Success of Baahubali sequel is astounding; and has raised the benchmark for film industry
Not every film is path-breaking. Not every film has a pan national viewership. But Telugu magnum opus Baahubali has definitely the best of all — the artistic quality; the technical prowess and the grandeur scale. Baahubali — The conclusion has indeed raised the bar for the Indian film industry by crossing the Rs1,000 crore mark. The sequel has called for an industry-wide improvement and has set a mammoth benchmark for it, as it has been lagging behind in the world of cinema due to technological constraints. The blockbuster that was simultaneously released in three languages — Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi — has surpassed even the biggest Bollywood flicks like Dangal, PK and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. A record-shattering performance in sheer numerical terms like this is unbelievable. But what is even more interesting is the fact that a regional language film has gained such national and even international popularity. It is not nust the success but the scale that has been astounding. It can be argued that it was the plot that clicked, but the plot was clichéd. It was not even the leading actors who, though well-known, are not so famous nationally (they are popular in the Telugu film industry though) to have generated the kind of revenue the film has done. In fact, it has been the other way round; the success has helped them in a big way. It was then surely the treatment; the larger than life depiction of characters; the magnificent saga; the tale of ancient kingdoms and bloody wars on the silver screen. It is the craft and the technological feat that compelled the audience to not watch the film on a smaller screen and instead experience it on the big screen. This explains the Rs250 crore budget. The funds have been spent the apt way — on computer-generated imagery and special effects, which were crucial to creating the film's larger-than-life canvas.
That said, it is not for the first time that an Indian film has spent so much on technology and sought to sweep the audience into a different world. It is also not that we do not have the technology, though many actors have claimed so. But we simply did not know how best it could be utilised. Resultantly, old technical tricks and computer-generated imagery seemed forced, and artificial. This is where Bahubaali scores a brownie point. The success can also be largely attributed to the advertising strategy. The first part of the movie ended with an interesting question — why did Katappa kill BaahubaliIJ This mystery had been tormenting fans who had been eagerly waiting for the sequel and have now demanded for a Baahubali 3! In fact, it is this very question that led most viewers to watch the first part to get a context of the final plot. But the larger question is: Will Baahubali will be regarded as an all-time great, and not just at the box officeIJ Time will only give an answer to this question. But what is sure is that this epic film is definitely not going to get dated.