SS Rajamouli's epic inspiration

When S.S. Rajamouli released a poster from Baahubali, showing Prabhas and Anushka in the three-arrow archery pose, it drew flak for showing the actress in a graphically-slimmed avatar. However, when the audience watched it onscreen, they were blown away by the three-arrow archery act.

Apparently, a team from Aram Archaeological Research Centre discovered stones in Thally, Tamil Nadu with carvings of warriors having three arrows in the right hand and a bow in the left.

The stones are said to belong to the 13th century Vijayanagar period. Surprisingly, the discovery has an uncanny resemblance to the technique in Baahubali.

Rajamouli shares, “All my films are inspired by Mahabharata and Ramayana because I was raised with these epics. I have a deep emotional connect with them.”

No wonder then that the filmmaker might have taken inspiration from Ghatotkacha’s son Barbarika, who was said to be an expert in the three-arrow archery technique, emulated by Prabhas in the film.

Talking about the new development, Vijayendra Prasad, the writer of the film says, “It was Rajamouli’s thought. There was a scene that involves the hero shooting arrows and we were discussing possibilities, and eventually zeroed in on the three-arrow style. However, I was unaware that such a style existed in earlier times. It is a strange coincidence.”

Sabu Cyril, the art director of the epic drama, adds, “When Rajamouli told me about the idea of having the three-arrow archery scene, I was only thinking about how to elevate the scene in the given parameters.”