‘Baahubali is Bollywood’s costliest film’

Telugu-Tamil filmmaker Maverick S.S. Rajamouli of Magadheera and Makkhi fame is finally stepping into Bollywood with a dubbed version of his new film Baahubali, which is touted as being the most expensive film ever produced in India.

Explaining the involvement of Karan Johar in the Hindi version of Baahubali, Rajamouli said, “I spoke to him a couple of times over the phone, but met him just the other day for the first time. His creative wavelength is entirely different from mine. But we share the same passion for storytelling. And I enjoy his films as a viewer as he does mine.”

Ask him when he will make a full-fledged Hindi film, and Rajamouli laughs and adds, “My commitments down South are still pending. I just hope people here are still interested in me by the time I decide to make a film here.”

Speaking of the Hindi films he has enjoyed watching, he says, “I didn’t get much time to watch films at all for the past one year, but I saw PK though. Raju Hirani — that man is a master.”

So is Baahubali the most expensive Indian film ever? Rajamouli solves the mystery. “If you don’t take stars’ remunerations into consideration, then yes, I think this is the most expensive film. From the beginning itself, we had all plans to dub and release it in Hindi. The story is universal, with simple human emotions at the core, so we are confident that it will appeal to Hindi-speaking audiences as well,” he says.