Movie Review “Bahubali 2 – The Conclusion”

Post a 2 year hiatus Rajamouli is back with the sequel of Bahubali 1 – the 3rd largest grosser in Indian movie history; Bahubali 2 - looking at the teeming crowds at theatres & the crashed servers of online ticket booking sites – could very well turn out to be the largest grosser; while a Rs. 800 crore is a given, Rs 1000 crore has been fixed as the target; the satellite, music & overseas rights have already been sold for about 350 crores. Release in 9000 screens – 6500 in India, 2500 abroad - is also a milestone.

The magnum opus has no dull moments; & off course the intriguing question “Why did Katappa kill Bahubali” which inspired many memes & parodies & now also trending as #WKKB is finally revealed.

The film starts as a flashback with Amarendra Bahubali (Prabhas) – the Prince, ordained for coronation, taming an elephant that has gone wild during a ritual – followed by his simpleton acts - while travelling incognito across kingdoms to understand ground realities.  He falls for the charms & heroism of Princess Devasena (Anushka Shetty) of Kuntala. The Pindari attacks on the small kingdom force him to reveal his true self, just as Arjun revealed himself while staying incognito in King Virat’s kingdom when attacked by the Kaurava forces. The battle scenes by Peter Hein are outstanding; bulls with their horns on fire - as an impromptu innovation to fight a much larger force - or crashing a dam to flood out the intruders form breath-taking visuals. Bahubali making Prince Kumara Verma (Subbaraju) of Kuntala understand his true potential seems an inspiration from the Mahabharata where Arjuna does the transformation act in Prince Uttar Kumar.

In the meanwhile Prince Bhallaladeva (Rana)  & his father Bijjaladeva (Nasser) plan to poison the ears of Queen Sivagami (Ramya Krishnan) to ensure that the former becomes king; Bijjaladeva - a cripple - is a replica of Dhritarashtra - who was denied the throne because he was blind - & fancies the throne for his son; he doesn’t mind killing his wife too in the bargain.  When spies reveal the soft corner of Bahubali towards Devasena, Bhallaladeva, hatches a conspiracy & seeks the latter as his bride which his mother acquiesces, ignorant of Bahubali’s feelings.  A marriage proposal sent to Kuntala is rejected by Devasena which forces an angry Sivagami to order Devasena to be bought captive to Mahismati; palace intrigues force Bahubali to accomplish the task which he does after promising Devasena to protect her honour.  Bahubali bringing Devasena to Mahismati in a ship has the replication of the famous Titanic scene on the deck.

Misunderstandings persist; given an option to choose between the bride & the crown, Bahubali chooses Devasena & becomes the Senapati or military head- a deputy to the king Bhallaladeva; however popular support still vests with Bahubali much to his cousin's chagrin.  As part of the continuous palace intrigues, during Devasena’s baby shower ceremony, Bhallaladeva relieves Bahubali of his duties under the ostensible reason of allowing him to stay closer to his wife; Devasena protests with Sivagami the unjust act accentuating the confrontations in the family further, Later, when Devasena is brought to the court in chains for cutting off the fingers of an official for groping, Bahubali steps in & beheads the tyrant; accused of insubordination to the crown, the couple are initially banished from the Palace & later under the mistaken impression that Bahubali had planned the assassination of Bhallaladeva vide Kumara verma, Katapppa is ordered a hitman job by Sivagami.  Forced under oath of loyalty to the throne given by his forefathers, Katappa is compelled to oblige. Katappa’s character is akin to Bhishma in the Mahabharata where his loyalty to the throne & throne alone forces him to fight for Duryodhana even though he intrinsically knew that Dharma was on Pandavas’s side. Later, Sivagami realizes her mistake & announces Mahendra Bahubali as the new king & in a bid to save the infant’s life sacrifices her own; Devasena is imprisoned & put in chains. Katappa’s loyalty, shifts to Mahendra as he was ordained the new king.

Mahendra Bahubali’s revenge saga forms the remaining part of the film. That pride hath a great fall is poetically revealed when Bhallaladeva’s statues tumbles, breaks & his severed head lands at the bottom of the waterfall at the feet of the giant Shiva Linga; his body is burned to cinders too.

The climax seems rushed for much of the 2hours 47 min of the movie was spent on a flashback.  A more detailed battle sequence, at the end, rather than showcasing only the two main protagonists – Bahubali & Bhallaladeva – alone would have been more prudent. Tamannah has only fleeting presence in the movie. Perhaps, criticism from women activists regarding the virtual disrobing of Tamannah by Prabhas during a dance sequence - viewed akin to eve teasing -  in the prequel, forced the director from refraining to go down such a path in the sequel which is welcome; however women too being shown fighting the epic final battle would have been a true tribute to the women lib movement.

The prequel had more iconic sequences – Sivagami carrying the prince in one hand wading through a tiding river, Bahubali lifting the huge Shiva Linga, Katappa’s sword fight, Sivagami vanquishing her opponents in the court revolt, Katappa’s placing the feet of Mahendra Bahubali on his head in a rain drenched night etc.  While Katappa & Sivagami shone in part 1, part 2 belongs more to Bhallaladeva; his menacing looks & his buffed up body makes one love the villain too.  VFX is decent. The musical score by MM Kreem is good but gets overshadowed by the extravagant visuals. The sets by Sabu Cyril are the real heroes of the movie & Senthil’s cinematography makes the opulent sets come alive.

In short see the movie for its extravagance, reminisce Amar Chitra Katha & see the epic of sibling rivalry unfold.