Film Review- Baahubali the Beginning (Changed Tone)

My rating: 1 and a half stars
Genre: Fantasy, Action
Duration: 2 hours 39 minutes
Language: Hindi
Certification: U/A (Parental guidance required)
Directed by: S.S Rajamouli
Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Tammanah, Ramya Krishnan, Satyaraj, Nassar.

  Baahubali the Beginning is an empty vessel that makes a lot of noise. The plot is basically a done-to-death succession battle between Baahubali (Prabhas), and Bhalla Deva (Rana Dagubatti), two crown princes of the Mahishmati kingdom. And in the annoying tradition of many Greek epics, it begins in media res, with Baahubali's orphaned son Shiva (also Prabhas) discovering the tragic truth of his antecedents. So the plot is rather hard to keep up with.

  The various twists and turns of the plot are derived from a mindless mishmash of Indian epics. The pervasive mood of political intrigue is heavy and contrived, rather than natural and plausible. An injection of moral ambiguity into its black-and-white characters would have made it a tad more realistic. The setting is also a mindless mishmash of various Indian cultural sensibilities, which makes it inauthentically Indic and hard to relate to. 

 As far as special effects are concerned, so many laws of the universe have been defied to contrive them that they are farcical. Something less spectacular would have worked better.

  But the biggest and most irritating drawback of the movie is its treatment of its female cast. It is disappointing to see Devasena (Anushka Shetty) meekly capitulating to abuse in the vain hope that her son will rescue her. Why couldn't she rescue herself? And why did Avantika(Tammanah) lose her head to Shiva, who demeaned her in the supposed act of winning her heart? However, all hope is not lost, as Sivagami is portrayed as a queen with a will of steel. She radiates the kind of power that will make the treatment of other female characters almost forgivable.

  All in all, Baahubali is just another big-budget production that's not special in any other way. It is a money making machine with no soul.
  

 

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