bhalla, and the way she’s treating Baahubali…
But otherwise? Loved the choreographed archery, found Anoushka Shetty stunning both as the warrier princess and as the dancer expressing her feminine side; bought completely into the dynamics between her and Sivagami (and did not find it soap-opera-ish at all), loved the gorgeousness of the sets and the costume, the sheer spectacle and scope of the director’s vision. I loved that Rana got to die, unrepentant to the end, a quip on his lip, just as much as bought into his love-turned-into-hate obsession that keeps Devasena alive so he can gloat.
Even the sometimes dodgy CGI didn’t shake my absorption – heck, I’m the perfect audience for this sort of film! 🙂
Sorry, Anuja. 😦
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praneshp
May 2, 2017
@Anon: Killing his brother and mother, and imprisoning his sister-in-law for years wasn’t evil enough?
Talking about Shankar, I remember a line @brangan wrote long ago, “However many crores he has, his movies will still look like they were made in Amanjikarai”. There was no nonsense of that sort in Bahubali, it was grand and beautiful (IMO).
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Anon
May 2, 2017
@PraneshP: Killing those who are keeping him from the throne does not seem very evil to me, considering the time period and the fact that he thinks he has a legitimate right to the throne and also his mom’s hypocritical and self serving waffling. Consider Sivagami and Devasena: Sivagami has no problem ordering the assassination of her beloved Bahu without any proper enquiry based solely on her direct rival to throne and her scheming husband’s words (she has long known both their natures). nor does she hesitate to hand over the throne to an unfit king because her beloved Bahu does not think she is infallible. Devasena is incorrigibly vengeful – no qualms killing countless for revenge. So is Bhalla really more evil for wanting to be King?
We’re constantly told he’s evil and in the first part it’s clear he is a callous ruler but I mostly felt sympathy for him in the second part and annoyance at Devasena for her stupidity in rushing to the palace with her heir, knowing it housed her husband’s killers and then choosing to stay there to be “rescued” by her infant son. Please! Annoyance at Bahubali for constantly pretending to not see his brother’s “evilness” and not do anything about it.
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The Ghost Who Walks
May 2, 2017
In spite of a few iffy VFX/Action scenes and some gaping plot holes, I felt the movie delivered an excellent bang for buck! I would have loved some more of Rana and a little less of the romance portions in the flashback. But I felt SSR got many things right to balance these minor complaints. The movie was intended to be a spectacle and its exactly that.
Also, while the characters are black and white, there weren’t lazily sketched. A case in point is the blackest character in the movie, Bijjala. There is enough back story as to how he got that way. As a rightful heir to the throne, he feels cheated when his younger brother gets to be the king, an injustice in his eyes the came to be due to his physical deformity. Once his brother dies, he still has to stay in the shadow of his wife. However, there is no hint provided anywhere that he wanted his wife dead yet. Its only when his son, who again is elder to Bahubali is denied the throne that his resentment turns into full fledged murder politics.
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The Ghost Who Walks
May 2, 2017
@Honest Raj and others
My 2 censts..
The point about SSR getting better with each of his films whereas Shankar getting stuck in a rut is bang on. I feel that Shankar’s best was Mudhalvan and after that it has been a steady fall. And its not just the scale of the films or their success. SSR has been continuously reducing the inane comedy tracks and as a result his films are getting more focused, Shankar continues to stick to a template that hasn’t changed much since his early days. Heck, even the misogynist tripe creeps in, it takes the form of the Avantika’s feminization scene in Bahubali which CAN be seen as organic to the story he is trying to tell. Shankar, meanwhile serves the god-awful, in your face rape joke like he did in Endhiran.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 2, 2017
Anu W : “found Anoushka Shetty stunning both as the WARRIER princess ”
is that a Freudian slip ? 🙂
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Anuja Chandramouli
May 2, 2017
Anu Warrior: The offer for coffee stands despite the fact that your idea of a good cuppa and mine is wildly different 🙂 Besides I enjoy a good joust 🙂 🙂 Even so, glad you liked Baahu 2. Guess I am just sore because I had been hoping to recapture the cinematic high that was Rajamouli’s Magadheera and wound up feeling cheated.
What did you think of Prabhas and Rana’s performances though? The former is seriously pretty but I felt that though both looked the part and despite their earnestness something was missing. Baahubali needed MGR/Shivaji vs Nambiar or Rajini Vs Raghuvaran, but I felt Rajamouli wound up with Chota Bheem vs Kaaliya in terms of sheer histrionic power.
Ramchander Krishna and Anon may I just say that I loved loved loved reading your comments? Heck, I was nodding along so vigorously, there is a crick in my neck from agreeing so hard 🙂 🙂
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Anuja Chandramouli
May 2, 2017
PraneshP : “Talking about Shankar, I remember a line @brangan wrote long ago, “However many crores he has, his movies will still look like they were made in Amanjikarai”.
Thanks for sharing that. I love snarky BR especially when I am in perfect accord with his observations 🙂
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Jai
May 2, 2017
Discussion of scenes from the movie ahead 🙂
Watched the movie over this weekend, and really liked it, as I had previous part as well. For me at least, it was a glorious celebration of the masala–mythological epic genre 🙂 🙂 Was ‘The Conclusion’ a ‘perfect’ movie? No, it wasn’t, nor for that matter, was ‘The Beginning’. There are always some tropes/cliches used in any film, which make you quirk an eyebrow, even if momentarily. But the hallmark of a truly great film is (IMHO) if it makes you willingly, perhaps even gleefully accept those tropes; see them as acceptable within the frame of the ethos/mood the movie is set in. I was simply blown away by the grandeur and breadth of Rajamouli’s imagination here.
I definitely agree that there could have been a bit more exploration of the relationship between the characters—as Anu and Anuja said, would have loved to see some more delving into the relationship between Bhalla and Sivagami, between Devasena and Sivudu’s foster mother; as well as a bit more fleshing out of Bhalla’s covetous lust & obsession for Devasena, as BR said.
But contrary to what Anuja said above, I didn’t find Bhalla’s character monochromatic or ‘jet black’. On the contrary, I found the exploration of how Bhalla’s overweening ambition, resentment, envy and covetousness corrupt his nature, a very intriguing portrayal. His is a complex character; and to my mind, while he definitely chose the wrong path and committed numerous horrendous and evil acts, there is an explanation (not a justification) to his story arc.
The resentment at always having been overshadowed by his more gifted cousin, the envy and fury at his own mother seeming to prefer her adopted son over her birth son, the effect of his father’s constant plotting and filling his ears with guile and jealous intrigue……it was very well done. And to boot, there were several very tantalizing nuggets there. We see that Bhalla is instantly ‘smitten’ by Devasena when he sees her portrait–or at least, is so inflamed by covetousness that he ‘wants’ her at any cost. But how much of this is owing to the fact that he knows his cousin had already fallen in love with her (as reported by his informant)? He is obviously attracted to Devasena’s regal beauty and fiery spirit—but surely, the fact that he would be ‘snatching’ her away from his cousin is part–perhaps a significant part–of the appeal. And then when Devasena spurns him, with her customary regal hauteur, he also wants to crush that very same spirit!
Also, I didn’t think the Sivagami–Devasena interaction was soap-operaish. This wasn’t the typical saas-bahu kitchen/drawing room politics, portrayed ad nauseam by Ekta Kapoor and the ilk. This was a clash of wills between two strong willed and powerful personalities; the fact that they were MIL and DIL was only part of the picture.
Again, while I wish the film had delved a bit more into the Sivagami–Bhalla relationship, there were a few very deft scenes there, with quite a bit of tantalizing nuance. The one where Sivagami tries to make Bhalla enthused about the grand palace she is constructing for him, the weaponry she had ordered for his use, the regiment of army elephants she had purchased for him—and Bhalla, in a canny move, tells her (with all seeming humility and selfless resignation)—that Sivagami needn’t do all this, he has accepted her decision and she need not feel she has to mollify him. The tremendous guilt on Sivagami’s face as Bhalla walks away—-it was evident that she would try to compensate/over compensate for this, with tragic results. At least part of Sivagami’s peremptory high handedness with Devasena and her insistence that she wed Bhalla, was owing to this subliminal guilt running through her mind—that she had made one of her sons already ‘lose out’ to the other, and so now had to redress the situation, restore the balance in a sense.
Sivagami’s loss of faith in Baahu was portrayed as a ‘thavaru’, sure. But IMHO at least, it wasn’t a 180 degree turnaround in her innate character, without any basis. This is a powerful, strong willed Rajmata, who has effectively ruled over Mahishmati for more than a couple of decades, de jure perhaps as Regent, but de facto as Monarch. Baahu had always followed her every writ, her every instruction with alacrity. Now, not only was the Princess of Kuntala refusing to accede to her orders, Baahu was telling Sivagami that she was the one who made the wrong decision. Telling her this with all filial love and respect, sure, but still effectively taking a stand opposed to her diktat. For as strong willed and regal a persona as Sivagami, this must have been extremely galling (not to mention the tremendous undercurrent of guilt she was already feeling at having made Bhalla ‘lose out’ to Baahu as regards the Mahishmati throne).
A couple of last points (I know I have gone on and on, but please bear with me! 🙂 😉 ). I’ve seen several critiques of the ‘flying ship’ song sequence as unrealistic. Is it just me, or wasn’t it amply clear that this particular section was a dream sequence? I mean, Devasena and Bhalla gaze longingly at each other when the ship is sailing over some choppy waters in the river, and thence on, the song takes a literal flight of fancy. 😉 😉 Objecting to this on grounds of logic, would be like cribbing over the Planetarium song in ‘La La Land’—obviously, we all know that Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone could not fly amidst the stars and comets, right? Seems quite out of place, to apply logical reasoning to judge flights of fancy in a mytho–fantasy epic like Baahubali! 😉
As a somewhat related point, I somehow don’t see how one can apply modern sensibilities to judge portrayals and dialogues in a movie which is evidently set in a historical period which is not our own. (It is a mythic/ alternate setting, sure; but a period setting, all the same). As far as I recall, there was an interview of Anand Neelakantan (who worked with Rajamouli and Vijayendra Prasad in scripting his ‘Rise of Sivagami’ book)—that the film’s writers had conceptualized the setting around the 7th/8th Centuries CE. Even if one assumes the 6th to the 10th centuries as a safe bandwidth, one is obviously going to have portrayals of monarchy, of people deifying the ruler/being subservient to them, of war narratives. What would have been unrealistic for this setting, would have been to show a democracy or a completely egalitarian society on a nation wide scale. (Mind you, they did show Baahu organizing a kind of limited people’s local self government (Panchayati Raj, anyone? 😉 ) while he was in exile).
@ BR: you said you’d wished that a certain villainous character had a less obvious change of heart. You mean Bhijjaladeva? I agree to a certain degree, I had no idea why he and that scheming priest weren’t dispatched to the nearest dungeon; unless of course, if this was meant to highlight Mahendra Baahubali & Devasena’s capability to forgive. Apart from that, this has echoes of how Dritarashtra was treated after the Mahabharata war, right? Excepting for the occasional taunt from Bhima, he was supposed to have been treated with respect by all the Pandavas. I don’t think Bhijjaladeva had much of a change of heart—his expression looked supremely unhappy when he was handing over the crown to Devasena, to place on Baahu’s head. On a cynical note, perhaps that was part of his punishment—keeping him alive to witness his grand nephew become the Emperor, while his direct bloodline, which he plotted and schemed and murdered in order to place on the throne, had been eliminated!
Whew! Well, I guess I have bored everyone more than enough so will sign off now. 😉 This is one movie I will surely watch a 2nd time at the multiplex (I’d watched ‘The Beginning’ a couple of times as well). 🙂
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MANK
May 2, 2017
Is it just me, or wasn’t it amply clear that this particular section was a dream sequence?
yes it was amply clear that it was a dream sequence. i dont know why everyone is going on and on about it.
Bahubali may be fantasy, but it is very much rooted in reality. there are no sorcerers or magic tricks performed.no shape shifting, no divine weapons, magic chariots or flying carpets. its more like a historic epic set in a fantasy world.
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Anu Warrier
May 2, 2017
despite the fact that your idea of a good cuppa and mine is wildly different 🙂
Ouch! I do know good coffee! 🙂 Let’s just say you and I shouldn’t watch this together. Or perhaps we should – and then we should joust over several cups of good filter coffee. [(if you say Starbucks cuppa…. some things can’t be forgiven. :))
With re: to the film – I’m not claiming it’s the greatest story ever told. Or even that it’s a great film. I’m saying it’s a thoroughly enjoyable film (for me! Don’t kick me!) and that I completely lost myself in that mythical world for 3 hours. And I could have asked for more.
I strongly feel that they should have made this a trilogy and defined those characters, their motivations and their interpersonal relationships a bit more. It would have made more sense to me that, having saved Devasena, they retreated with her to the rebel stronghold to recoup and listen to the backstory. The rebel army was already training with the goal of saving Devasena. With Katappa on their side, they could have trained the villagers too?
It would have helped to see how Devasena, waiting so patiently for her son to arrive, reacts when there’s another strong minded warrior woman in her son’s life. How would Avantika feel to see such fealty sworn to a woman her lover has met just a few hours ago? Devasena is her queen, but surely a little bit of resentment-guilt-even anger over not being the primary relationship?
I keep weaving these stories in my mind to fill in the gaps.
As to the casting – Prabhas has the emotional range of a caterpillar. 🙂 So does Rana, but they are both magnificent physical specimens and made the OTT action scenes (not just the fights) look credible. And Prabhas has a rather endearing wet-puppy look about him. I’m not sure I would want Sivaji in this role, not unless he had lost several kilos of avoirdupois. I liked the man, but even in his youth SG was kinda sizable, non? 🙂 But he could declaim. And how! From the Telugu industry, perhaps a Chiru and a Nag in their prime?
I thought Ramya and Anoushka were fabulous. I’ve always liked Ramya and here, she did the ‘I’ll chew up the scenery and you too if you dare cross me‘ bit very well indeed. It helps that she has magnificent eyes. Anoushka is gorgeous! And graceful. And as BR once said about Fawad Khan, she can act too. People like Satyaraj and Nasser are what I call the salt-of-the-earth performers. One sort of expects they will deliver. They do. Tamannah did what she was asked, but she has about 1 1/2 expressions.
And for what else I felt about the film, please read Jai’s comment above. 🙂
So you liked Magadheera better? Someone else was recommending the film to me. I should watch it – I’m a sucker for this kind of film.
[I seem to have written a Baahubali-length tome of my own; our jousts have made this space collateral damage. Perhaps we should take this offline.)
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Anu Warrier
May 2, 2017
@Ravishanker – head to desk Not Freudian, you goose!
But yeah, can’t believe I typed that. You won’t believe what a hash I made of ‘patrimony’ either. 🙂 (Thanks, BR.) But I typed that entre comment out on my phone, so I’m just happy I haven’t completely disgraced myself!
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Anuj
May 2, 2017
Oh yes I definitely had issues with flying ships and trees being used a catapults as this kind of action is absurd, bizarre and has no place in even a mythological fantasy film like Baahubali or a TV series like the Mahabharata for that matter. My brand of action is raw and genuine (certain limited amount of cinematic liberty notwithstanding) and that’s something that Baahubali 1 pretty much managed to get right. The battle scene of Mahishmati warriors against the Kalakeys was a class act & a treat to the eye. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the over the top and typically Tollywood like action (on a much grander scale of course) of part 2.
http://bollywoodreviewguide.blogspot.in/
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Anu Warrier
May 2, 2017
BR, thank you for fixing the html tags.
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Aadhy
May 2, 2017
I had (still have) a feeling Rajamouli went one step too far with the OTT quotient this time. I understand that fantasy films (If BB is fantasy and not a historical period drama) do require an amount of suspension of disbelief from the audience. But sometimes it becomes a problem when you are asked to invest in the characters emotionally.
I really wanted to root for Bahubali Jr. on his quest for revenge, but stopped caring after he and 5 others launched themselves onto space in the form of flying saucers using a tree as a catapult. I was like “Yeah he’s gonna beat the shit out of Bhalla anyway, could we just get to that part directly?”. Before I start sounding like a logic-finding snob, let me make it clear that I loved Baahubali 1st part just for the action sequences. They were ingeniously choreographed to make them not appear ridiculous, a result of some serious thought and planning going in. Baahubali and Co. had an ominous force against them called Kalakeyas and I was invested in the ‘how’ part of the vanquishing process. They come up with burning tent sheets, Trishula Vyuha and every other other innovative trick to defeat their mighty opponents. This thought is also felt in Baahubali 2, like in the scene where Baahubali Sr. teaches Devasena to shoot triple arrows, but the others (the one with the bulls and also the climax) were exaggerated a bit too much. Also I don’t think Devasena was shown to be that strong. She is the best archer in her town, only to find her arrows being shot off track by Baahubali Sr. She blasts Sivagami for trying to make a choice on her behalf, but forgives Sivagami for being the dumbest Rajamata ever and killing her husband. And why does Bhalla confess his intentions right in front of Kattappa after killing BB Sr.? So that he could inform Sivagami and she could announce BB Jr. as the rightful heir to the throne, before trying to escape with him? But I must say the scene where BB Sr. gets killed was quite moving, even if the reason for the assassination was like.. meh. The scene in the court where he slashes the neck of that creep was good for shock value, but it wasn’t goosebump-y in any way for me (the theatre went berserk with whistles, hoots and claps). All in all, quite underwhelmed.
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TheManWithTwonames
May 2, 2017
Took very long for me to realize the bahu jr’s common robes consumed by fire in the first part as seen by anushka is an echo of the scene in part 2, where bahu sr’s armour and badge in revealed by the fire.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 2, 2017
Anu The Warrior : Oh and one more thing…its “anUshka” …not “AnOushka’.
The latter is the daughter of the one and only (ahem) Pundit Ravishankar
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Jai
May 2, 2017
@ MANK–Thanks, 🙂 🙂 I was wondering why several people seemed to have missed the fact that the flying boat was a Bhalla–Devasena dream sequence. Perhaps it was because they didn’t change their attire (or changed only once, I’m not able to recall precisely). 😉 We’ve got attuned to dream sequences transporting the leads to various foreign locales and featuring a multitude of wardrobe changes, I guess!
@ Anu Warrier–Completely agree about Anushka. She has the magnificent screen presence, the aura and the acting chops to carry off this role. She was all fiery determination blended with liquid grace…..OK, let me stop before I start sounding like Bhallaladeva. 😉 But seriously, what a performance. That ‘archery dance’ Devasena and Baahu perform while eliminating the Pinjaris (Pindaris?) was one of the most poetic scenes I’ve seen recently—despite it being a battle scene. 🙂
“Prabhas has the emotional range of a caterpillar”. 🙂 🙂 Ouch! I couldn’t help guffawing out loud at that. Yeah, I agree with you, his sheer physicality and presence was somewhat more impressive than his histrionic strength (in this movie at least). I haven’t watched his other work in Telugu cinema, so I can’t judge if its because of the role, or his acting chops in general. IMO, his role was the less ‘complex’ of the two male leads, in the sense that he was the HERO in this mythical/ epic drama. Emphasis therefore, more on his superhuman power and golden hearted traits as compared to possible layers and shades to his character. But I must say, it was a great to see him standing up to Sivagami and telling her she was wrong (in forcing Devasena to marry Bhalla). Normally, one would have expected to see the portrayal of an ‘obedient’, ‘good’ son going all self sacrificial, and ‘giving up’ his love, to ensure family harmony.
Rana—I’ve found him a tad wooden in both ‘Baby’ and ‘The Ghazi attack’; but somehow, in both the Baahubali films I found his performance the better of the 2 male leads. Perhaps it was the grayness/ complexity/edginess of his role, all that envy and resentment eating away at Bhalla.
As an aside, what elevated my experience watching this film was the reaction of the audience. We were all so involved in the scenes—for instance, the minute Sivagami’s messenger arrived at Kuntala and started his pompous speech, there was a deep, collective sigh as several people muttered worriedly, how it was a sure thing that both Devasena and Baahu would assume the alliance had been sought for him and not Bhalla!
And again, during that climactic battle of titans between Baahu and Bhalla, when the statue creaked and fell off its pedestal, there were gasps all around, people (self included!) crying out happily that Devasena would now step all over the statue’s head to complete her circumambulation! And sure enough, that symbolic gesture was what happened. 🙂
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Shyam Rahul
May 2, 2017
The Bahubaalian Dilemma
– Shyam Rahul
INT. INOX EXIT – DAY
I am staring at the Baahubali 2 poster with awe and am smiling. I turn around hearing a cough to see the Dark Side I standing beside The Circle poster.
Dark Side I : I thought I was a Tom Hanks fan
Me : Guess what, today its Rajamouli?
Dark Side I : Then tommorow you will be a Michael Bay fan running behind lines to see Transformers The Last Knight .. then Last jedi ..
Me : I get it. And anyways you can’t see a Bay movie with all that explosions and all that Decepticony crap.
Dark Side I : Still admit it you are consumed by the hype of the Light. Look at the dark side and you will see perfect VFX, Character arcs …. Not people using palm trees as catapult.
Me : Well about that … if I can buy Dwayne Johnson skating with nukes in Russia I can buy it or that everyone second they crash into some cars. Or skating Lamborghini in ice.
Dark Side I : (scoffs) And that flying boat Ha Ha ..
Me : Thats like saying Enthiran is part of Star Wars .. you know .. that song he comes in Lightsabers and Lions ..
Dark Side I: Whats about all that flying around and punching. . there was no Red Bull at that time?
Me : Uh huh .. I guess Crouching tiger Hidden Dragon showed martial artists flying with ropes hung to tree ….
Dark Side I : Still what’s the use of seeing the past … look at the future. The circle is about the future.
Me : More like the past. Come on dude how many internet cautionary tales?
I go ahead and show him the rotten tomatoes rating. Dark Side wide eyed.
Dark Side I : What’s that? How can Baahubali be 3rd place? What magic is this?
Me : A new hope.
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ThouShaltNot
May 2, 2017
Have not seen B2 yet, but a note on our epics and revenge:
Our epics are rife with revenge sagas (& glorification via rationalization). Infact, the Mahabaratha is built on the edifice of revenge. Of course, when God is in the mix and revenge happens from his direction, loftier classifications such as “dharma” get thrown around along with intricate rationalizations (some very confusing), that we tuck tail and are left to mumble “God only knows…”. Here are 2 instances involving Bheema that should put to rest doubts about bloodletting, mutilation and gore in our epics.
When Bheema vowed to avenge Draupadi’s humiliation at being disrobed in public, he did not say he would kill Duchasana and then drink flavored milk at the nearby aavin. He instead vowed to drink blood from the chest of the “monster”. Bheema would eventually go on to rip Duchasana’s arms and fulfill his vow (now, there is a retelling which backpedals from this to make Bheema look good – that he was merely an Oscar-caliber actor pretending to drink blood so as to look intimidating)
In the fight between Bheema and Jarasandha, when Bheema’s attempts to slice Jarasandha repeatedly comes unstuck, God (no less) cleverly cues Bheema about getting rid of Jarasandha. Tear up the body and fling aside the halves in a way that they would be left unstuck.
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abishekspeare
May 2, 2017
why couldn’t they have had better music?
here it is not bad, but given the potential(and money) in the film, especially the film part also having a generic soundtrack, it has been wasted
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
May 2, 2017
Bharath_200412/The Ghost Who Walks: Agree, but I’m talking about “accomplishments”. In this regard, Shankar is way beyond Rajamouli. The latter is the better marketer though.
i dont think Shankar has it in him to make a masala fantasy like Bahubali.
MANK: Can Mani Ratnam make a horror film? Does it make him any less of a filmmaker (than somebody like a RGV)?
Ravi K: Are you serious about SSR’s pre-MD films being well “crafted” than Gentleman, Kaadhalan, Indian, Jeans and Mudhalvan? Sure Simhadri, Chatrapathi and Vikramarkudu are ‘hits’, but did they create a history at the box-office? Heck, no. In term of box-office figures, they’re nowhere near Indian, Anniyan, Sivaji, Enthiran, et al. And, you’re conveniently ignoring the female characters of SSR’s earlier films. I humbly invite you to watch this clip:
While I agree that Shankar uses the same formula over and over again, he’s at least “honest” in selling an idea unlike ARM who sells dangerous (and contradicting) ideas in film after film. Besides, Shankar has given some of the most interesting characters in Tamil cinema – Charanraj (Gentleman), Raadhika (Jeans) and Prakash Raj (in Anniyan; although this was more like an extension to Charanraj’s in GM).
Finally, for all those who think that Baahubali is the “greatest” Indian film ever made, there’s a film called Chandralekha, released in 1948. Arguably, it was the earliest South Indian film that opened the doors of Bollywood for filmmakers from the south. While I don’t deny that films like Enthiran and Baahubali might have a place in the history of Indian cinema, I seriously don’t think they belong to league of Pather Panchali, MEA or Sholay.
P. S. I have nothing against SSR.
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brangan
May 2, 2017
People keep saying SSR and I keep thinking of this guy:
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Rahini David
May 2, 2017
Me too, and I was thinking about gnayiru enbathu too.
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praneshp
May 2, 2017
@Anon: FWIW, I had sympathy with Bhalla in the second half too, and I also thought the Sivagami character was both poorly written (supposedly respected, but quite stupid in decision making) and acted (I thought Ramya K overacted and overshouted, esp in Tamil).
I still stand by my original view, though somewhat shakily. Since the days of Mahabharata, his behavior towards Devasena would definitely qualify as evil. Remember he knows his brother loves her, through that spy. So it’s not like he was cheated out of something; the film makes it clear he was playing his mother,
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praneshp
May 2, 2017
Honest Raj: Were you around when Sholay was released? (I mean that in the nicest way possible). I have seen the movie several times, because I like it, but I’ve never understood the reason it was such a massive hit.
A young kid today would probably think the same of Baasha, I guess.
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brangan
May 2, 2017
Two links about Sholay:
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shaviswa
May 2, 2017
Agree with comment on Sholay. I have seen the film only on TV. Maybe it was spectacular in 70mm those days. But it was another song and dance melodrama. Hema malini’s character is the typical loosu ponnu character that we have all come to despise. 🙂
And looks like they did not want to get a widow remarried even in the 1970s. Bacchan character gets knocked out for apparently no reason.
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Anu Warrier
May 2, 2017
Hema’s character was not loosu ponnu at all! I’m shocked you would say that. Here was a woman who was doing a man’s job – driving a taanga, perfectly capable of looking out for herself, thankewberrymuch, as well as give the hero short shrift when needed. That she falls in love with him later is after she gets to know him, not just because he stalks her unceasingly.
One thing you could say about Salim-Javed’s characters – they were never stereotypes. They were pretty strong women within the parameters of their class/culture.
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MANK
May 2, 2017
. Can Mani Ratnam make a horror film? Does it make him any less of a filmmaker (than somebody like a RGV)?
Didn’t mean that way . Was merely speaking in terms of this film. SSR may not be able to make an Indian or mudhalvan as well as Shankar either
Oh and Chandralekha came to my mind a lot when I was watching this film. It was the bahubali of it’s times
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Jaga_Jaga
May 2, 2017
I don’t typically comment on the mega budget super-dooper movies. But I loved Bahubali I, and was absolutely looking forward to Bahubali II. BR has beautifully summed it up in his title. However, I have a huge problem with the climax. The last wolf-whistle worthy moment was that telescope scene. What happened after that was utter nonsense Everything up until it was very believable, full of awesomeness and does cater to the inner Masala hero in everyone of us. But those last 30 minutes dragged on like anything. That does dilute the whole movie (and its precursor – the first part), per me. Anyone else thinks the same way>
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
May 2, 2017
praneshp: Wish I was around in the 70s. 🙂
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
May 2, 2017
About Sholay, I wonder too. But then, you have DDLJ.
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GODZ
May 3, 2017
I dont know if its just me…Rajamouli seems to be inspired more with video Game “God of War” than other movies…The climatic battle scene where Mahendra wraps the Chain around his both fist is typical “God of War”…I cannot be specific but over all Grandeur and camera shots reminded me of more of “God of War”..
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praneshp
May 3, 2017
@brangan: You wrote somewhere else (I think) about the Radha character turning off the lamps one by one, that really belonged in the linked article.
I was around for the piece for crap your other linked article talks about.
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ThouShaltNot
May 3, 2017
Basanthi, while being convivial, was too talkative. A chatter-box, if you will. That is a quirk of temperament. She could be annoying (driven home by veeru: tumhaara naam kya hai, basanthi), but she was authentic (all of us can be annoying in our own idiosyncratic ways).
A “loosu ponnu” OTOH, is purposely dim-witted or doltish, but in an affecting sort of way, to attract her man’s attention. There is authentic cuteness (sweet-of-soul Shobha, for e.g.) and there is phoniness. In effect, a loosu-ponnu is a “harmless” phony. The world of Tamil cinema (where they blithely roam about and scrupulously avoid unsettling their man’s ego) has become a breeding ground for such loosu-ponnus. I doubt that they’ve ever been spotted in the real world (but, what do i know) 🙂
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Ravi K
May 3, 2017
Honest Raj wrote: “Are you serious about SSR’s pre-MD films being well “crafted” than Gentleman, Kaadhalan, Indian, Jeans and Mudhalvan?”
No, what I’m saying is that when comparing the two today and put aside their earlier films, I prefer SSR to Shankar. From Magadheera onwards SSR has improved greatly, and those are the films of his that I revisit. I agree that SSR’s pre-Magadheera films are fine, but nothing great. Magadheera was a transition point, with one foot in the hero-based film and another in the epic and creatively audacious.
Of Shankar’s films I think Anniyan, Enthiran, and Mudhalvan are the best. The romance in Mudhalvan is thin, but the political stuff was compelling enough that it compensated for it. I hated Jeans.
Each of Shankar’s films is more expensive than the last, but somehow all the money he spends doesn’t result in a ton of impressive imagery. Shankar has never created a world like SSR did in Bahubali. Both films have awe-inspiring moments I haven’t seen from Shankar. And SSR’s last few films weren’t bogged down by the formula that Shankar uses in every film, whether or not it’s called for.
Eega and Enthiran are two of my favorite Indian films of the last ten years. I’m skeptical about 2.0 being good without Sujatha, but I’m still anticipating it.
Both directors could use a lesson on how to write female characters. Avantika had a lot of potential to be a bad-ass female warrior, but there was that disturbing “taming of the shrew” scene, and then she was pushed aside. But even that seed of potential in Avantika is more than Shankar has done for his female characters. And Devasena was much better written.
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Madan
May 3, 2017
Sholay is much more than just a typical melodrama (and one with tongue firmly in cheek like very few Hindi blockbusters have been). But yeah, I don’t think it’s necessarily the greatest Hindi film ever made or even the greatest masala film made in India. I’d take Appu Raja over Sholay. Appu Raja has all the must haves- comedy, romance, amma AND annan-thambi sentiment – but with a brilliant anti-hero turn by Kamal (complete with metamorphosis, unlike Gabbar who is perpetually ‘black’), great songs and a classic BGM. It has a pathos that struck me at least in a deeper way because it discusses both the inner melancholy of the clown as well as society’s prejudice against him on account of him being a dwarf. It has substance beneath the entertaining masala.
But Sholay is the greatest pop culture ‘event’, that much is undeniable. It has been endlessly imitated and parodied and always fondly, which shows how memorable the characters in the original film were. I can see myself falling head over heels for it in the 70s but being introduced to it as the greatest Hindi film of all did not help matters for me.
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Anon
May 3, 2017
Pranesh: There is no question about Bhalla being the bad guy. My grouse was that he was not evil enough – all the other characters are also a little bit evil. Rana sold the evilness through all the smouldering and shooting evil eye here and there than actual deeds, at least in the second half.
I would have liked Bhalla to have met and fallen in love/lust with Devasena. Him looking at a portrait of her and using her expressly for the purpose of conspiracy does not have the same emotional heft as him wanting her. Would explain the emo undercurrent of Bhalla saying, “all the kingdoms do not give me the same satisfaction of seeing Devasena chained everyday” better.
BB1 is definitely the superior film of the 2. As someone else said, all the flying ships and the palm tree catapults made BB2 cross over into ridiculous territory one too many times.
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Srinivas R
May 3, 2017
@Honest Raj – Agree about DDLJ, I never understood the fuss about it. What’s worse bollywood would release only NRI friendly pretty movies in the mid nineties, thanks to DDLJ and it’s predecessor HAHK. After the excessive sugar attack, it was a relief to see RGV unleash sweaty, bearded men full of gaalis in Sathya.
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Jai
May 3, 2017
@ Anon: “Killing those who are keeping him from the throne does not seem very evil to me, considering the time period and the fact that he thinks he has a legitimate right to the throne……” and
“There is no question about Bhalla being the bad guy. My grouse was that he was not evil enough……..”
I agree with you entirely on the first statement, and as for the second, I would think that was part of the nuance of his character the movie wanted us to think about?
As you rightly mentioned, eliminating rival claimants to the throne was hardly rare in the historical period Baahubali is (roughly) set in. A few top of the mind examples from real life history: Ajatashatru overthrew and imprisoned his own father Bimbisara, and later had him executed; Asoka eliminated numerous half brothers in a bloody succession battle (99 of them, if we are to take some accounts literally); Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya), the Greatest of the Gupta Emperors, is said to have liquidated his elder brother, the weak and ineffectual Ramagupta and taken over the throne (and also married his brother’s widow, Dhruvadevi).
So Bhalla’s desire for the throne, his ambition to prove himself ‘better’ than his cousin is not really ‘evil’, especially in the context of the times. That’s why I felt that Bhalla’s character is hardly a one note, ‘cloaked in darkness’ portrayal–there are some layers/shades there.
What really qualifies him as a the bad guy—the worthy antagonist to Baahu—is the fact that Bhalla never shows a shred of remorse, right till the very end. I mean, in the real life historical examples I mentioned, Ajatashatru and Asoka both went on to show a considerable degree of repentance and contrition for their actions; and were reputed to have governed their subjects with compassion and moderation. Bhalla is shown to have ruthlessly crushed his subjects and the neighboring kingdom of Kuntala, never forgiving them for loving and praising Baahu more than him.
As for Vikramaditya, there is a pretty exhaustive justification offered for the siblicide (and regicide) he committed—whether apocryphal or accurate, is not too clear. Apparently, Ramagupta was all set to enter into a humilating peace treaty with the Saka ruler, ceding a large part of his Kingdom, as well as cravenly handing over his spirited Queen to the intruder. Vikramaditya’s fight against this humiliation is considered a vindication of both Dhruvadevi and the Gupta Empire’s honor.
The reason I’m mentioning this is, in Bhalla’s case, while there is a considerable degree of explanation offered for his actions, there isn’t a justification as such. His character is definitely gray, tilting over to the dark side, as opposed to Baahu’s salt of the earth, golden hearted, upright goodness, if you will. 🙂 🙂 I would say, Bhalla is the perfect example of that saying from Harry Potter—It is our choices which make us what we are, not our abilities.
And besides, his cold blooded act of matricide; and particularly his extremely vindictive and cruel act of keeping Devasena bound in chains for 25 long years, are really vile. ‘Evil enough’ is a debatable question, especially since I think Rajamouli, Vijayendra Prasad (and Rana himself) would probably have wanted to imbue his character with some nuance—but these actions are really quite monstrous enough.
As you said though, I would have loved to see Bhalla meeting Devasena independent of that espionage report he received, of Baahu already being smitten by her and courting her. It would have been better to have Bhalla fall for her independently, and then get furious at the thought that here too, his cousin was going to upstage him, as he already had regarding the Mahishmati throne.
@ Honest Raj: Bang on regarding DDLJ. I never understood the hype surrounding the movie even when it released—I mean, it was a fairly nice movie, good to watch a couple of times perhaps, but the sheer hype and hysteria it created was puzzling. And I must say, its not aged well (IMHO) in the 2 decades since. Ditto (even more so!) for KKHH.
Note to self–Really must proof read comments more before posting. 🙂 I realized I’ve interchanged ‘Baahu’ and ‘Bhalla’ in a couple of places in my previous comments :-0 :-0. So if you read my sentence about the “floating ship” being the ‘Devasena–Bhalla’ dream sequence, please read it as ‘Devasena–Baahu’. 🙂 😉 (Bhalla would of course, love a dream sequence with Devasena!) 🙂
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sanjana
May 3, 2017
Thanks for all the spoilers liberally sprinkled allover. Such generosity!
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Anuj
May 3, 2017
I wonder how SHOLAY & DDLJ are being discussed here. Anyhow, SHOLAY is & will continue to remain India’s greatest mass entertainer in terms of content, characterization, dialogues, music & ultimately of course the good triumphing over the evil. Its a near perfect masala entertainer with a near perfect cast and near perfect performances delivered by even the smallest of actors in the film. Iss film mein action hai, romance hai, comedy hai, tragedy hai aur sab kuch barabar hai, na zyada na kum. SHOLAY’s genre can never really be classified as its a perfect concoction of every genre in the desirable amount. Someone above commented about the widow being left alone angle, well at least a 1975 film dared showing a widow falling in love! A far cry from a 1998 KKHH where a tomboy needed to transform into a sati savitri for acceptance from her beloved. Coming to KKHH & DDLJ, they might seem inexplicable All Time Blockbusters n today’s times, but factually none of these films can even match upto the popularity of Sholay, Mughal E Azam and HAHK. The BAAHUBALI franchise is the 4th film in Indian cinema to attain this level of popularity after these 3. DDLJ, KKHH and of late 3Idiots & Dangal are the kind which achieve unprecedented popularity and acclaim only among the metropolitan/semi-metropolitan and urban middle class audiences. None of these films could penetrate to the class C centers, small towns and villages the way HAHK, Sholay and now Baahubali have. the basic difference between HAHK and DDLJ was the level of audience penetration between these 2 films. HAHK was a classic pan India wholesome family entertainer while DDLJ was more of an urban Indian/NRI family entertainer. Hence the 2 cr+ footfall difference between these 2 films. Now there’s a 3rd type of mega blockbuster and that includes the likes of Raja Hindustani and Gadar. These are films that have limited acceptance among urban audiences but run riot among the smaller towns, class C centers and mass frequenting single screens. In terms of popularity and footfalls these films are in the same rane as DDLJ/KKHH/3I but the popularity lies within an altogether different section of the audience. Very few films like MughalEAzam, Sholay, HAHK and Baahubali can receive this crazy level of appreciation from both factions and these are the one’s which create history like never before!
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Navneeth
May 3, 2017
GODZ: Interesting you mentioned the influence of video games. While not having played God of War, I felt the milieu in certain sections (particularly where the battle of the flaming bulls happened) looked like something out of Dragon Age or Skyrim. Certainly the visual influence of Game of Thrones can be seen in both films (off the top of my head, the opening map segment in part 1; the elephant statue and the ship, in part 2…)
Astonishing film, by the way, and endlessly inventive; much like ‘Fury Road’, and just as he did in Part 1, Rajamouli never ceases to surprise the viewer with unexpected (and delightful) elements. The first half is utterly overwhelming and a privilege to watch.
Sure, I have quibbles about the characterization and the unexplored interactions between the characters (as many commenters have pointed out), and the sound mix was way too loud; but in the end, like the rogue elephant, these simply bow down in the face of what Rajamouli has achieved with these two films.
BR’s comment – “A triumph of imagination” – is apt. This is what happens when you dream big and dare to make it a reality.
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MANK
May 3, 2017
the concept of greatest movie of all times itself is a very contentious one.whether its Citizen kane, Vertigo or Kaagaz ke phool, one can find a hundred faults with them. so lets not get in to that
Sholay is the mother of all masala films. it is the most seminal film in indian history which set trends in filmmaking which are followed even today , not just for hindi cinema but every other film industry in the country. it established serious masala as a genre of its own.
its also one of the most technically brilliant films ever made, which holds up pretty well even today.just take any other film made in 70’s or 80’s and compare it with Sholay and you will get an idea. it was a pathbreaking film in almost every aspect of film making- screenplay, cinematography,editing, sound , Action,- has the opening train chase\shootout action sequence ever been bested on indian screen .
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rothrocks
May 3, 2017
Even HAHK isn’t a patch on Sholay. Not disputing its mass acceptance but Sholay’s characters transcended the film which doesn’t seem to have been the case with HAHK. Sholay is a very 70s film. There must have indeed been something in the air then. 😉
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brangan
May 3, 2017
MANK: I was just going to say the same thing. The shot set-ups in Sholay are jaw-dropping even today — the film breathes like nothing else. The use of sound and silence is stunning. I love Aboorva Sagodharargal (which MAdan quoted above) and it’s great in many ways — especially the music, and Kamal’s performance — but in a purely technical sense, the film is not a patch on Sholay.
Apart from the filmmaking itself, the script/dialogues are a gold standard.
An aside here:
In a way, Sholay reminds me a lot of Nayakan — because both films are from techno-brat directors who are inspired by the West rather than our cinema, and both films have been accused of lifting scenes from Coppola and Leone. But the sum total is something else, and that’s possible only if you are a real director.
Let me give an example:
There’s a scene in A Very Long Engagement where Audrey Tautou is in a train and says something like “If by the count of 10 the train hasn’t entered the tunnel or the ticket checker doesn’t come, Manech is dead!”
There’s a similar scene in Naiyyandi where the heroine in a train says, “If the number of electricity poles between now and the time the train stops at the station is in the single digits, then X will happen in my life.”
The same thing — we buy it in the former and laugh at it in the latter. Because the former has been “directed” well, the latter hasn’t.
I bring up this example to show how it isn’t easy to translate to the screen something you’ve seen somewhere else. Just like you can read all the New Yorker articles in the world, but if you don’t have that writerly spark in you, you’ll never be a real writer — and your imitations will come off as laughable.
Circa Sholay, Ramesh Sippy had that spark — though it’s surprising that he had that spark for just this one film.
As much as I love Shaan and Shakti and even parts of Saagar, he never directed another film the way he directed Sholay.
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Rajesh
May 3, 2017
SSR has truly created a epic movie. And its awesome feeling to watch it on the bigscreen. Sure the story is generic but there are still small details that have been taken care of and characters have been sketched nicely. Part of me felt happy that the movie was short but the other part always wanted some more. I felt unhappy the way scene shifted from battle to the king inauguration ceremony and directly ends.
Also, wanted to make some points based on the movie and the book “The Rise of Sivagami” which covers the story 20-30 years before the event of B2. There are spoilers below (though nothing major) so if you want to read the book, please avoid reading below.
The character of Sivagami might be difficult to accept based on the some of hasty decisions she took in the movie B2 but thats how she has been portrayed right from her childhood in the book. Strong willed but impulsive. She would not think twice of the risk associated if she wants to get something even risking the life of her friends. And her only aim is to bring down the Mahishmathi empire. Her father was publicly executed by the king and all she can think of killing the kings and his sons (Vikramdeva and Bijjaldeva). Its quite an interesting arc from revenge against the empire to becoming rajmata (and marrying Bijjaldeva when Vikramdeva is the one who loves her) which would be revealed in more details in the next set of books.
Katappa is a slave and son of the chief bodyguard of the king. He has been drilled right from the start that he is and always will be a slave and his only duties is to obey the king (and unlike his younger brother who openly rebels against the empire. He is the first one to term Katappa as a dog of the king). Only the son Vikramdeva treats him respectfully and so it follows the good relationship that Baahu sr (son of Vikramdeva) has with Katappa.
Even the Mahishmathi empire is not portrayed as an all good empire but something which came on the lands of tribals by betraying them and usurping their land. And it uses slavery and child employment to achieve its nefarious end.
This is a really epic and original environment that SSR (and his team) is creating with the books and backstories as an animated series on Amazon Prime; probably the first for India. I am eagerly awaiting for more.
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brangan
May 3, 2017
Rajesh: Thank you for the points from the book. Interesting.
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Anuja Chandramouli
May 3, 2017
Anu Warrior: Filter coffee over the overpriced slush they serve at Starbucks any day thank you very much!!! Yayyyyyy… We can agree on something at last 🙂 🙂
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Anuj
May 3, 2017
“As much as I love Shaan and Shakti and even parts of Saagar, he never directed another film the way he directed Sholay.” ~ u really think Mani Ratnam has ever made anything remotely close to Nayakan? Or RGV has ever made anything close to Satya? Did Ashutosh ever make anything as good as Lagaan? Did Barjatya ever repeat an HAHK? Did Aditya Chopra or Johar ever repeat a DDLJ/KKHH respectively? Heck even Baahubali 2 ain’t as good as part 1 and even if Rajamouli does direct a Mahabharata or a Ramayana from here, it would still seem like a been there done that exercise. That’s a very unfair statement to make on the genius of Ramesh Sippy the film maker.
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MANK
May 3, 2017
That’s a great point you make Brangan. you can trace the antecedents of events and characters in sholay to a lot of foreign films, but in the end, it was a full blooded indian film
Circa Sholay, Ramesh Sippy had that spark — though it’s surprising that he had that spark for just this one film.
yup, his previous films were Andaz and seetha aur geetha. there was absolutely no inkling that he had the gift for scope and scale required for a film like sholay. sholay seems to have sucked up all his creative juices. Shaan is a film that i like a lot and has watched it multiple times for its sheer technical virtuosity, but it is more than obvious that it was an attempt at creating a copycat of sholay – albeit in a ‘James Bond’ environment as opposed to the ‘western’ space of sholay – right from the way the 2 heroes are introduced , the main villain is introduced – even how he toys with his henchmen – it was an exact replica of sholay, without the magic and emotional wallop that made sholay a classic. i have a fondness for Akayla too. His last film Zamana dewaana was terrible. But most shockingly, he went on to make something like Bhrashtachar which had the most disgusting rape scenes i have ever seen. from directing the most memorable movie scenes of all time to directing the most exploitative gratuitous rape scene, aah, it was quite a fall.
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MANK
May 3, 2017
its fitting that someone from telugu film industry would make this ultimate mythical masala blockbuster. Mythological films were the bread and butter of telugu films up until the 80’s with NTR having played almost every god and demon in our mythology- from rama to raavana and from Krishna to duryodhana, he has done it all. And SSR being the disciple of K. Raghavendra Rao – who formed the most potent combination with NTR – and the son of writer Vijayendra prasad had the legacy , knowledge and talent to make a film of this kind and scale
i dont think any of the contemporary hindi filmmakers have it in them to make a film like bahubali. most of them are so westernised and hollywoodised in both their ideology and tastes and simply dont seem to have any idea about our mythology or even remotely interested in them . even old timers like Rakesh roshan or for that matter SRK chose to copy ideas lock stock and barrel from the hollywood rather than looking inward to our own epics, even though they name their films Krrish and RA1. may be Bhansali can do it , but he is a little too eccentric and cynical to make a full blown masala film like this one, which is pretty rousing and optimistic at every turn. Rajkumar santhoshi – the man who made last serious masala genre film khakhee – would have made it in his prime . i remember he had even announced a mahabharata adaptation with an all starcast, but then he sort of slipped in to oblivion. i hope the success of this film rekindle the spark in him and others like J.P. Dutta
this film has been a myth buster in so many different ways. about the concept of stardom, release dates, audience demographic etc. i hope this would put an end to excess dependence on stars to make films, the mad rush for booking festival dates for releases which has been leading to lot of acrimony among actors in recent time, the great mass and class divide, the great north south divide , because this telugu film with no stars – at least in non telugu versions and even in the case of telugu , prabahas wasnt even in top3 of the telugu stars when he embarked on this venture – released on a non holiday weekend has emerged the first pan Indian blockbuster since Sholay.
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Mathur
May 3, 2017
Havent seen a more laborious film than Sholay in proportion to the hype. Shoot me.
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
May 3, 2017
Sholay inspired quite a number of movies. I think it’s probably the only masala film that is being “taught” in film schools. Take Captain Prabhakaran for instance, the Mansoor Ali Khan character (though largely inspired by Veerappan) is modeled based on Gabbar Singh (his mannerisms, costumes, et al). “Aatama Therottama” is a tribute to RDB’s “Mehbooba Mehbooba”. The way in which the MAK character kills Sarath Kumar’s remind you of Amjad Khan chopping the hands of Sanjeev Kumar, the bond between Sarath and Captain somewhat remind you of Dharam’s relationship with AB and Sanjeev Kumar. Have a look at this train fight sequence from CP. IR’s BGM, too, has shades of RDB’s from the original scene:
I’ve just seen three films of Ramesh Sippy – Saagar, Bhrashtachar and of course Sholay. Bhrashtachar was among the few mainstream films to be shot by K. K. Mahajan. It’s interesting how people like Sippy and Subhash Ghai managed to get these men on board. Interestingly, Sippy made another film, Zameen, based on the lines of Sholay. It had Vinod Khanna, Rajini, Sanjay Dutt, Sridevi and Madhuri in the lead and was stalled halfway through production due to budget constraints.
Btw, here’s a list of our filmmakers’ favourites. Check out for those that included Sholay as among their favourites:
http://www.rediff.com/movies/ibest05.htm
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
May 3, 2017
Anuj: u really think Mani Ratnam has ever made anything remotely close to Nayakan?
Purely in terms of technical finesse? Yes!
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sanjana
May 4, 2017
Saw the movie. Finger chopping did not look bad. That lecher deserved it. No complaints. Overall a very satisfying movie except that boat song. Repeat value is there.
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sanjana
May 4, 2017
The film should be enjoyed without too much analysing. Do one analyse a feast instead of enjoying the experience?
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Jyoti S Kumar
May 4, 2017
MANK: very interesting points you have put forth especially related to star wattage. However, though this was a non festival weekend, it was not a non holiday weekend. Since May 1 would have been a holiday in many parts of the country (I heard Rajasthan didn’t have holiday on May 1), so effectively this was also a long weekend what with Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday). I was puzzled by the dates of release until I realised May 1. Also, though traditionally festivals are the most sought out days for big film releases, I feel these non festival public holidays like Independence day, Republic day and May day are better for ticket sales. During festivals nearly half the population (I mean women) are so busy on preparing for the festival, ultimately they might not go for that first show which the rest of the family wants to watch. But that is not the case with the aforementioned days. Infact Big Bazaar has made a big shopping festival out of Independence and Republic days by coinciding their Big Days on these these two holidays…
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Anuj
May 4, 2017
“this film has been a myth buster in so many different ways. about the concept of stardom, release dates, audience demographic etc. i hope this would put an end to excess dependence on stars to make films, the mad rush for booking festival dates for releases which has been leading to lot of acrimony among actors in recent time,” ~ true and false in equal measure. One must remember that this is part 2 of a franchise which had an ambiguous open ended climax to part 1 (the biggest masterstroke played by the makers) and considering the popularity of part 1, the conclusion was bound to get historic. Part 1 as an independent release started slowly in the Hindi & ended up with a little over 100 cr in the dubbed format. Still a huge achievement for a dubbed film but nowhere near being the record breaking blockbuster that the second one is. Now part 1 in Hindi broke all possible records on television for a Hindi movie over the next 2 years and this along with the solid theatrical trend led to huge anticipation and hype for part 2 of this franchise. Not taking anything away from the monumental performance of part 2, but if Bahubali has just been a one part film, we would never have been talking about myth busters anyway. Contrarily, if a Sultan or a Dangal had an open ended climax with the promise of a sequel to conclude the chapter, even their part 2’s might have busted myths in multiple ways.
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Gayathri Viswanathan
May 4, 2017
Watched today. I liked it though I liked 1st half more than second half. The best part was consistency of the movie and characters throughout. The gore in 2nd half was too high. Also didn’t like nasar character in the end
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Jai
May 4, 2017
@ Rajesh—Nice to ‘meet’ someone who’s also read ‘The Rise of Sivagami’. 🙂 I liked the book a lot as well, eagerly waiting for the next 2 installments of the book trilogy. Wish we had the movies as a trilogy as well, instead of the ‘Beginning–Conclusion’ duo. 🙂
BTW I am so tremendously glad Rajamouli worked with Anand Neelakantan for the book spin offs, and not someone like Amish Tripathi. Neelakantan a good author, his ‘Ajaya’ books had an interesting perspective of the Mahabharata, from the POV of Duryodhana and Karna in particular. ‘Counter telling’ of mythology, in a sense. He’s really good at fleshing out the grays in people’s characters. Like you, I found the perspective he brought to a young Sivagami, and the power set up of the Mahishmati kingdom, to be quite enthralling.
And there was this interesting nugget in the book—about how Somadeva (Baahu Sr’s grandfather) had subjugated the Kuntalas into a vassal kingdom status. That added a very interesting subtext to the Mahishmati–Kuntala interactions in Baahubali 2 (and the Devasena–Sivagami interactions for that matter). 🙂
Amish Tripathi, on the other hand—Yikes, his Shiva Trilogy was the single most overrated book series I’ve had the misfortune to have read.
@ MANK: “this film has been a myth buster in so many different ways. about the concept of stardom, release dates, audience demographic etc. i hope this would put an end to …………… the great mass and class divide, the great north south divide. ”
Very true. I’ve seen very encouraging signs of this, based on the reactions of several of my friends who hail from north India. And why just north–south, even within the south, for that matter. I’ve never seen a Telugu movie before (and I watched Baahubali in the Tamil version). But its really kindled my interest in Telugu cinema, and what with BR posting that thread about ‘Leader’ a few days back, am planning to watch that film on DVD (or the youtube link which BR helpfully provided) 🙂
@ Sanjana: Glad to know you loved the film. Again, I’m just curious how the ‘flying boat’ sequence gets remarked upon several times. Somehow, to me it was obvious that the section where the boat flies into the clouds was a dream sequence. Didn’t it strike you as that? Not being combative here at all—just genuinely curious.
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sanjana
May 4, 2017
II had no problem with flying boat. I had problem with the prolonged song in which typical masala dancers start dancing.
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The Ghost Who Walks
May 4, 2017
@Honest Raj
Bharath_200412/The Ghost Who Walks: Agree, but I’m talking about “accomplishments”. In this regard, Shankar is way beyond Rajamouli. The latter is the better marketer though
I’m not sure about that either. What “accomplishments” are we talking about anyway? Surely not box-office collections or the number of hit films delivered (SSR has in fact, not delivered a single flop)? Is it the impact their movies have had on other filmmakers and industries? I do think Shankar has a better record here, but that’s fast becoming old now. Is it a personal liking to the movies that Shankar has made? if so, thats obviously fair..
Bringing up this point since I never can get the adulation Shankar gets. Even the best of his movies are full of misogynist crap and absolutely unnecessary segues into boring side tracks.
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Anuj
May 4, 2017
Did someone just mention a yikes next to Amish Tripathi? Well I guess had his name been an SSV Amish Shakaracharya the same “yikes” would have become an applause. The troll Tolly/Molly/Kolly brigade seem to be having a field day insulting anything’s that’s got to do with Hindi/Hindi cinema or the northern half of India ever since the release of Bahubali 2. Seems like they ain’t gonna stop at movies & wanna bring even authors into the picture. No wonder the author of a legendary trilogy that’s reinvented the Lord of Mt. Kailash & sold millions of copies thereby being the novel equivalent of Bahubali is being called a yuck/yikes and what not by some snobs.
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Jai
May 4, 2017
@ Anuj….Dude, you are the one bringing tags of region, into a straightforward discussion on authors. I happen to not like Amish Tripathi’s writing style….and I am not alone in that evaluation, (whether North Indian or South Indian). It has nothing, I repeat, NOTHING to do with which part of our country he hails from. That is just a ridiculous accusation. You feel my opinion is incorrect? Great, you are entitled to your opinion about the quality of his writing, just as I am to mine. Where does the accusation of regional bias come in??
My favorite author as far as Indian mythology goes, is Devdutt Pattanaik, who, you might know, is not from south India?
I earnestly feel you should not imagine or make up others’ motives and then attack them. It doesn’t make for a conducive discussion at all.
You need to learn how to have a civil debate without making ad hominem attacks, dude.
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
May 4, 2017
Ghost, if you’re somebody that prefers a Gajendra/Siruthai to a Gentleman/Indian/Mudhalvan, well, there’s no point in escalating this further. I’ve pretty much made myself clear in my earlier response to Ravi K.
Surely not box-office collections or the number of hit films delivered (SSR has in fact, not delivered a single flop)?
If you take out Baahubali, Eega and Magadheera from SSR’s filmography, he is no way comparable to Shankar. It’s like comparing Jayasuriya and Jayawardene in ODIs.
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Anu Warrier
May 4, 2017
Anuj, Amish Tripathi’s novels have a great idea. I love my mythology and love to read re-tellings or even re-imaginings. I had to struggle through the bad English, the bad sentence construction, the bad editing in the first of the Shiva trilogy. The only thing that kept me going was Tripathi’s vision. But even that didn’t persuade me to go through another period of torture to read books 2 and 3.
After the success of his first book, I remember an interview where Tripathi had commended his editors for reworking his English to make it better. Considering the finished product was still riddled with errors in language and syntax, and had a very clunky style, ‘m guessing Tripathi is far more comfortable writing in Hindi. But if he did, then the reach of the books becomes automatically limited. I have nothing against Tripathi – more power to him for having written books that appealed to larger public. But the popularity of a book (or film) doesn’t mean that the end product was ‘good’ or even ‘great’.
Like Jai, this has nothing to do with where I’m from. It has to do with the quality of the writing. I grew up with authors like Mulk Raj Anand and Premchand among others. I read their writing in English and Hindi and am still awestruck at the way they both use language. Amish Tripathi may be a master story teller in Hindi, perhaps, but when he writes in English, it is clunky, pedantic and a struggle to get through.
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Madan
May 4, 2017
“u really think Mani Ratnam has ever made anything remotely close to Nayakan?” – Maybe it’s just that I am a Nayagan heretic but I’d much rather Mouna Raagam or Agni Natchatram.
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kaizokukeshav
May 4, 2017
Watched the movie finally. The movie is not exactly a commercial pot boiler (no item song ?).
There is lot of rawness in the movie and that somewhat breaks the rules of masala movies until pre-climax.
The emptiness of a human living in an ancient world was shown with good clarity, some parts of BB2 have touches of Bala and Vasanthabalan.
These are kingdoms where Rajamatha doesn’t have enough sources to get news. Where a Princess goes to hunt wild boars to save agriculture. Where lost kingdom hides in caves to save their lineage. Where villian spills the truth out of happiness. Where commander takes help of local bull owners to fight against kingdom… there are too many things to like in this movie. This is an accomplishment in iteslf for a commercial Telugu film director.
Infact the outstanding character in the movie is Bhallaladeva, he is the puppet master in the movie who controls every bit of communication going around. No character even cast a doubt on Bhallaladeva till Bahubali dies. He is not proud of sitting on the throne, just happy. He is not jealous of Bahubali gaining attention, he is just worried about losing the throne. Bhallaladeva is a mad cunning fox who can’t reason with anything, he is a monster..
The only problem is that movie became so big that Rajamouli left the rest of the story for audience. His climax was a very lazy one and so are the left out details of relation between characters. I would have loved to watch a 3 part Bahubali with all these left out details but then, the financial and marketing team wouldn’t have allowed it to happen.
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Dani
May 5, 2017
Anuja: I am frankly laughing at the analysis/points you have come up to hate the movie. In fact, This whole thread is funny because I pictured all of you sitting and analysis Spider-Man movie or Star Wars movie which is as straightforward as it can get. I understand if you want to analyze a movie like The Dark Knight or Sicario which has a whole shade of grays, but Baahubali??? Baahubali is for all those kids in us who grew up listening to mythological stories and got the opportunity to experience it through one man’s vision. I always had a life dream of seeing Ponniyin Selvan in large screen. I don’t know if that will happen, but until then, I will live with Baahubali. Baahubali is a straightforward movie with a very simple/old premise taken in a grand scale that makes you imagine the life of kings. Just take it as it is and move on instead of dissecting from all angles!
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Anuja Chandramouli
May 5, 2017
Dani: ‘Just take it as it is and move on instead of dissecting from all angles!’
Not sure if you are new to the blog but hereabouts we tend to dissect and overanalyze movies to pieces. It is how it is. I could be wrong but perhaps it is the BR influence 🙂
And Noooo…. I do NOT want to see Kalki’s immortal classic Ponniyin Selvan made into a movie not even if Peter Jackson was tricked into helming the film (he is the only director who convinced me that his efforts were almost as good as the book itself. Yet he does not have the right sensibility for an undertaking of this nature). Not a single one of our directors has what it takes to do justice to Ponniyin Selvan. Not Rajamouli. Not Maniratnam.
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Naveen
May 5, 2017
Mani formally announced he is not chasing Ponniyin Selvan anymore. Vijay, Mahesh Babu were supposed to be part of it
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Altman
May 5, 2017
I agree with Anuja. If you are going to adapt Ponniyin Selvan to screen you have to treat it like the epic series Game of Thrones. It deserves the length and budget. It isn’t a straight forward good vanquishing evil like Baahubali. The plot is as complicated and intriguing as GoT sans the violence and gore. It’s about real characters who are many shades of grey. There are spies, monks, warriors, traitors, assassins and jilted lovers. As much as I’d like to see it on screen I can’t think of a single person capable of pulling it off right now.
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ThouShaltNot
May 5, 2017
With B2 (watched it) & B1, Rajamouli has upped the game of scale by orders of magnitude. As sheer spectacle, the movies (1&2) will be hard to top and will remain a benchmark. Even pre-Magadheera, I had liked his relatively smaller-scale masaalas (did not like Yamadonga)
[Whats with Ramya’s stare?! Padayappa paathadil irundhey bayam. Idhula innum bayambudhitaanga. edho school teacher nyaabagam dhaan varudhu. yaar kitta vaena vambu vaechchikalaam, aanaa ivanga kitta …]
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 5, 2017
In the whole melee what is forgotten is that this is the first time Satyaraj’s talent has been showcased to a national audience. In interview after interview he had stated that he cannot do Hindi films because his forte is his Tamil dialogue delivery.
But apparently a flower is not to be born to blush unseen ….. 🙂
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MANK
May 5, 2017
Ravishankar Anna where is your bahubali 2 cartoon ?
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 6, 2017
MANK : You read my mind 🙂 Thanks for enquiring
I’m occupied with a medical emergency. No sooner does one end another begins.
I guess I’m hors d’combat for sometime…….
I’ve stopped coming on whatsapp. The only thing I read is this column and the COMMENTS.
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GODZ
May 6, 2017
@sravi Hope all is well… Thanks for bringing that note on Sathyaraj… He is one actor who can take up any role and live that role on screen without acting (Exception – his occasional Hamming Thanks to P.Vasu movies). It’s so effortless. Versatility (his greatest strength) and his physique even at the age of 60 plus were on full display in this movie.
Also if there is someone who deserves Equal credit as Rajamouli, its Saabu Cyril. A production designer role is equally important as directors in a movie of this scale and His part is significant in bringing life to Rajamoulis grand Vision.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 6, 2017
GODZ : Thanks -still surviving.
Very well said on Satyaraj. The man’s got the neuromuscular coordination of a leopard.
And yes – We need to recognize the role of the production designer. Thankfully after Nayakan (Thota Tharani) it is getting recognized to a certain extent.
“As a Production Designer you cant put ANY can of soup on the shelf….it has to be the RIGHT can of soup” – Dean Tavoularis Production Designer for many Coppola films
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brangan
May 6, 2017
I don’t know. I’ve always found Sathyaraj a particular kind of theatrical actor. He’s not really a “cinematic” actor. His “range” has more to do withe varied roles he’s been in rather than his ability to be different in each one of them. He’s very effective, very powerful in his zone — and Kattappa was right up his alley.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 6, 2017
BR : Maybe he should do a ‘Thabaraana Katha’ or ‘Awakenings’ but not sure who will come up with the script
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MANK
May 6, 2017
Ravi anna get well soon, i hope your sickness wasn’t from ‘feeling the breeze’ outside theaters showing kattru veliyadai. 😀
I have become so addicted to your cartoons that no movie experience is complete without them .eagerly awaiting your cartoon. make sure to get the number of packs on Prabhas and Rana’s abs correctly , if nothing else 🙂
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MANK
May 6, 2017
i always felt sathyaraj was at his best when playing the villain. how effortlessly he stole the show from kamalahaasan in kakki sattai. once he made the transition to hero , he sort of became too theatrical. just watch the double role in amaidipadai. he is at his effortless best as the villain character , that stoned monologue about blood relation is just brilliant. in comparison,his performance as the hero comes across as very labored .
here it is
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brangan
May 6, 2017
Ravi, whatever the emergency is, for whoever, hope things go well.
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Madan Mohan
May 6, 2017
sravishanker1401: Saar, take care.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 6, 2017
MANK : Very kind of you to say so !
Will count the abs before the drawing 🙂
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 6, 2017
Thanks for the wishes and prayers BR, Madan, Sanjana, Amit
Its for my son.
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sanjana
May 6, 2017
My god bless your son with good health and long life.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 6, 2017
MANK : My favourite Satyaraj punchline in Kakki Sattai is “Correct Partner…Police kaiyyaala saagardhavida JOLLYaa REST eduththukkuttay saagaradhu yevvalavo better !”
Part I – The Interview
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ThouShaltNot
May 6, 2017
ravishanker: best wishes !!
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 6, 2017
ThouShaltNot : Thanks !
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Amit Joki
May 6, 2017
sravishankar1401: Saar! I am sure your son will come back all guns blazing! What age is he of? I could find a company!
Reg Bahubali 2: It felt a good first half but was extremely disappointed with the second half. It’s a given that the visuals are splendid, but into the second half, I just couldn’t care for any character.
Sivagami knowing Nasser easily plays into his hands. Also that Amerandra’s right hand man so conveniently plays into Nasser’s hands again. I mean who does that? We are made to think Nasser really means when he advises his son not to stoop low, so right hand man believes him enough to share with him that he had heard all of it. It is just tricking the audience with unreliable narration. I felt cheated.
And it was a very very poor reasoning that Balla spares Anushka’s life simply because he still lusts for her. If that’s really so, dammit man, I wonder why he hadn’t had her all made up, preserving her beauty, while making sure she’s in shackles. In her shown state, I refuse to believe that someone can lust for her.
And what’s with reducing her to a mere puppet in the hands of the director. The way she’s shown to be a warrior prince, the way she fights, how could she simply stand when Balla takes her away again without any combat?
And what of Balla giving himself away so much easily in front of Kattappa? If Kattappa heard the confession behind some door or something, like eavesdropping, it would have had more a punch than how it really is executed – simply confess openly when a loyalist like Kattappa is around.
Also the love part with Avantika was more masterly executed than here.
I also didn’t feel sad when Amarendra died, nor was I happy when Balla died which I feel is because of the missing emotional connect to the characters.
Still all the nitpicking aside, it is just an underwhelming sequel to an overwhelming first part, still better than mainstream offerings, with a vision in place. A cornerstone for more milestones to come.
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Prashila
May 7, 2017
Ravishanker Sir, wishes and prayers for your son.
And off topic, your cartoons are fun, though I would disagree with the Take 2 of KV . 🙂 You have a new follower.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 7, 2017
Thanks Amit ! He is Eighteen
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 7, 2017
Thanks Prashila ! Much appreciated
Re: Your take on Take 2, we are not only on the same page we are on the same line.
I’m also a DDM (Die Hard Mani Ratnam Fan in Denial Mode).
Where cartoons / comics are concerned it doesnt matter whether the movie is good or not, its ALWAYS National Lampoon’s vacation.
Check this out from MAD magazine’s “The ODD Father”
(Don Corleone) : Kiss my hand Amerigo ”
(Amerigo Bonasera) : “Don Corelone ! I need $ 2000 !!!”
(Don Corleone) : “Kiss my ass and get out ”
See ?
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Amit Joki
May 7, 2017
S.Ravishankar: And I will be, in three days 🙂 What’s his name? Is he on facebook?
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 7, 2017
Vow ! His name is Adithya. No he’s not on FB. He is on Anti-Social Media 🙂
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Madan
May 7, 2017
Amit: Advance birthday wishes. And have to say you are pretty cool for a yet to be eighteen chap. Engal kellam andha vayasula innum romba kobam varum.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 7, 2017
Amit : I second Madan. Birthday wishes for ….May 10th is it ?
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Madan
May 7, 2017
By the way, Anti Social is a pretty cool joint in Khar if you dig underground music. The board says Social for some reason and you will never get to Anti Social if you ask passerbys Anti Social kidhar hai.
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Amit Joki
May 7, 2017
Thanks Madan and S.Ravishankar (yes May 10th it is).
Madan: I’d love to retire there, digging music!
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Dandy
May 8, 2017
Branga, although I haven’t seen the film yet and it looks like a film that I am going to enjoy, can’t readers have their opinion and disagree on this one. Films are very subjective by nature, a viewer’s definition of a particular trope might vary as well. A.O Scott once said that although he was inspired by the great Pauline Kael, he almost always disagreed with her saying that she never had a consistent set of principles but her reviews helped form his own opinion. Isn’t it always interesting to have differing set of views about the same film rather than sycophants like MANK who glorify whatever you have to say about the film.
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brangan
May 8, 2017
Dandy: So which part of this conversation makes you think readers cannot have their opinion or disagree?
When I counter someone’s views, I am not saying “how dare you disagree.”
I am saying, “okay, so you’re saying this, but I don’t agree, and this is what I have to say.”
It’s called a DISCUSSION, but maybe that’s too grey a concept for you. (I try not to get personal with comments, but since you decided to, I just thought I’d lob the sentiment right back.)
About films being subjective by nature, thank you for that nugget of wisdom — only, I’ve been saying that for about 15 years 🙂
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Apu
May 8, 2017
BR: “About films being subjective by nature, thank you for that nugget of wisdom — only, I’ve been saying that for about 15 years 🙂”
😀 😀 😀 Burn!
Anu (About Amish): “I had to struggle through the bad English, the bad sentence construction, the bad editing in the first of the Shiva trilogy.”
Thanks, finally someone says it – not to mention the assumption that people ate idlis for breakfast during the times of Shiva, which they might have… but still.
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NoName
May 8, 2017
“Its quite an interesting arc from revenge against the empire to becoming rajmata (and marrying Bijjaldeva when Vikramdeva is the one who loves her) which would be revealed in more details in the next set of books.”
Since Vikramdeva also looks like Prabhas (from a brief shot of his painting during the flashback in part 1 when Amarendra is born), this sheds new light on Amarendra’s oedipal complex.
Clearly, Vikramadeva has more resilient genes compared to Bijjaladeva. The former’s descendants look exactly like him, whereas the latter’s son must have inherited his genes from elsewhere in the gene pool.
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blurb
May 8, 2017
sravishankar Thoughts with you and the family.
I just watched Bahubali The Beginning — how slow am I?!
I haven’t read the BR review for Part-2, haven’t really read the comments. But it’ll all happen in 3 weeks, if it still runs in the theaters here in SoCal.
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NoName
May 9, 2017
“Bhalla would of course, love a dream sequence with Devasena!”
Lo and behold..
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Anon
May 9, 2017
@Noname: Thank you for this gift 😀 This movie shall be watched.
Thanks also to whoever provided book nuggets. Clearly I liked the movie and the franchise way more than I thought cos I’m still thinking about it.
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sachita
May 9, 2017
I was watching an interview of Rajamouli where he mentioned his dad (the story writer of this movie) watched a lot of english movies/novels those days and was influenced by them. Since you brought ten commandment reference multiple times in this thread, thought will mention this. (Apparently this was a problem then since his stories used to be more visual while the trend then was more dialogue.)
In the comparison between Rajamouli and shankar, Rajamouli’s use of graphics/grandeur is very relevant to the story. Shankar uses them for their sake – like the time slice shot for a song scene in boys – that isnt very appealing.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 9, 2017
Blurb : Thanks ! Son is better now
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MANK
May 9, 2017
Ravishanker Sir,hope your son is better now
THAGUDU THAGUDU – THE KAAKKI CHATTAI CHRONICLES was awesome. just as much fun as your cartoons. read all the parts in one go and haven’t stopped laughing
some real gems Its also the Last movie in which Kamalahasan speaks English with an ‘English’ accent , huh. but loved your take on Sathyaraj. absolutely spot on
He walks the dangerously thin line between casual comic timing and not taking himself (or the script too seriously) with devastating dexterity, a class trapeze act . cant put it better. Kakki sattai is an ultimate guilty pleasure majorly due to SR’s performance.
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MANK
May 9, 2017
Isn’t it always interesting to have differing set of views about the same film rather than sycophants like MANK who glorify whatever you have to say about the film.
whooohooo, Honored 😀
Brangan,i expect you to include me in your will.
on a serious note, one wouldn’t follow a critic for a long time if one wasn’t in sync with his views. so it is possible that i might have agreed with him more than i have disagreed. i would like to believe that i bring more to the table than simply glorifying what Brangan has already said. But hey whatever floats your boat. just for the record,if i am sycophant of anything, then its his ‘Process’ of reviewing , not necessarily his views.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 9, 2017
MANK : “one wouldn’t follow a critic for a long time if one wasn’t in sync with his views.”
Well said
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 9, 2017
MANK ; Re : Kaakki Chattai Chronicles – Very very kind of you to say so.
Damn right ! Its a “Guilty Pleasure”. Just like Agni Natchathram.
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GODZ
May 9, 2017
@Dandy.. I don’t know What are you Crying here. The audience of this blog are not cry babies like you or they need constant babying of their egos. If you again read this thread, you would see nobody is changing their opinion just because BR Opposes it. Moreover, although BR owns this blog, People don’t come here just to see what he thinks. This blog is indirectly run by 100’s of commentators including you. If he does not want people to have their opinions, what’s the need for him keep the Comment section.. Settings –> Disable.. Simple..Huh..
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blurb
May 11, 2017
This man is so knowledgeable — and glad that he shares it with the world. He shares his thoughts about Bahubali’s success in this video.
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blurb
May 11, 2017
Anuja Chandramouli: Welcome to the being-trolled-on-twitter club. 😀
BTW – they said it’s unfortunate that people like you exist in this PLANET. Not just India. 🙂 See, you are already a pro in dealing with trolls. You didn’t care to fully read what this idiot troll said 😀
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Anuja Chandramouli
May 11, 2017
Blurb: What can I say but ‘Oh man!’ 🙂
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Rahini David
May 11, 2017
Anuja: As a kid, my favorite film which I watched over and over again was Chiranjeevi’s Kadhal Devadhai (don’t know what the Telugu original was called).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagadeka_Veerudu_Athiloka_Sundari
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Anuja Chandramouli
May 11, 2017
Thanks Rahini! Definitely going to watch it again 🙂
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Dhruv Chouta
May 15, 2017
Branga, MANK sorry for the earlier rant, if it came across that way. Just felt a reader was getting a little cornered here by others for not liking the film as much.
Having seen the film now, I have to say this one is a rousing, sweeping epic and infact as a standalone film it is better than the first part. Rajamouli has sort of fixed what didn’t work in the first film, the gratuitous & frivolous romance between Shivadu & Avantika for one & thankfully there is no item number in this one.
I thought Prabhas was majestic as Amerendra Bahubali, although Mahendra Bahubali/Shivadu was poorly etched which is partly why the second half was sub-par, especially after Amarendra’s demise. If not for an underpar second half this one could have been a truly great film. As it stands Baahubali 2 is still a monumental effort falling short of greatness.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 18, 2017
CARTOON : BAAHUBALI : THE CONCLUSION – TAKE ONE
Thanks to everyone in this Super Duper Group for their support and prayers !
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neabs
May 19, 2017
loved everything in the movie except for the pre climax scene. Curious to read the book rise of sivagami.
i have a doubt is it a planned coincidence that Mahendra Bahubali was initially named shivudu by Rohini , and Amarendra fakes his identity and names himself Shivudu at kundaladesam.
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blurb
May 19, 2017
This should be orgasmic for a data scientist and a movie lover 😀
https://research.fb.com/diversity-and-unity-of-india/
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Kay
May 20, 2017
Ravi sir, hope your son is feeling better now.
Belated birthday wishes Amit! Hope you had a great one.
“I hope this would put an end to …………… the great mass and class divide, the great north south divide”
At least two of my North Indian friends have asked me for movie suggestions and started watching them. So yes, this movie has really turned the focus on South Indian movies.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 20, 2017
Kay : Thanks so much. Yes he is better now.
2 more exams to go. Fingers crossed
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Amit Joki
May 20, 2017
Kay: Thanks man!
By the way, though the chances of it are highly unlikely, does anyone in here know a big shot in Madurai personally?
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blurb
May 23, 2017
Just successfully completed my final dissertation my defense. This blog and its members have been a big part of cheering me up during the ensuing depressive times after every rejected paper — so, thanks 🙂
Also, BAHUBALI 2 — here I come 😀
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 23, 2017
Blurb : Hearty Congrats on the dissertation defense ! I know what a Hell it can be. My siblings went through trying times before they completed theirs.
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Kay
May 23, 2017
Congrats blurb! What was it about?
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blurb
May 24, 2017
sravishanker1401, Kay — thank you! Kay, my background is CS (machine learning to be precise :))
Bahubali – The Conclusion. It completely consumed me! The interval sequence was plain goosebumps. What amazes me is how well Amarendra and Mahendra are sketched out as characters. It’s the same person playing both roles, and it’s pretty much the same look (more or less). But it’s incredible how the characters came across as being different. It’s evident that Amarendra is raised by a queen, he is raised to be King.
I cannot believe it’s still running. I might go in for a second viewing! ❤
And Prabhas. Damn!
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blurb
May 24, 2017
Also: “Vanjaganin nenjil irukkum anju kenji kettaal varadhu” –> ❤
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hari ohm
May 24, 2017
Amit Joki enakku nanragave big shot oruvarai theriyum, aanal …. avarukku … theriyumo theriyaadho theriyaadhu
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 26, 2017
CARTOON : BAAHUBALI THE CONCLUSION – TAKE TWO
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blurb
May 27, 2017
This is how my post bahubali days were spent: Varsham, Chathrapathi, Pournami, Billa, Bujjigadu, Darling, Mirchi in 4 days.
SOMEBODY STOP ME!
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Anon
May 27, 2017
@Blurb: don’t worry. First hand sources confirm that it is completely normal to have Bahubali+Prabhas+Rana fever post watchage of Bahubali 2. I can confirm all mirchi clips with prabhas on YouTube have been watched. You’re clearly more intrepid. Please give reccos. Do you feel the need to learn Telugu yet? Also, how sad that Tamil films don’t have ONE droolable actor currently operating!
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
May 28, 2017
Anon : “Droolable” Ha Ha. great phraseology but sad at the same time.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
May 31, 2017
Good morning
Here’s my first attempt at a review, and at that a very indulgent and flawed one
Do share your views on it.
Suggestions on how to liven up the blogspace also welcome
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Rohit Sathish Nair
May 31, 2017
I know I’m late by about a month and I wrote it 2 weeks after I watched it. So it’s more of a writing exercise rather than a review
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blurb
June 1, 2017
Rajamouli speaks about what could have been done differently in the Bahubali series. Just lovely.
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Madan
October 20, 2017
It took me a long time to get around to the Bahubaali films but I finally did. I thought the discussion on dissent and how it can throw even a monarchy into chaos was very interesting. Historicals/medieval fantasy films are nothing without palace intrigue but the way the people pleaded with Sivagami, that they knew what she didn’t, and how it even influenced her decisions, was very interesting. And it wasn’t just, oh, Amarenda Bahubaali is the greatest stud you’ve ever laid eyes on so therefore people fell head over heels in love with them. No, they show that his strength is tempered by compassion and an egalitarian streak.
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