Why you should watch Bahubali-II
I'm
a student of cinema, and will remain one forever. What I write below is
my experience of watching the cinema Bahubali-2 on a big multiplex
screen, a result of my own learnings, experiences and world view. I
don't expect anyone else to feel the same, and recommend not reading
this if you have always differed with me on political and social issues. Also, do not read my review if you feel cinema has no social responsibility.
*****************
First things first - as many have already said, this is a movie made for multiplex big screen viewing. Don't go to ordinary theaters because you may miss the dialogues that will be lost in the cheering of the crowd, and the sound effects may be better on a big screen. You may not be able to feel the graphics to the fullest effect on a low quality screen.
The graphics, animations, the editing that beautifully weaves in a magical story together... Everything technical is magnanimous. To have something like this in an Indian cinema is totally new. That too, produced by we the dark-skinned South Indians! The movie is worth watching for that sake, this being one of the reasons. Mistakes, if any, are forgiven for these reasons
It's just audacious, the faith Rajamouli had and the risk he took is totally worth the output.
As you watch and marvel about the sheer gambling this cinema is, you will see resemblances to many other movies, right from Disney movies to B R Chopra's Mahabharat we had earlier watched on TV to Gladiator. But yeah, to club it all in one product of art which still looks unified is an achievement. The graphics in some scenes, defies all logic and outgrows the cinema and the story, sometimes even becomes laughable, but it's all in the game. The bull-scenes are amazing, but the graphical part I loved the most was the boat-cum-aeroplane scene, from the Hamsa Naava song! Whatta visual feast, straight from Disney movies!
(Don't try to check on Youtube - there's not even a single still of the graphics work from that song that impressed me 
)
The story is very ordinary, not too different from any Chandamama or Bombemane stories we might have read in our childhood. But it's very primal in its character - every character is full of lust for power - unpretentiously so - some of them subtle in chasing it, while the others are more primal and raw. It's the way the story has been packaged, that matters in Bahubali-2.
The characterisation of Devasena, regality and arrogance personified, wins hearts. I looked at Ramya Krishna with awe - I had loved her characters in Yugapurusha, and never watched her in any other movie. And Prabhas... After one & only Annaavru, if I have become a fan of a movie star, it is this guy. Where was he so far? Why didn't I watch any of Telugu movies where he acted?
Different people focus on different things in a cinema. I pay attention to costumes as a habit. I loved Devasena's dresses in every frame, including all those handloom sarees! But not accessories - they could have chosen little more finer accessories, be it the nose ring or the necklaces or the bangles - it would have added up to the fineness of the cinema. Afterall one can't argue that goldsmiths in Maahishmati were not skilled enough - surely everyone there was skilled enough, else how would they build such a magnanimous palace and other stuff?
Now, what made this movie a block buster? The movie contains adundant stuff that pleases a 'proud Indian' heart. Be it the advanced war techniques like landing into the territory of the enemy with the help of a technique that defies all laws of physics
,
or the raw telescope that uses diamonds as lens. The black and white
characters that have a linear sense of justice, and full of revenge and
no forgiveness. Sense of territorial ownership that we have always read
in all our mythologies. The working class that's ever-ready to obey the
masters. The gods, devotion, the rituals. The crime, and the punishment
(Death penalty for molestation. Yes, the safest state for women would be
Maahishmati.) Martyrs, the promises and the sacrifice. The wars. The
innocence or dumbness of the characters. And the unapologetic way all
these have been woven together. I would be surprised if a national award
doesn't come searching for it.
This cinema holds a mirror to its viewers. Are we tired of trying to comprehend the shades of grey in life? Are we a generation that yearns for the simplicity of black and white? Would we have loved the movie if there were forgiveness in it instead of revenge? What if the characters were not-so-black & white? Or did we just fall for the visual grandeur?
A movie that leaves an impression in your mind, unsettles you and makes you think, is a successful movie. Bahubali 2 is one such movie, but in a very very different sense.
If you are interested in good cinema but haven't watched this one, I would say, go, watch it. Watch it for the visual grandeur Bahubali 2 is. Watch it, as a humble student of cinema. You may not like to join the herd, but watch it to understand why a generation is appreciating it - it's something very important. Watch it, to see how it could have been made more meaningful and something that you like, what would have bettered the message that the movie carries. If you are a storyteller, watch it, to understand our society better, and to design something better. What we need really in a cinema that influences large masses of people and the society, is stuff that will work better for our world that's full of rainbow colours.
*****************
First things first - as many have already said, this is a movie made for multiplex big screen viewing. Don't go to ordinary theaters because you may miss the dialogues that will be lost in the cheering of the crowd, and the sound effects may be better on a big screen. You may not be able to feel the graphics to the fullest effect on a low quality screen.
The graphics, animations, the editing that beautifully weaves in a magical story together... Everything technical is magnanimous. To have something like this in an Indian cinema is totally new. That too, produced by we the dark-skinned South Indians! The movie is worth watching for that sake, this being one of the reasons. Mistakes, if any, are forgiven for these reasons
It's just audacious, the faith Rajamouli had and the risk he took is totally worth the output.As you watch and marvel about the sheer gambling this cinema is, you will see resemblances to many other movies, right from Disney movies to B R Chopra's Mahabharat we had earlier watched on TV to Gladiator. But yeah, to club it all in one product of art which still looks unified is an achievement. The graphics in some scenes, defies all logic and outgrows the cinema and the story, sometimes even becomes laughable, but it's all in the game. The bull-scenes are amazing, but the graphical part I loved the most was the boat-cum-aeroplane scene, from the Hamsa Naava song! Whatta visual feast, straight from Disney movies!
(Don't try to check on Youtube - there's not even a single still of the graphics work from that song that impressed me )The story is very ordinary, not too different from any Chandamama or Bombemane stories we might have read in our childhood. But it's very primal in its character - every character is full of lust for power - unpretentiously so - some of them subtle in chasing it, while the others are more primal and raw. It's the way the story has been packaged, that matters in Bahubali-2.
The characterisation of Devasena, regality and arrogance personified, wins hearts. I looked at Ramya Krishna with awe - I had loved her characters in Yugapurusha, and never watched her in any other movie. And Prabhas... After one & only Annaavru, if I have become a fan of a movie star, it is this guy. Where was he so far? Why didn't I watch any of Telugu movies where he acted?
Different people focus on different things in a cinema. I pay attention to costumes as a habit. I loved Devasena's dresses in every frame, including all those handloom sarees! But not accessories - they could have chosen little more finer accessories, be it the nose ring or the necklaces or the bangles - it would have added up to the fineness of the cinema. Afterall one can't argue that goldsmiths in Maahishmati were not skilled enough - surely everyone there was skilled enough, else how would they build such a magnanimous palace and other stuff?
Now, what made this movie a block buster? The movie contains adundant stuff that pleases a 'proud Indian' heart. Be it the advanced war techniques like landing into the territory of the enemy with the help of a technique that defies all laws of physics
,
or the raw telescope that uses diamonds as lens. The black and white
characters that have a linear sense of justice, and full of revenge and
no forgiveness. Sense of territorial ownership that we have always read
in all our mythologies. The working class that's ever-ready to obey the
masters. The gods, devotion, the rituals. The crime, and the punishment
(Death penalty for molestation. Yes, the safest state for women would be
Maahishmati.) Martyrs, the promises and the sacrifice. The wars. The
innocence or dumbness of the characters. And the unapologetic way all
these have been woven together. I would be surprised if a national award
doesn't come searching for it.This cinema holds a mirror to its viewers. Are we tired of trying to comprehend the shades of grey in life? Are we a generation that yearns for the simplicity of black and white? Would we have loved the movie if there were forgiveness in it instead of revenge? What if the characters were not-so-black & white? Or did we just fall for the visual grandeur?
A movie that leaves an impression in your mind, unsettles you and makes you think, is a successful movie. Bahubali 2 is one such movie, but in a very very different sense.
If you are interested in good cinema but haven't watched this one, I would say, go, watch it. Watch it for the visual grandeur Bahubali 2 is. Watch it, as a humble student of cinema. You may not like to join the herd, but watch it to understand why a generation is appreciating it - it's something very important. Watch it, to see how it could have been made more meaningful and something that you like, what would have bettered the message that the movie carries. If you are a storyteller, watch it, to understand our society better, and to design something better. What we need really in a cinema that influences large masses of people and the society, is stuff that will work better for our world that's full of rainbow colours.
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