I don't have much of an inclination toward epics. Nor do I possess a lot of knowledge of Telugu cinema.
For me, even when they are handsomely mounted, epics need to involve a great deal of subtlety to work. Mughal-E-Azam is one such film, a timeless doomed romance that hinged on subtlety to ensure that the intricate battle of egos vibrates with real emotion. I simply can't sit through a film featuring large quantities of people sword-fighting in enormous battlefields. It is exhausting and delivers little to nothing emotionally or intellectually. But when you are in the hands of a master storyteller who knows his material front and back, top to bottom, and who doesn't make any attempt to manipulate his audience into believing his film goes deeper than what it shows, who can guess how enriching the experience will eventually be?
That's one thing I really admire about SS Rajamouli. There is honesty in his filmmaking. Without involving pretentiousness, he tells a story as it is without using gimmicks or fancy-schmancy technical tricks to blow dust into our eyes and compel us to overlook his flaws. With his last offering, the terrific and wildly imaginative Eega, he reaffirmed himself as one of the country's most original filmmakers.
And there is no filmmaker I would have wanted to see helm an alarmingly budgeted fantasy-epic than one who knows how to use CGI to propel the narrative, not create the illusion of an inventive film. The first part of a two-part saga, Baahubali: The Beginning is largely predictable and theatrical, but grand, sweeping, brilliantly conceived and extremely well-told.
It is a safe risk. Right from the opening scene, it is quite apparent that the story will make use of countless threads of other fantasy films serving as templates, therefore plot twists will be mostly out of the picture. Even the characters are stock. Evoking Hindu mythological stories purposefully, the setting is not unfamiliar: a kingdom ruled by a tyrannical and typically virile king and an innocent but dogged savior who is the rightful heir to the throne but is -- foreseeably -- unaware of that detail. The establishment of the environments the characters populate is done meticulously. Personally, I would expect nothing less from a filmmaker of Rajamouli's caliber, someone who firmly roots his characters in the story and utilizes them to layer his narrative. At the end of the first-half, we know exactly who is thinking what and where their place is in this congested saga.
As mentioned before, there is nothing here that we haven't seen and recognize, but the lack of subtlety is often frustrating. Not that the film requires it, but we are often reminded of its lack when the actors emote loudly for added dramatic effect.
Post intermission, the film dissolves into a prolonged flashback. And for once, this is a prudent move. Baahubali: The Beginning is one of those rare films whose second-half outshines the first by miles. The focus is shifted to only three characters and the relationship they share, therefore shrinking the world in the film and giving us more space to savor.
Which brings me to the all-essential, exhaustive and extensive war sequence that is the defining moment in the half and the film in general. Usually, war sequences of colossal proportions in film have action shown from multiple point-of-views, muddling it and rendering it ineffective. The idea, I guess, is to give it an epic feel by showcasing the bloodshed through the eyes of different characters to stress on the magnitude of it. In Baahubali: The Beginning, the war sequence is a watershed and it is evident from the way Rajamouli and his editor Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao handle its execution. Skillfully cutting between the viewpoints of three characters amidst thousands, it is a truly majestic sequence that makes great use of creativity and CGI. I can go as far to say that I haven't come across a more inspired war sequence at least in Indian epics. I can only imagine the mountainous task of directing over two thousand extras for that single sequence that Rajamouli confronted, and eventually came through laudably.
Alas, Baahubali: The Beginning is not without a couple of serious shortcomings. Short on plot twists also, what acts as a deterrent more often are the flat CGI effects in a few places. Although the world the story is set in is fantastical, the effects (most notably the sequence wherein a bull is tamed by the antagonist using his bear hands, pun intended) do not awe like they are supposed to. Instead, they come off as tacky. And thanks to the Censor Board's new shenanigans, we are supposed to live with a watermark in the lower left side of the screen that reads "CGI." Apparently, the disclaimer about animals not being harmed in the making of this film didn't suffice; mutilating a visually stunning epic is the way to do it.
Baahubali: The Beginning ultimately sets the tone for the conclusive second part like a prequel should, but I wish it were more understated and novel. It is groundbreaking, yes, and a film we need to applaud for its sheer magnitude and vision and courage, but those who seek something exceptional beside its technical accomplishments will most likely be disappointed. It sticks to conventional storytelling. It holds the power to spellbind but not the power to surprise.
For me, even when they are handsomely mounted, epics need to involve a great deal of subtlety to work. Mughal-E-Azam is one such film, a timeless doomed romance that hinged on subtlety to ensure that the intricate battle of egos vibrates with real emotion. I simply can't sit through a film featuring large quantities of people sword-fighting in enormous battlefields. It is exhausting and delivers little to nothing emotionally or intellectually. But when you are in the hands of a master storyteller who knows his material front and back, top to bottom, and who doesn't make any attempt to manipulate his audience into believing his film goes deeper than what it shows, who can guess how enriching the experience will eventually be?
That's one thing I really admire about SS Rajamouli. There is honesty in his filmmaking. Without involving pretentiousness, he tells a story as it is without using gimmicks or fancy-schmancy technical tricks to blow dust into our eyes and compel us to overlook his flaws. With his last offering, the terrific and wildly imaginative Eega, he reaffirmed himself as one of the country's most original filmmakers.
And there is no filmmaker I would have wanted to see helm an alarmingly budgeted fantasy-epic than one who knows how to use CGI to propel the narrative, not create the illusion of an inventive film. The first part of a two-part saga, Baahubali: The Beginning is largely predictable and theatrical, but grand, sweeping, brilliantly conceived and extremely well-told.
It is a safe risk. Right from the opening scene, it is quite apparent that the story will make use of countless threads of other fantasy films serving as templates, therefore plot twists will be mostly out of the picture. Even the characters are stock. Evoking Hindu mythological stories purposefully, the setting is not unfamiliar: a kingdom ruled by a tyrannical and typically virile king and an innocent but dogged savior who is the rightful heir to the throne but is -- foreseeably -- unaware of that detail. The establishment of the environments the characters populate is done meticulously. Personally, I would expect nothing less from a filmmaker of Rajamouli's caliber, someone who firmly roots his characters in the story and utilizes them to layer his narrative. At the end of the first-half, we know exactly who is thinking what and where their place is in this congested saga.
As mentioned before, there is nothing here that we haven't seen and recognize, but the lack of subtlety is often frustrating. Not that the film requires it, but we are often reminded of its lack when the actors emote loudly for added dramatic effect.
Post intermission, the film dissolves into a prolonged flashback. And for once, this is a prudent move. Baahubali: The Beginning is one of those rare films whose second-half outshines the first by miles. The focus is shifted to only three characters and the relationship they share, therefore shrinking the world in the film and giving us more space to savor.
Which brings me to the all-essential, exhaustive and extensive war sequence that is the defining moment in the half and the film in general. Usually, war sequences of colossal proportions in film have action shown from multiple point-of-views, muddling it and rendering it ineffective. The idea, I guess, is to give it an epic feel by showcasing the bloodshed through the eyes of different characters to stress on the magnitude of it. In Baahubali: The Beginning, the war sequence is a watershed and it is evident from the way Rajamouli and his editor Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao handle its execution. Skillfully cutting between the viewpoints of three characters amidst thousands, it is a truly majestic sequence that makes great use of creativity and CGI. I can go as far to say that I haven't come across a more inspired war sequence at least in Indian epics. I can only imagine the mountainous task of directing over two thousand extras for that single sequence that Rajamouli confronted, and eventually came through laudably.
Alas, Baahubali: The Beginning is not without a couple of serious shortcomings. Short on plot twists also, what acts as a deterrent more often are the flat CGI effects in a few places. Although the world the story is set in is fantastical, the effects (most notably the sequence wherein a bull is tamed by the antagonist using his bear hands, pun intended) do not awe like they are supposed to. Instead, they come off as tacky. And thanks to the Censor Board's new shenanigans, we are supposed to live with a watermark in the lower left side of the screen that reads "CGI." Apparently, the disclaimer about animals not being harmed in the making of this film didn't suffice; mutilating a visually stunning epic is the way to do it.
Baahubali: The Beginning ultimately sets the tone for the conclusive second part like a prequel should, but I wish it were more understated and novel. It is groundbreaking, yes, and a film we need to applaud for its sheer magnitude and vision and courage, but those who seek something exceptional beside its technical accomplishments will most likely be disappointed. It sticks to conventional storytelling. It holds the power to spellbind but not the power to surprise.
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