Remember the time?

Baahuballi 2 (The Conclusion, 2017; Telugu)

My friend was understandably excited when the news of its release and its phenomenal smashing of records of sorts for a Tollywood production. He was over the moon as the news had made it to the desktops of the BBC World Service TV.

After making quite an impression with the first instalment, I felt that this film is quite a letdown. The awe factor seems missing. There is only so much of long shots one can take of the set to impress us on gargantuan portions of the wealth and power of Sivagami and her Mahishmati kingdom. We totally get it. The wide angle aerial shots of CGI-enhanced castles, beasts and savage battle scenes are too many by far. They are only so many flying tackles one can stomach. There is a limit to human imagination. Ok, this is a fantasy film set in medieval India when they were the richest nation on the planet with the intellect beyond yonder and military prowess to match, but stringing three arrows fro a bow and aiming them simultaneously at three targets? And that too by a member of the fairer sex? Hey, this only shows that Bharat was far ahead of its times in gender equality and women empowerment. In BB2, a Queen  (Sivagami, Ramya Krishnan) is the ruling monarch of the kingdom in hot pursuit. The bride to the Prince is also no pushover!

Movies like Baahuballi seem to be sending the right vibes to the citizens of the country at the most opportune time. With the euphoria of a confident and PR friendly Prime Minister who appears to be doing all the right things to stimulate the economy, with a past President who was part of the mega-space project which made space travel much like Airasia - economical and feasible, with neighbours who have fallen into failed state status and no longer posing a security risk, this feel-good movie would only invoke the memories of a once Great India and the zest the blow the ember of making India great again!

Baahuballi has its own charm just like 'Tom and Jerry' and 'The Road Runner' have their strong points. It has its own plus point. Many humanistic values practised by early dwellers of the Indus Valley on power management, stratification of society, the impermanence of human life are illustrated here. Life is a struggle between doing the right thing and the moral thing.  Just following orders may not be the correct thing after all. History, as we know it, is a sanitised version of events that were paved with blood, gore, tears, carnage, blackmail, deceit and death as scribed by the victors. 

It is all in the presentation!

Baahubali #1 The Beginning (One with strong arms, Telugu; 2015)

Move over Pixar, Dreamwork, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Hollywood! The land where the word 'Avatar' originated had arisen. This is Kollywood's answer to all the megalomaniacal productions with mammoth studio sets, computer wizardry, graphic imaging, tall fabled stories, macho men with crafted bodies and gravity defying stunts. Baahubali, the most expensive production from India has made its mark in the international arena. And made it presence it did, with much pomp!

Stories like in 'Baahubali' had been made many before in Indian cinemas, of stories of kings, revenge, loss of kingdoms and duels. However, what makes this offering different is the sheer work of cinematography, picturesque scenery, CGI expertise and well choreographed stunts and fight scenes. Never before, the war in Indian movies been fought with strategies and various traditional armamentarium. The mammoth structures like the palace and statues add on to the splendour of the set. This movie must be the first instalment of the two episodes of Baahubali.

The story starts with a lady drowning in the process of saving of infant from the sprawling mean soldiers hellbent to kill both of them. The child grows adopted by a tribal community living below a gargantuan waterfall. As the child grows, he is determined to get to the top of waterfall to see what is on the other side. After repeated failures, as an adult, he succeeds after being lured by what he thought to be a raving beauty.
At the top, his old memory returns as he comes to find out his real identity; a prince. In between all that there a lot of computer graphic aided swashbuckling sword scenes and romantic scenes.

The acting department seem to be deficient and I tend to get confused with the characters. I think, in the modern day movie-making, gone are the days for elaborate character acting. Why waste time on story and emotion when there are so much what modern computers, airbrushing and sculptured torsos and limbs can do.  With a plethora of stories lined up in the Indian Vedic scriptures and now with the expertise of pixilation, one can only wonder what is next from the Indian cinema! Sky is the limit what they can scale next.