His arrows are ridiculously accurate, his sword blows are surreally powerful, his punches are bolts from heaven, his war cries are crash of thunder, he can almost fly, shoot shafts midair, steal swords and lances from his foes while being airborne and decapitate men and beast with a single swipe of his blade. This hero challenges gravity. This hero tests every basic rule of Physics. This hero is absurdly unreal. Yet this hero looks so real that we become a part of his epic.
It takes a true genius and a true engineer of his Cinema science to convert fantasy into a sequence that people can relate with. How many Gandalfs and Daenerys Targaryens can the Art world boast of? Very few. Bahubali is the latest addition to the elite club of illustrious fantasy characters. And most of the credit must go to SS Rajamouli, the man behind this larger than life saga.
Read Bahubali 2 Movie review here
Indians are notorious for making horrible sequels. What Priyadarshan did with Hera Pheri or Harmesh Malhotra did to Nagina or Mahesh Manjareker to Vaastav are textbook cases of atrocious sequel making. Gangs of Wasseypur is the only prequel-sequel movie that lived up to the hype and expectations. But Anurag Kashyap shot GOW in one go and simply divided them in 2 parts. It was an intelligent decision. But SS Rajamouli reworked on everything, conceptualized grander sets, more challenging sequences, more complicated characters, more cities, tribes and a whole new mythology.
SS Rajamouli amplified every single aspect of Bahubali in Bahubali 2 while keeping the plot coherent, characters consistent, actions justified and cinema entertaining.
Bahubali part 1 begins with a wounded Sivagami Devi – The Rajmata of Mahismati, wading in perilous waters, carrying a newborn who is born to fulfill his destiny. And it ends with an uncomfortable question, a question that will haunt cinemagoers for 2 years – Why did Katappa kill Bahubali? This was both brilliant and stupid. Brilliant because the interest of the audience was sufficiently aroused and stupid because the critical success of the movie depended heavily on this answer. So, it had to be a solid one. An answer that was worth the wait. I did watch Bahubali 2 but it would be blasphemous to answer why Katappa Killed Bahubali? But those who have watched the movie know that the answer was not just a solid one but it was also well-justified. Not many directors can get the lead killed by a loveable supporting actor and get away with it. But SS Rajamouli achieves this feat with matchless élan. Apart from answering this question, Bahubali 2 seamlessly connects the wounding and escaping of Sivagami Devi and answers why she feels obligated to deliver the child? So, one can safely say that Rajamouli was in complete command of his characters and story while ending the first part on a cliffhanger.
SS Rajamouli assembled an ensemble cast and made them perform at their best. Bahubali is awe inducing. Katappa is adorable but tragic. Devasena is graceful. Sivagami is domineering. Bijjaldeva is dishonorable. And Bhallaladev is menacing. The perfect portrayal of every character is one of the highlights of Bahubali 2.
Rajamouli made sure that his magnum opus opened to as many screens as possible. His collaboration with Karan Johar testifies the fact that the director was firmly in control of his numbers too. Bahubali 2 has broken every single box office record set by the Khans, Kumars, Devgans and Roshans and is poised to create almost unsurpassable box office records. No movie with an all-South-Indian cast has managed to do it, north of the Vindhyas. No ‘dubbed’ movie has managed to do it. No movie has managed to do it. And that makes Bahubali 2, India’s first real and all-India blockbuster.
It is this mysterious vision and cinematic intelligence of SS Rajamouli that has garnered him a place among the biggest directors India has produced. The aftershocks of Bahubali 2 will be felt by film lovers for a very long time.
Bonus – Find out which Bahubali character are you?