SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Beginning was an instant success when released in 2015. It gave birth to a wave of blockbuster cinema. Its release coincided with Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The former introduced the world to the wonders of South Indian Cinema, echoing Bong Joon Ho’s quote, “Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”
Filmaesthete conducted an exclusive Interview with SS Rajamouli, where he revealed a bunch of compelling details about his legendary project and its functions. He revealed how he ardently expects his audience to be able to experience catharsis from his protagonists. The most engrossing detail from his interview was how Baahubali was a product of Indian epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata, amalgamated with the figments of his imagination. When asked if myths, art forms, or real realities like civilizations that HE encountered in your own life had any influence on your decision to include these graphic representations in your project.
Rajamouli stated fondly,
“I I think I said it many times but my biggest inspiration for all my films not just Baahubali, there are the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharat., I’m listening to the stories right from my childhood, reading comics, reading novels, reading the expanded versions as growing up. Just the way it was written, he scenes were written, the description was given about the characters, about the wars, about the details of the palaces, how the palaces were built, they were there, they have so much influence on me.”
He also added,
“I think uh, Baahubali is the film where it showed out so much, all the influence came out so much. I mean, even the characters, you can see so much of the influence of the mythological characters in the movie. Uh, yeah, I would I would say those two.”
He was wistful about how this genre in particular helped to bridge the divide between younger and older audiences. There can be no denying the gospel that this was a masterpiece. Tune in to the enthralling interview to catch the lore of the making of the bewitching Baahubali imagery.
CHECK OUT THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW
