Movie review 'Baahubali': A one-time watch
By : suresh kavirayani
Update: 2015-07-10 15:43 GMT
Cast: Prabhas, Rana, Tamannah, Ramya Krishna, Satyaraj, Nasser and Prabhakar
Director: SS Rajamouli
Rating: 3 stars
Finally, the much-hyped and one of the highest budget films in Indian cinema, ‘Baahubali’ hit the screens. The movie created buzz from the last couple of months and fans waited eagerly to watch this film. Director S S Rajamouli, who has never seen a flop in his film career, chose a folklore subject with fictional characters. Computer graphics play a major role in the film. This is just the first instalment of the film, the film will have a sequel which is expected to release next year.
The movie starts with Queen Sivagami (Ramya Krishna) running around the river banks with an infant as she wanted to save him from the enemies. In this process she loses her life, but the child is saved by some tribes. They raise him as Sivudu (Prabhas). On the other hand Avanthika (Tamannah), a member from a secret warrior gang, wanted to save Devasena (Anushka), a prisoner at the fort of Mahishmathi kingdom ruled by the cruel king Ballaladeva (Rana Daggubati). On her way she meets Sivudu and they fall in love. Sivudu decides to help her and tells her that he will save Devasana from the prison. When Sivudu enters the Mahishmathi kingdom, the subjects call him as Baahubali. Sivudu frees Devasana and they escape from the fort.
Kattappa (Satyaraj), a loyal bodyguard to the Mahishmathi Kingdom is trying to stop Sivudu. In that encounter Kattappa bows his head in front of Sivudu after he sees his face. He reveals that Sivudu is son of Amarendra Baahubali. Then he reveals the story of Baahubali and the kingdom of Mahishmathi….
Rajamouli is undoubtedly a good technician and presents a story visually good. He manages to take a regular old story, and present it in an interesting manner on screen and that’s how he has always had a successful run at the box office. There are many questions that arise in the first film. After watching the film, you will be confused a little as it ends abruptly. No doubt, the film is visually a big grandeur with the computer graphics and cinematography, but the story is weak and didn’t support those visuals. Also there is no connectivity between scenes.
Generally when a film is made in two parts you’re left with a conclusion which leads to the second part. But in ‘Baahubali’ the film ends suddenly and leaves many conclusions. Rajamouli has concentrated more on the graphics rather than on the subject. May be he wanted to show the real story in part two.
When it comes to the performance, it is Ramya Krishna who actually steals the show with her stunning performance. She is undoubtedly the most expressive in the film. Prabhas plays as Sivudu and Baahubali and he put his best effort for this film. You can see his hard work in all the scenes, especially the war scenes. Rana is another highlight and this film takes him to another height in his career. Satyaraj lived in the character of Kattappa. Nasser is as usual as a bad king. Prabhakar of Maryada Ramanna fame looks huge and perfectly fits as the cruel Kalakeya. Tamannaah is beautiful and for the first time one can see her fighting with a sword.
Technically, the movie is very good with Senthil’s cinematography. Every scene of the film is a visual treat, especially, when Prabhas climbs the mountain and waterfalls. Sabu Syril too appreciated for his art work with some good sets. The music however is not impressive. The visuals and some of the actions are stunning and one can definitely appreciate the talent of Rajamouli.
Though technically, the movie is good, there are so many drawbacks. When you come up with heavy graphics, the story should be interesting and fast paced. But the first half of the film is too slow paced. There are few silly scenes like an item song, which is a big minus for the film. Also some scenes can be clearly identified as computer animated and the makers should’ve taken care of them.
The film certified as U/A, and there are a few scenes which are very cruel and it is surprising to see how the Censor Board let it go. Prabhas beheaded Adivi Sesh with the head flying high, and the headless body walks for a few seconds.
Finally, ‘Baahubali’ is a computer graphic dominated film with a weak subject. Though the makers and many have gone gaga over this film as this is an epic, visual wonder, ‘Baahubali’ is neither an epic nor a great one. It falls under a commercial film with computer graphics. More over these kind of folklore films have come to Telugu cinema which the present generation is unaware of. If you look at the old NTR and ANR films, they are comparatively much better than ‘Baahubali’, remember those old films are classics and were made with no computer graphics. You can watch it once!