But more than that the sequel has cemented the ‘visionary’ status of its creator SS Rajamouli.
The difference between a visionary and the rest of the lot is how they tend to see goals. Bruce Lee believed that a goal is not always meant to be reached and often it served simply as something to aim at.
With the release of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion Rajamouli joins a small list of filmmakers whose influence in times to come would surpass the films that are associated with their names.
It’s not just the stupendous box office success where it became the first Indian film to enter the fabled 100-crore club in 24 hours or the awe and reactions that Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is garnering makes the movie special.
Reams have already been written about the manner in which Rajamouli went about infusing life into his vision, the kinds of which Indian cinema has rarely witnessed. It is, in fact, too close to the event to actually gauge what Rajamouli might have truly achieved.
Setting out to make a big film isn’t what it used to be a decade or two ago. Once upon a time, a film such as Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993) was the costliest Indian film ever made. But looking at the visuals or the scale of the production: you would wonder just where was the Rs 10 crrore, which would be almost Rs 47 crore today, spent? As in most of the films even mythological films, too, a major chunk of the budget was spent on the actors’ fee and sets.
Perhaps that was the reason why traditionally producers would play it safe with the mythology genre and avoid taking A-list actors. But that still didn’t mean the money for special effects or the level of production was increased.
Even in the West the historical or the mythological films that have featured top stars usually fell short – Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Cleopatra (1963) – when compared with similar films that featured relatively lesser known faces.
In many ways, Rajamouli’s influence on Indian films right from the germination of an idea to the scale of execution can be compared with the impact that Peter Jackson had post-The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was Jackson who singlehandedly ushered in the new phase in ‘Wellywood’ or films coming out of Wellington, New Zealand.
Before the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Jackson was best known for his breakthrough thriller Heavenly Creatures (1994), the film that besides fetching him and his writing partner, Fran Walsh, an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay also introduced to the world Kate Winslet.
Besides this, the only other film that came to mind when the name Peter Jackson was mentioned was The Frighteners that featured Michael J Fox and was produced by Robert Zemeckis.
Even when Jackson was shooting the first of the three films there was hardly any buzz, many even questioned him being the director. On top of it, Jackson’s decision to a New Zealand based local special effects company that he was also a co-founder of called Weta Digital to bring JRR Tolkien’s book to life was being seen as suicidal.
Once the film released the spotlight fell on New Zealand as a location and Weta as a big player in visual effects. The manner in which Wellington transformed into a major force in filmmaking thanks to Jackson is something that people are aware of but it is said that one needs to be in the city for a few days to know just how powerful Jackson’s influence is.
Rajamouli and Baahubali might have a similar role to play in the path ahead for a kind of filmmaking in India.
The mythology is a genre that is ideally suited for Indian films because of the great storytelling tradition that we have and the fact that for the first time a film has truly managed to capture it in its essence and spirit is the biggest achievement.
This completely homegrown epic has mesmerised audiences across the globe and some had even called the first Baahubali film as one that restores the faith in the blockbuster.
Picasso had once said that when he painted wild horses you might not see the horse but surely you’d see the wildness and that is apt to describe Rajamouli’s interpretation of India’s long-standing mythology and folklore tradition.
Baahubali stands apart from the standard definition of the Indian mythological film, as it is both a hat-tip to the traditional and the modern where not only the two blend seamlessly but also the past doesn’t burden the narrative.
The sentence - a Hyderabad-based filmmaker has come up with a Telugu film that cost Rs 180 crore (the first one and Rs. 250 crore for the sequel) featuring actors barely known in the rest of the country or the world that has debuted at Number 3 on US box office charts and not only met but also set a new yardstick for special effects in a global context – needs to be said aloud a few times to truly gauge what Baahubali 2: The Conclusion has managed.
For a lesser budget than what The Lord of the Rings trilogy would have cost, the Baahubali franchise has opened up a new business model for films that feature extensive visual effects.
It wouldn’t be totally wrong to call Baahubali 2 a unique example of ‘Make in India’.
Perhaps it’s a matter of time before more mainstream Hollywood studios begin to look at India as a filmmaking destination that is not limited to exotic or kitschy locations.
After Lord of the Rings Weta had Hollywood scrambling to them and if The Jungle Book, King Kong, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, Furious 7, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and many could be executed there, then it is time to get ready for a new era in Indian filmmaking.
Gautam Chintamani is a film historian and the author of the best-selling Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna (2014) and The Film That Revived Hindi Cinema (2016)
Tweet him – http://www.twitter.com/gchintamani
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