Bahubali: A Game Changer For Indian Cinema

The Story behind the making of Bahubali: The Conclusion

- Suhani Singh

Hedreamt, he dared and he delivered.

What is emblematic of Baahubali holds good for its creator. Five years ago, the mild-mannered S.S. Rajamouli convinced his friend, producer Shobu Yarlagadda, co-founder and CEO of Arka Mediaworks, to take up an audacious period project, with Prabhas, an accomplished actor in Telugu cinema, as its central character. After a few weeks of meticulous planning, including a deliberate decision to make it a two-part enterprise, Rajamouli assembled an army of actors, technicians and craftsmen to make India’s most expensive film.

Because Mahishmati wasn’t built in a day

Art director Sabu Cyril and a force of 2,000 carpenters, painters and prop makers built the empire of Mahishmati at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad in 2013. Not only did they build two palaces and statues but also mechanical animals, including bulls, horses and elephants. Prabhas talks about a ‘Mahishmati Bible of sorts’ that offered vivid details about the kingdom such as the likes and dislikes of its people, their sleeping regimen and staple diet. Thousands of extras were roped in for the battle sequences, which were pre-visualised with the help of John Griffith, who has worked on films like Planet of the Apes and the X-Men series. A chunk of the visual effects work was carried out at Hyderabad’s Makuta VFX studios. When it finally hits screens on April 28, Arka Mediaworks would have spent Rs 450 crore—Rs 300 crore more than the earlier estimated budget for the two films.