A frustrated Hindu Newspaper columnist attempts to ridicule the epic movie Bahubali fails as he rants off with a syntax error in the very first line (take a look at the bold headline in the below pic)
But giving that he is writing for ‘The Hindu’, I already felt pity and gave him the grace marks. Nevertheless, when he writes ‘Merely showing spectacular visuals does not make a film’ he gave me the [3] point in the list below that I was looking for since long.
[1] Merely having a PhD does not make you an economist
[2] Merely being in politics does not make you a statesman (you have to be a ‘Lee Kuan’ or ‘Narendra’ for that) and
[3] Merely writing anything crap does not make you a writer/columnist (well, this may even apply to many ‘gods of small things’ we have today).
A few days ago, one of my friends in Sydney called me and said ‘I have not seen a movie as high on entertainment dose as Bahubali’. I said yes, it is poised to travel the world. I don’t think it is wrong to say that Indian Cinema has finally produced its version of Gladiator. (Of course, some canny resemblances with the ‘300’ are also evidently inspired by the same) but there is nothing ‘National Geographic’ in it. The movie is not a Science fantasy, (Gosh! common Mr. Sundar, is this your first Review or a write-up?)
And the marketing strategy, other than hard work from the entire crew, has nothing to do with Telangana politics. In fact, it is a gross undermining of Telugu audience (and of the world at large) to tag them as merely ‘gullible’ residents of ‘Telugu nation’ – which exists only in ‘his’ pretentious mind, as far as an appreciation of a good movie is concerned.
Baahubali is not just a rare, visually spectacular cinema but is also a melodious treat, edited and extraordinarily screen-written with such spirit soaring stunt sequences and drama that intensely lead up to the grand old message of the ultimate triumph of good dharma over evil and, in that attempt, transcends anything that Bollywood has ever endeavored in the last decade or more.
It is magnanimous in its attempt to create a narrative of a kingdom time, where anecdotes of loyalty and betrayal, love and politics are mixed to produce an everlasting flavor. In many aspects, it has opened new doors of directorial challenge for the likes of Bollywood’s Kashyaps and Bhansalis, if they are willing to take that up. With the highest grossing ever for any film, by a margin that at least in my lifetime I don’t expect the Khan-o-phobic Bollywood to break, Bahubali has become what some call the ‘Sachin Tendulkar’ of Indian Cinema.
So there you go, if someone tells you it is overrated, you know that the only thing overrated is their undersized creative judging.
What my point is, creativity is like an ocean open to everyone to draw from it, shape it as per one’s own artistic abilities and present to the world. Especially when it’s a fiction, the canvas is wider for the elements of the artist’s imagination to roll over. It works the same with books, cinema (traditional theater or Modern) or music. Having said that, no great thing is ever without a flaw, but that is not how you perceive great things. You admire them for their brilliance, for their genuine efforts to entertain and inform us and bring alive fantastical worlds that ploy our own imaginations with their beauty and brilliance.
But some, instead of appreciating the good, cheery pick the fine cracks- innate in all forms of performances – to ignorantly suit their weak recount. They cannot ascertain the colors of Rajamouli’s ambitions with Bahubali 2.
As of today, huge number of people (across ethnicity and origin) around the world has seen about Baahubali than of any other Indian film. The use of Cinema is not just in being visually appealing, but to have a story with such an end that it could reverberate like a proverb in the minds of its audience for as long as it can, and should give birth to avenues of creative pursuits for its contemporaries. A rise-fall-rise drama that binds everything to the core of the script is essential for any fiction to make its way ahead and great movies like Bahubali scores on all aspects. Baahubali’s audiences across the world hardly have any reasons to deny it.
Abhorring a movie like Bahubali is only possible with Indian liberals who perhaps were offended with the Krishna song or the fact that ultimately Shiva came to help Mahendra and not a ‘peaceful’ messiah.