Baahubali 2: The Conclusion

Yes, I watched the movie too. And no, I watched only the second movie in the theatres. Since Baahubali: The Beginning was dubbed in the mother tongue as well as Hindi, among other languages, I had the opportunity to watch it twice in the comfort of my home not long after it was released two years back, all thanks to satellite rights.

The second movie created such a stir, that my sister booked four tickets for the movie, and off we went – daddy, mummy, my li’l sis and me. This was the first time in over 15 years that all four of us were going for a movie – that is a record in itself!

So, we had been left off with Kattappa confessing to killing Amarendra Baahubali, a tale he recollects to Baahubali’s son – Mahendra Baahubali in the first movie. And Baahubali 2: The Conclusion opens with Amarendra Baahubali’s tale – who he was etc.

Well, take away all the extravagance and the crux of the story is how a good man is betrayed. His cousin and uncle, due to pettiness and jealousy, scheme and manipulate to have him killed. They succeed. But to this basic story, add all the magnificence and it is a must watch. It is the difference between Daenerys Targaryen walking and her riding Drogon!

Last night while chatting with a friend, we discussed this movie. And my friend, very emphatically, said that all this vitriol wouldn’t be there had Amarendra Baahubali stuck to the ‘Bro Code’ while away looking for spies and what not. Here’s how it was explained – While Baahubali Sr and Bhalla were looking for the man, Baahubali Sr sings and dances with beautiful women while Bhalla is shown searching for the culprit. Immediately after we are shown Bhalla trying to let go of the rope that holds Baahubali Sr, letting him drop to his death. So apparently it is not a good thing to ditch one’s Bro and have fun alone. Another discussion was how proud our physics teacher would have been of us today. We could definitely have made better calculations about projectiles and trajectories than what was shown in the movie. No, I am not going to hold this against the movie – it is not of a scientific bent, nor am I Sheldon Cooper. The movie is a fantasy so I figure it’s all good.

And it is a fantasy that is beyond any imagination. Of course, anyone can dream, but I doubt any movie would ever match up to the scale of Baahubali in magnificence. From the kingdom of Mahishmati, the forests; the clothes that the royals were, to the language that the barbarians speak – so many details and none overlooked. Honestly, I would have to sit through the movies a few times and go through them diligently to pick flaws, if any.

I figure that most of you will watch the movie at some point or have already done so. Even if it is not something that you would have chosen to watch, or even if you do not understand the language, Go Watch It. Because this movie showcases what it takes to make dreams come true – dedication, perseverance, hard work, commitment… And not just from a few handful, but that of the entire team. Everyone from the producers, actors, director, singers, technicians… every single person involved in making these two movies deserves to be recognised for being a part of the whole and yet an indispensable entity by themselves. It would never have been possible otherwise. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was logic-defying at times and made the science grad in me LOL, but it was a good movie! I doubt if we would see something like Baahubali again as the team spirit that shines through the movie is seldom present when more than one actor of this calibre are involved. I find that most South Indian movies are much better than ones from Bollywood all around. My opinion is based on Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies that I have watched.

I do have one little disappointment though. Having seen Sathyaraj’s movies and those of Ramya Krishnan as well, I wanted a scene where Sivagami would have told Kattappa “Vayasanalum un lollu mattum unna vitu pogave illa”, a la Neelambari.

PS My personal favourite was Bhalla because, why not!?! Amarendra Baahubali seems to be too good and I, certainly am not. Pride, anger and vanity are my vices and I am not ashamed of them. But then Bhalla in his grey-haired, Thor-like, Mr Grey avatar is the stuff of my dreams! I may end up writing a few fanfics after all. And if Rana Daggubati doesn’t inspire me to work out, I figure nothing ever will.