The Granduer is always from south and north follows..
In 1948, when an obsessive SS Vasan, owner of Gemini Studios, spent everything he had to make
Chandralekha, the costliest film outside Hollywood then, it took the country by storm by its sheer spectacle, scale and creative daredevilry. Indian cinema, still in its early stages with limited budget and equipment, hadn’t seen anything like it before.
Thirty years later, Telugu director B Vittalacharya, another celluloid visionary, drove his audiences crazy with visual illusions in his
Jaganmohini. In an era when everything had to be done on film, Vittalacharya dreamed big and broke new ground with his camera tricks, clever lighting and sets to create unprecedented visual effects in India.
With
Baahubali, Telugu director SS Rajamouli has reclaimed the legacy of Vasan and Vittalacharya with his audacious vision of the art of entertainment cinema. It’s an astonishing sensual experience, not only because of stunning spectacles and high definition grandeur, but also because of the riveting drama of cinema that only a master can unravel.
Undoubtedly, at the core of
Baahubali is the art of cinema, an Indian story and highly skilled narration. Without them, the movie would have fallen flat like the VFX misadventures such as
Ra One and
Kochadaiyaan.
Everything that Rajamouli uses in the film - grand production design, luxurious visual effects and foley, elaborate period costume, great music, classic photography and well choreographed fight and war sequences - are in fact only incidental and hence do not stand between him and the viewer-experience. There are situations and sequences that are so dramatic and imaginative that they offer brand new experiences for the same old stories and emotions.
The song sequence, for instance, between the hero (Prabhas) and his female-pair (Tamanna) is a brilliant example of Rajamouli’s unbridled imagination and how he summons up the right resources - charming music, delightful performances, breathtaking locations and poetic visual effects - to make it work. It’s such delectable fantasy. Similarly, every scene played by Ramya Krishnan reeks of regal authority, thanks to the right camera angles and movements, and consistent expressions. Action sequences, particularly the hand-to-hand combats, are crisp and outstanding.
Baahubali is not just a film, it is the triumph of SS Rajamouli’s fearless imagination - Firstpost