BOTTOM LINE
Solid Prabhas And Powerful Drama
OUR RATING
3.25/5
CENSOR
‘U/A’ Certified, 2 hrs 47 mins
What is the film about?
Well, the makers have told what the film is about in a simple and succinct manner and ran the movie’s promotion on that, with no further ado, Baahubali 2 is about – Why Kattappa Killed Baahubali?
Performance by Prabhas?
Unlike the first part, Prabhas has major screen time and many highlight scenes in the film. But an important thing to observe here is that those highlight scenes are hero elevation exhibitions rather than anything that involves extraordinary performance. So, Baahubali 2 is a memorable outing for Prabhas the action figure, but there is seriously nothing in it to showcase his acting skills, once again.
How is SS Rajamouli’s direction??
Director SS Rajamouli is a master of certain kind of raw emotions and the drama that can be milked out of it. In Baahubali 2 the director entirely drives the key sequences with those emotions. So, to put simply those who can take in those emotions without feeling bored or offended, they would have a great time watching the movie and those who can’t they could still have decent one-time watching experience as there are other things to get immersed into.
The film begins on a terrific note with the title sequence and hero introduction providing unlimited goosebumps. What more can one do after such an opening is what comes to everyone’s mind and that is where SS Rajamouli cleverly diverts the attention with comedy and romance. There is a scene in between reminding the main track but that only comes into force before the interval. From then on till the interval Rajamouli knocks it out of the park.
The second half starts slowly but changes gear once the “Why Kattappa Killed Baahubali?” sequences starts. It is neatly handled, but there is a feeling that it overstays its welcome due to the length. The emotional drama that runs the narrative during this hour also gives us a watching a serial kind of vibe. Following the drama, the climax is overstretched, and poor graphics make it unimpressive. However, all the while superb elevations are reserved for hero which makes one stick through entire proceedings. SS Rajamouli’s direction is solid, and his execution is distinct, but the content lets him down a bit.
Rana, Anushka, Ramya Krishna and Others?
The ladies and senior artists once again get the lion’s share of performance moments. Both, Anushka and Ramya Krishna are good. However, Anushka steals the show in the first half. She is the one who drives the narrative primarily. Ramya Krishna takes off from where she left in the first half but the more we see her act, the more predictable her performance becomes. Rana Daggubati’s role gets exciting as the movie progresses and it takes a full shape during the middle of the second half. He is superb at all the critical moments. Nassar is terrific too. Sathyaraj’s character has multiple shades, and the actor is up to the challenge and delivers the needed. Subbaraju is fine in his small but important role.
Music and Other Departments?
Music by MM Keeravani is a mixed bag. The songs are weak, but they are neatly picturized which nullifies the effect. The background score should have been better. The cinematography is excellent. The visual effects are good barring few scenes where everything on screen feels like watching a cartoon. Editing in scenes involving the VFX is not up to the mark. The choreography of songs are good overall but barring a song they aren’t creatively on the same level as the first one. Action choreography is splendid.
Highlights?
Prabhas-Anushka chemistry
Hero elevation scenes
Interval
Drawbacks?
Predictable drama
Stretched WKKBB
Large parts of second half
Background score
Alternative Take
Something more creative and fresh regarding story instead of the usual done to death drama.
How is Baahubali 2 Compared To Baahubali?
The one major and most significant difference between the two movies is that while watching the first part, we were taken into a new world. Everything felt new and fresh, and the story only added to the mystery of Mahismati kingdom. In the second part, after few sequences into the film, that sense of watching an epic is gone, and it feels like we are watching a regular drama unfold at such high cost. It’s like a regular Telugu film only made at a gigantic cost. It makes BB2 lose epic feel in the overall sense compared to the first part but “hero” gets all the attention and elevation he needs.
Did I enjoy it?
Yes, the elevation scenes
Will you recommend it?
Yes
