MEENAKSHI RAO discusses why the Bahubali saga is such a big deal for Indian cinema

I know it’s pretty unrelated but the frenzy for The Game of Thrones is just about gathering up, yet again — this time for the upcoming Season 7. We have all binged on it, feeling like rogues on a secret and shameless hunt, not wanting to, but sitting through the nights through Seasons 1 to 6, in bulk at that. We have vehemently derided it, we have curdled at the wanton violence, we have been ashamed at the portrayal of women and we have cringed every time the blood and gore splashed our eyes. But we have again started waiting for June because that’s when this biggest grossing TV series with worldwide appeal will hit you after a veritable gap.

Director SS Rajamouli’s Bahubali created and sustained a similar kind of frenzy with much less at hand. No political, social or cultural pornography here, no disrobing women and parading them naked through the story, no callous playing to the gallery violence, no wanton sex and sleaze, no celebration of debauchery and degeneration, some of the most common ploys used to enhance a period drama. And yet, Bahubali remained in public imagination for two long years with a “nation wants to, needs to and is desperate to know” kind of never-before syndrome gripping even those who had not seen the film initially.

Why and how, are the wondrous questions. I, who had walked into the theatre two years ago merely to entertain visiting family, was blown away by the visual artistry of the prequel. Allergic to Telugu films dubbed in Hindi, I was happy to dip myself in popcorn and cola and wait for the show to get over. Until, the film hit me with its force of near perfect grandeur.

Two years later, and an even more forceful sequel for which I waited with bated breath, I am still wondering what is it that has made this essentially regional period drama become such a population puller pan spectrumIJ Emerging as the highest-ever grosser as a dubbed film, beating the Kamal Hasans and the Rajnikants with consummate ease, this almost 90 per cent VFX-enabledBahubali is differently enabled. Here are some possible answers:

Rajamouli’s masterstroke:Bahubali became epochal in just that one moment which Rajamouli created at the end of the film. Any other similarly brilliant film high on VFX, tight editing, visual artistry and a weighty story around royalty would have been enjoyed, applauded — and eventually forgotten. Bahubali 1 would have been the same, but for that one twist Rajamouli put in the tail, almost as an afterthought. Just when the public was getting up to go home after seeing a wholesome entertainer, the director stopped it in its track. An extremely trusted servant plunges a sword into the back of his much loved, would-be king just when he has won an ultimate war. The most tantalising moment, perhaps, in the history of Indian cinema, was created at the conclusion. “Why Katappa Killed BahubaliIJ” is the question that kept the film alive through two years — and despite a delay — it catapultedBahubali 2 to becoming the most awaited sequel in the history of Indian cinema. In an age where public memory is short, such frenzy over mere curiosity is an achievement needing avid research.

Milking the art of exaggeration with rare polish:Bahubali rose from being just any other film to becoming a saga because Rajamouli turned exaggeration into an unmatched art form. Everything about his film is grand, glorified, big, life-size and immensely beautiful. It’s a crescendo rooted in unbroken continuity, a falsetto that lived because it chose never to stoop. Each and every fight sequence has been stunningly choreographed. Despite being over-the-top, the action looks credible, inspirational and aspirational, all at the same time.

The locales, both natural and created, are breathtaking. The costuming is a rich and detailed transponder that takes you back into the 8th century. The visual tapestry keeps the amazement quotient at a constant high. Everything is big, very big and yet not ungainly or mammoth. Emotions rage through the film with much the same ferocity as daggers, bows and arrows, cannons, chariots, bulls, horses, elephants and some undefined wild animals emanating from Rajamouli’s fertile imagination. Everything is as deep, expressive and huge as Rajmata Shivagami’s incredibly wide, shapely and speaking eyes. Yes, exaggeration never looked so good in Bollywood before and that’s the reason Bahubali is riding on such an unprecedented multi-crore profit bag reputation.

Innovative marketing strategy: I am sure the uncanny success ofBahubali will soon be a case study in IIMs. The issues could be management mores like innovation, gender diversity, optimal use of resources, strategy, motivation and the power of thinking out of the box. last time a Bollywood film reached that haloed academic pedestal was Three Idiots. So, what was it that Rajamouli did right to keep the hype going unabated for more than 730 daysIJ For one, he chose to throw an inverted blanket at the public to stoke its imagination with the weapon of secrecy. He did not overtly market the sequel. Not a single visual, publicity stunt, or telling poster. Nothing except keeping that ultimate question around Kattappa alive through discussions, hypothesis, quiz contests and the like on the social media. Other than that, there was chinkless secrecy around the sets, the commitment of the star cast which stuck to the film for five long years on a monthly retainership, the crew that swore not to leak a whisper and did not, the security blanket that made even the agile and snoopy Internet draw a blank.  This secrecy was the best marketing strategy that the film could have cooked up to keep the curiosity alive — very unlike the first part which was introduced to the public with a high-octane, multi-platform teaser campaign that ran months before the film hit the theatres.

Giving period drama technology prop: The optimum use of VFX and CGI was the guiding and most powerful force of the film, much like the rippling biceps ofBahubali and the pumping chest and the superhuman abs of Bhallal Dev. The film will go down in history as the turning point of CGIs, a mount that cultivated the ability to give Hollywood fantasies a run for their money. More than 17 VFX studios were used for production and “post-production happened at more than 33 studios across the world,” special effects incharge R C Kamalakannan said in a statement. A bulk of the work was done by Makuta VFX. More than 600 VFX and 3D artists worked tirelessly on the two films. Visual effects like rotoscoping, chroma elimination, wire removing, match moving, colour correction, live action shooting and CG integration, matte painting and camera projections were used to the hilt. And yet the film is in 2D and not 3D. Another grand ploy, a paradox introduced to give the story its due and weight!

Clean and a high-ideal film: Unlike The Game of Thrones, Bahubali is a squeaky clean family drama. It showcases idealism, values, commitment, court intrigues, race for the throne, war, love and hate in equal measure but never — ever — slides into debauchery or titillation in the name of powering drama. In fact, it is a befitting platform for woman empowerment despite being centered around male biceps. When the king dies with an infant heir, not his brother but the brother’s wife Shivagami (Ramya) becomes the custodian of the throne, her word is law; Devasena spends a life under the thumb of male atrocities, is made to live in an animal cage, is chained through her life and yet emanates the power of patience and silent rage;Bahubali 2 cuts the head of an eve-teasing senapati and has complete faith in the unwavering correctness of both his mother and wife. The women here are warriors, masters of warfare and welfare, seasoned statesmen and honest stalwarts, people look up to, despite them being fully committed to their men. The romance here, budding among bows and arrows, with weaponry kissing the cheeks and tendrils of beautiful women, is artistry personified, never belittling the woman in the bargain of propelling the hero. Everybody loves goodness and uprightness – and Bahubali leaves nothing wanting in this segment on which the Indian public dotes.

Professional distribution ploys: Made in nine languages, the producers built up an intricate tapestry of distribution rights, maximising profits by roping in majors from all regions, north or south, and even abroad. No less than Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions bought the dubbed Hindi version for a whopping Rs120 crore. Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam rights went for high stakes too. Then there were Korean, Japanese, English, German, French and other territories too. According to trade pundits, Part 2 made Rs500 crore before the release, mostly through distribution rights, CDs, merchandise, animation kits and games. The film released in 9000 screens across the world (6500 in India, 1,400 in the US which is the highest for a Bollywood film and 1,100 elsewhere in the world.

Brilliant starcast: Playing out Rajamouli’s story is a band of committed actors who stood by him for five years at the cost of other projects, that too for a nominal retainership fee, slicing their share for better spends on production. Not because they were small time but because they believed in the film and its power to rock the world. Rajamouli picked seasoned actors from regional cinema with an impactfull role or two in Bollywood too.

Sathyaraj, having played Deepika’s father in SRK blockbuster Chennai Express, does wonders to the role of Kattappa here, the man who triggered a thousand answers to just one question. Then there was Ramya whose weighty screen presence and speaking eyes anchor the film from start ot finish. Anushka who plays Devasena is a big ticket actor down south and inBahubali she is the embodiment of regal resilience in seeking revenge. Prabhas, a ka Bahubali, emerges as an embodiment of power and force without which this film would not have been. Rana Dugabatti, as Bhallal Dev, is the ultimate antagonist lending menace to the film; And, we all know the buffoon villainy of Nasser who plays the evil uncle here. We have seen his acting acumen in small but impactfull roles of Shakuni mama and the villain Baapji in Rowdy Rathore.

The prefect release date: April 28 was the perfect opening date forBahubali 2. It is a long weekend with Monday being May 1 and, thus, a holiday. That gave Rajamouli a four-day window to showcase his much-awaited movie. With most Governments down south allowing extended five-shows a day schedules and committing most screens to this single movie week, there was no stopping the cash registers from ringing. First-day earned more than Rs100 crore in India and $2.5 million on Thursday premiere alone in the US.

Universal appeal: Folklore, mythology, history, period drama, court intrigue – all such subjects are heartwinners for Indians. Rajamouli wove all this and more into a matchless visual delight. Showed old world with the most modern techniques and captured imagination, aided and abetted by translating the film into accessible languages to net in a wide canvas ranging from pan-India, SEA, the Far East, Europe, US and latin America.

Brand-name Rajamouli: With his growing Cameron-Speilbergish reputation of being a big canvas director, Rajmouli’s brand name has a pull all its own. He is respected for his previous ventures which grossed high-scale profits in all mediums. He knows his trade from all angles. He is a marketing genius too, overdoing publicity for Part 1 and cleverly under-doing it for Part 2 of Bahubali. It worked like magic in both cases. His Magadheera in Telugu, thanks to dubbed versions, broke all kinds of records and Makkhi made him a name to reckon with.