Movie Review - Baahubali: The Beginning

Baahubali: The Beginning

Director: S.S Rajamouli who has given blockbuster's like Magadheera, Eega(Makkhi)

Summary:

This is the first time I have ever seen a movie in a cinema hall after 5th week of its release. That too a dubbed Telugu movie in Hindi and until I came back home I was not even knowing the name of the lead star. But Wow! What an Experience!

Kudos to the film makers. Absolutely amazing production value. Never ever done earlier by Indian film makers in Bollywood.

By the way, Hindi version on the 5th weekend is running houseful and that itself says a lot given the fact that it had healthy competition from Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Drishyam and Mission Impossible - 5.

Overall this is a great product and it goes a long way to say that you don't always need a SRK, Salman or Amir to woo the Hindi audiences, they will embrace it anyways if it has real value. Looking forward for the second part Baahubali - The Conclusion.

What Works Well?

It is marketed as India's biggest motion picture and it shows when you watch it on the big screen. It does have excellent production value, excellent camera work, top rate graphics and art work. No doubt about it. I saw the Hindi version and the dubbing was good too. It is a rare phenomenon that the hindi masses go after a dubbed movie in such big numbers. In its 5th week running the multiplexes have house full shows over the weekend which is a clear indication that it is a blockbuster in Hindi given the fact that it had tough competition from Bajrangi Bhaijaan and later Drishyam and Mission Impossible - 5.

Performances are good too. Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Ramaya, Tamanna Bhatia play their part well.

Story and Plot is NOT novel. It is a historic fantasy tale of a Kingdom and its Emperor. You have seen such stories and movies earlier but this time the scale is king size and overall presentation is larger than life.

More than anything else the dramatic presentation and at times the melodramatic sequences keep the viewer engrossed into the proceedings.

What Does Not Work Well?

Songs could have been short or at least one song in the post interval portion could have been removed. It is not required or slows down the proceedings. Also, this is not a full movie. This is half a movie. What I actually mean is that towards the end of the movie you realize that its not The End of the story. This is just the first part and the remaining portion of the story will be told in its second part Baahubali: The Conclusion, which will be released in 2016. This may or may not go well with certain section of the masses who would like atleast one part to end with some logical conclusion.