Plot :-
Shivu (Prabhas) is an orphan brought up by people living in forest regions on a mountain, as he grows up, he one day sees a Rebel Avanthika (Tamanna) who is on mission to save a slave women who is very closely related to Shivu .
Performances :-
Prabhas as Baahubali & Shivu - Prabhas should be appreciated for spending two consecutive years for a once in a lifetime dual role like this, now coming to the difference between the roles, Baahubali is a King with a Brock Lesnar like Physique while Shivu is an orphan with a well built yet lean physique similar to people who climb trees, after Mr. Perfect, Prabhas excels in showing his acting skills again, was fantastic in both the roles, Baahubali an Intelligent King with a Royal look and Shivu a charming brave Youth who is quite mischievous at sometimes .
Rana Daggupathi as Palvaldhevan - While everyone expected Prabhas to walk away with all the audience chants among actors, Rana comes as a surprise package from his Introduction scene itself, coming as a middle aged evil king who has always been strong ever since the day he stepped foot in the battlefield. Its worth the wait, Rana's 2 years long hard work got him the best role of his career so far .
Tamanna as Avanthika - As usual curvy, glamorous and beautiful, but this time she goes an extra mile to prove herself as a bold rebel as well, contrary to what few think about North Indian girls who act in South films, there are still few who can act very well, apart from sizzling in skimpy clothes alone, Tamanna is among them, Rajamouli managed to shed light on the overlooked side of her acting skills, I'm sure many would have hardly recognized her in a scene that comes after her Introduction fantasy song sequence, that's reason enough to put her in contention for a Filmfare this time.
Sathyaraj as Kattapa - Lesser known to many, Sathyaraj is well trained in mixed martial arts and sword fighting, that comes in hand for his role as a slave warrior in Baahubali, despite being over 60 years old, age is just a number for him, Physically he is as fit and strong like was in the last two decades, from start to finish, he has done full justice for his role .
Ramya Krishnan as Sivagami - Remember her role as Neelambari in Padayappa, this role too is something as bold as that but there is also a major changeover, its a positive shaded role this time filled with the same amount of rage & anger of Neelambari, though the role is brief it leaves a everlasting impact on the film .
Others like Nassar, Anushka etc. also did very well in small important roles.
Technicalities :-
Cinematography by KK Senthil Kumar - Rajamouli's long time cinematographer repeats the Naan Ee magic for Baahubali as well, the wide angled shots that give a brief intro to the prestigious atmosphere of Mahishmathi Kingdom is on par with Hollywood standards, and there is plenty more about his brilliant work that takes time to write about, for now he is this year's best Cinematographer .
Editing by Kotagiri Sreenivasa Rao - He has done whatever he could to make sure there are no unwanted scenes in the final cut, and at the end his work only makes the film better for the most .
Music by Maragatha Mani - Telugu Cinema's Ilayaraja is at his usual best for Rajamouli films, though not instant addictions, we'll get used to listening to the great songs he has composed as time passes as they are different from our sensibilities . But BGM wise, he is upto date despite scoring for a period film, I've rarely heard of a Indian Music Composer scoring BGM with Guitars for a period film instead of the usually preffered Violins & drums that often make the film scenes overtly sentimental.
Visual Effects - I'm proud to say this is an Indian film, such is the awesomeness level of the fantastic CGI work in the film, nothing less even when compared to Hollywood films, its just as good as them, the long war sequence in the 2nd half is proof for it, a good director and a good VFX supervisor coming together with 100s of dedicated VFX artists creates magic, and that is Baahubali, this is the reason why its a must watch despite the film's script being slightly below par the sky high expectations .
Written & Directed by SS Rajamouli :-
First thing is first, Rajamouli needs to be appreciated for even trying such a ambitious character driven period film, moreover he is the first to come this close to making a Indian period film with International standards . The film's technical aspects have come out well owing to the dedicated supervision by Rajamouli during the making, so as a Director this is the career best work for Rajamouli but the film's screenplay remains uneven for most of the time, probably due to the film getting split into two parts. In the first half the film is slow as it takes time to establish Shivu's character, Avanthika's motive and how love blossoms between them so it indeed tests audience patience at times, things get better in 2nd half, Shivudu gets to know about Baahubali and except for the unnecessary vulgar Item song, it connects well with the audience and the comes a small disappointment, the flashback ends with how Baahubali becomes the King while the rest of the Flashback and Shivudu's next move is postponed for Baahubali : The Conclusion that releases next year, that decision by Rajamouli may leave few people with lack of satisfaction
Plus :-
Prabhas, Satyaraj, Rana, Ramya Krishnan & Tamanna's performance
BGM
Art Direction
Cinematography
Fight Choreography
VFX
Direction
Minus :-
Slow 1st half
Screenplay should have been more crispier
Abrupt Ending
The Final Word : Technically Brilliant, and though Baahubali is still good, it could have been a masterpiece If it had a more tighter script .
Rating - 7.75 / 10
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