BOTTOM LINE
Rajamouli’s weakest
OUR RATING
3/5
CENSOR
U/A
What is the film about?
Finding out who is Baahubali is what the film is all about.
How is Prabhas’s performance?
Prabhas has a great body and that has been put to great use in the film be it in action scenes or songs. In fact few scenes have been clearly designed keeping the physique in mind. Now if one gets past all this physicality there is very little that the star has done in terms of performance that can be termed memorable. For example the ‘maranam’ sequence could have been more powerful and created great impact with the right performance, here it is passable at best. Now if that is the case with a best possible scenario imagine about the rest of screen time where he has very little to emote.
Direction By SS Rajamouli?
SS Rajamouli has gradually over his discourse as a director grown from strength to strength. His biggest asset is emotional scenes and subsequently following action. This has worked well in all the movies the director has made and that is the expectations one has from Baahubali as well.
Even the director very well knows that fans have such expectations, which is why his scripts provide ample opportunity to explore those elements. Unfortunately in Baahubali the inconsistent graph kills the emotional aspect and makes them look hollow in the end. Take for example the initial Anushka introduction and her plight which gives us a great reason to root for her. What follows next completely dilutes the impact. This happens all through the movie where the big emotional pay off misses the mark by what follows next. The tonally inconsistent narrative is the films biggest undoing. And finally the cliffhanger ending, though novel, leaves us with dissatisfaction. Still for all the effort that has been put to mount this film on epic scale, it deserves a watch once at least.
Anushka, Tamannaah and other artists?
The most promoted face in the film apart from that of hero Prabhas was that of Rana. His comments on the character he plays kind of built a great anticipation for it while we watch the film. We wait for the big moment to arrive and the wait continues till the end. There was hardly a scene or two that one could recollect after his introduction. So much for it being one of the greatest villain characters of all time. Two heroines Anushka and Tamannah, have ‘characters’ which is refreshing for a big movie but beyond the characterization and a scene each, they again lack connect due to poor screenplay.
It is the three senior actors Ramya Krishna, Nasser and Satyaraj who have put the best foot forward in terms of acting. They are a treat to watch in each scene they are present even though the last of the trio Satyaraj goes a bit overboard at times. Prabhakar is again one of those hyped up character that adds no value in the end.
Music and other departments?
Music of the film suits the narrative and blends well with it. This is one of the biggest advantages of having an in house composer for a director. The background score is good in parts and overall could have been better. Editing, especially that involving the vfx should have been done better. Dialogues are poor considering the scale of the film and scope it had provided. Cinematography is first rate and so are the visual effects in parts.
Highlights?
‘Nenu Evarini’ sequence
Introduction of hero
Parts of war sequence
Drawbacks?
Screenplay
Lack of Rajamouli mark elevation
Romantic track
Climax
Alternative Take
The biggest failing of the film has been the inconsistent emotional graph. An alternative take would a fresh screenplay for the same film but with the right emotional graph.
Will you recommend it?
Really? Does this question need to be answered for this film?
Baahubali Review by Siddhartha
