Bahubali: The Epic Review! After 80 minutes, the magic of Prabhas shined again on the big screen?

Baahubali: The Epic is a two-part Indian film saga that combines the grandeur and drama of Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali: The Conclusion into one epic story. Baahubali is known for its splendor and majesty. Many viewers, who were unable to catch one or both of the Baahubali films in theatres, are finally able to watch them on the big screen. Since most of you have seen the movie, the question is: Is this Prabhas starrer worth watching again? Are there any edits or new scenes added? Let’s find out.

This new version of “Baahubali” merges the two films together and cuts 80+ minutes from the original combined five-hour runtime. Getting a chance to see Rajamouli’s often thrilling maximum spectacle on the big screen again seems like a fair trade-off. Unfortunately, while the back half of “Baahubali: The Epic” retains the rhythm and individual parts of the original “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion,” the missing footage detracts from Rajamouli’s sprawling, episodic narrative.

SS Rajamouli has seamlessly weaved Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) into a stunning and captivating cinematic journey. This time too the big screen is dominated by power and grandeur. Amarendra Baahubali (Prabhas), a mighty warrior and king, falls prey to deceit and politics and is killed by his beloved ‘uncle’ Katappa (Satyaraj). For those who don’t know, this begs the most memorable question: “Why did Katappa kill Baahubali?” If you haven’t seen the movie yet, now is a good time to find out why.

 

Rajmata Sivagami Devi (Ramya Krishnan) manages to save Amarendra’s son Mahendra Baahubali (played by Prabhas) before he dies. Amarendra Baahubali’s evil cousin, Rana Daggubati, ascends the throne and turns his kingdom Mahashmi into a dystopia. He woos his brother’s wife Devsena (Anushka Shetty), who has been waiting for her son’s return for 25 years, so that she can avenge her husband’s death and destroy evil. Tamannaah Bhatia has played an important role in the film. There’s more to the story, but that’s all you need to know first.

 

When Prabhas steps into the battlefield wearing iron armor and a throne on his head, you wish someone would tell him to stick to epic roles. His look, demeanor, dialogue delivery, appearance in the film, everything screams Prabhas. There could not have been a better Sivagami than Ramya Krishnan in the film. His eyes did all the acting. Satyaraj’s performance as Katappa was one of the strongest in the film after Prabhas. The story of the film could not have been completed without him. Rana Daggubati as the evil King Bhallaldev will make you hate him with all your heart. And when the villain of the story manages to do that, you know he’s done a good job.

The film’s two lead actresses, Anushka Shetty and Tamannaah Bhatia, were not portrayed as princesses hiding behind closed doors during the crisis. In Rajamouli’s films, women are always shown as strong and ready to face evil.

Every scene in both the Baahubali films has been called ‘iconic’. So, how did the makers decide to edit an almost 7 hour film into 3.5 hours? It was a difficult decision. But SS Rajamouli brought his cinematic instincts to the film and cleverly edited the parts that no longer needed elaboration. For example, the tattoo scene, the love story between Prabhas and Tamannaah Bhatia, was a key element of Baahubali: The Beginning. The makers have cleverly condensed their love story with a narrative, however, retaining the Dhivar song.

Several elements of Prabhas and Anushka Shetty’s love story were also edited out in the second part. The Nora Fatehi-starrer Geet Manohari and Kaana So Ja Zara were also dropped from the film.