Baahubali: The Beginning

I'm a big fan of Rajamouli, but this is not a biased review. The rating I gave is not just for Rajamouli but the entire unit of Baahubali. Right from the story which reminded me of all the beautiful Indian stories that were part of my childhood,(I'm getting back to reading Amar Chitra Katha now!!!) to every guy who says "Baahubali" in the movie. There were several scenes that gave me goosebumps, not scary ones but like those that put you in awe.

It should just get better from here for Indian Cinema. This should be the benchmark for story telling, direction, script, visuals, sets, screenplay etc.(but not for acting!!!)

The story keeps you hooked to the movie. I wouldn't say too many good things about the movie as they may contain spoilers. But I could compare the movie to a good mythological comic that you would like to read again and again.(So I'm watching the movie again tomorrow!!!)

But I would like to mention why I reduced the two stars 1. The make up was not at all good. Especially Anushka's

2. The costumes could be better, probably more realistic(if you compare costumes in Troy or even Hercules, they were more relevant)

3. At times people in the background were not true to the scene, my concentration was distracted due to some idiots who didn't match the scene. A few villagers, few priests, few classical dancers, few tribal guys. The Kalakeya warriors were amazing though.

4. WHO THE HELL CHOSE TO PUT AN ITEM SONG. There were many uufffs in the theatre at that time. How the hell did probably an eastern European end up in that.

5. There were a few glitches in the VFX, like whenever the hero is jumping around... it made it look unnatural. That's poor graphics. I'm not an expert on this but few of those jumping sequences could be avoided. You don't see them in Hollywood mythological except for superhero movies which are more convincing.

But not too many complaints about that as I understand there are certain budget constraints for VFX but Makeup, there is no excuse for that.

All said and done, it was a fantastic movie and worth the wait and ends with a nice climax which keeps you guessing the 2nd half story.

My favourite characters were Sivagami and Kattappa. I am in love with Ramya Krishna again. I'm watching it again tomorrow.

I would simply say.. Get away from anyone giving review. Go and watch this movie. You will be surprised by it. Not everyday are we going to get movies like this. Don't keep high expectations about the movie, unless you have seen previous Rajamouli films ;) (like Magadheera, Eega). I would definitely say watch on bigger screens like imax or xd. Background score is simply awesome and as usual rajamouli makes best use of the music for his sets.

Visuals are good. All characters did their part. Cannot name anyone particularly. I liked the main character most. I will be watching the movie at least two more times :). Hope y'all njoy it.

I have to say one thing before I say anything about this movie. This is my first review in IMDb. I have created the account today to rate this movie so that I can say to the world that this is our Indian - Hollywood movie. Baahubali is an Indian movie but the standards are equal to Hollywood. I am really surprised by watching Baahubali. I am not rating this movie according to visual effects, actors, music nor even story. I am rating this movie by considering all the things. I am eagerly waiting for the second part now.

Please do not add this movie into South Indian movie list. It is an Indian movie that stands on the top of the list. According to the story line everybody did their job well. I have to appreciate Rajamouli for his daring and dashing guts for doing a project like this one. He has set a new trend by directing this movie.

Great cinematography with concept and story in it . Nice directorial work by S. S. Rajamouli and the budget reflects in a heavy content of the film . I thoroughly enjoyed the paid preview . Its a first real tribute from film industry to the greatest epics of all time "The Mahabharata" .

Luring action sequence and VFX and one of the nicest delivered again from south .

Making bollywood look bad again in India , its absolutely not catching up with the southern films .

I am a north Indian and not a great fan of south but they really making bollywood run for its money spree .

First I then Kanchana 2 and now the mighty Bahubali .

Story - 9/10 Acting - 8/10 Visuals - 10/10

Overall 9/10

I was eagerly waiting for this film and I was not disappointed.

Baahubali is one of the most visually impressive films that have come from India. Everything about this film is good - Story, direction, beautiful cinematography, haunting score and amazing visuals (though they lack some details at some places).

I didn't know who Rajamouli was, basically because I am from North India and I don't follow south Indian cinema. But I am sure he is someone you should know about. SS Rajamouli is amazing. He has made something that we can be proud of. I was sure that the VFX would be good however I had a doubt about the story. Rajamouli proved me wrong with this film. The story and the execution is really good. Story takes elements from Indian mythologies (specially from the life of Lord Krishna) . You can not expect more. He took a big risk and made it big. This is what we need, good quality cinema. Salman fans should learn something from it.

All the actors are good and perform their part really well(except Tamanna. She tries too hard but fails miserably). In fact, Tamanna has been used as a plot device (A MacGuffin as Alfred Hitchcock used to call it). Prabhas is okay in the beginning but transforms into a behemoth during the second half. This guy is a natural. He doesn't act exceptionaly but his presence is enough to give you the feels.

The background score needs special mention because it is amazing. It is different from anything you have ever heard in India. The score that plays during war is haunting. (Clearly inspired from the LotR)

I would be lying if I didn't say that Rajamouli spent a lot of time watching The Lord of The Rings. Yes, some scenes will remind you of 300 and the Lord of The Rings but believe me it is completely different. He doesn't copy anything, he uses it as a source of inspiration. There is only one scene that I remember from LotR which has been used in Baahubali. But denying that he was influenced by Peter Jackson would be a big lie. Its a great thing that he was influenced by such a great film otherwise we wouldn't have Baahubali.

The quality of graphics work is very good. In fact its insane for such a cheap price given that Hollywood uses big budget for the same. The battle sequence is SPECTACULAR and reminded me of Battle of Helm's Deep and Pelennor fields from LotR.

But the movie is not without some minor problems. There are unnecessary songs which ruin the experience (I laughed so hard when Prabhas started dancing randomly. Everyone was looking at me.) and some parts are dragged (specially the first half) . Also there are continuity problems and some actors are over-the-top. Cut down the songs and edit the movie and voilà we will have a SPECTACULAR film.

Baahubali is not the answer to 300, Gladiator or The Lord of The Rings because saying so would be foolish. Don't compare this movie to the Hollywood ones because we still have a long way to go. It's not the Indian 300, its Indian "Baahubali".

So in the end, I would like to say - Go and watch it instead of watching the crap that Bollywood has been producing lately. Its something to be proud of. Book your tickets and watch this Indian grand spectacle. You wont regret it. P.S: I want to see Rajamouli doing "Mahabharata" next.