Baahubali: The Epic Review! After 80 minutes, did Prabhas’ magic shine again on the big screen?

Baahubali: The Epic is a two-part Indian film saga combining the grandeur and drama of Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali: The Conclusion into one epic tale. Bahubali is known for his grandeur and splendor. Many audiences, who were unable to watch either or both of the Baahubali films in theatres, are finally able to watch them on the big screen. Since most of you have seen the film, the question is: Is this Prabhas starrer worth watching again? Are there any edits or new scenes added to it? Let us know.

This new version of “Baahubali” merges the two films together and cuts 80+ minutes from the original combined five-hour runtime. Getting the chance to see Rajamouli’s often thrilling maximalist spectacle again on the big screen might seem like a fair trade. Unfortunately, while the back half of “Baahubali: The Epic” retains the rhythm and individual parts of the original “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion,” the missing footage diminishes Rajamouli’s sprawling, episodic narrative.

SS Rajamouli seamlessly weaves together Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) into a grand and captivating cinematic journey. This time too, the show of power and grandeur dominates the big screen. Amarendra Bahubali (Prabhas), a powerful warrior and king, becomes a victim of deceit and politics and is killed by his beloved ‘uncle’ Kattappa (Satyaraj). For those who don’t know, this gives rise to the most meme-able question: “Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?” If you haven’t seen the movie yet, now’s a good time to find out why.

 

Rajmata Sivagami Devi (Ramya Krishnan) manages to save Amarendra’s son, Mahendra Bahubali (played by Prabhas) before he dies. Amarendra Bahubali’s evil cousin, Rana Daggubati, takes over the throne and turns his kingdom Mahishmati into a dystopia. He captivates his brother’s wife Devasena (Anushka Shetty), who has been waiting for her son’s return for 25 years, so that she can avenge her husband’s death and destroy evil. Tamannaah Bhatia has played an important role in the film. There’s more to the story, but that’s the first thing you need to know.

 

When Prabhas steps into the battlefield wearing iron armor and a throne on his head, you wish someone would tell him to stick to just epic roles. His gaze, behaviour, dialogue delivery, look, everything in the film screams Prabhas. There could not have been a better Sivagami than Ramya Krishnan in the film. His eyes did all the acting. Sathyaraj’s role as Kattappa was one of the strongest roles in the film after Prabhas. The story of the film could not have been completed without him. Rana Daggubati as the evil king Bhallaladeva will make you hate him with all your heart. And when the villain of the story manages to do this, you know he’s done a good job.

The film’s two lead actresses, Anushka Shetty and Tamannaah Bhatia, were not shown as princesses hiding behind closed doors during times of crisis. In Rajamouli’s films, women are always shown as strong and ready to take on evil themselves.

Every scene of both the Baahubali films has been called ‘iconic’. So, how did the makers decide to edit an almost 7-hour film into 3.5 hours? It was a difficult decision. But SS Rajamouli brought his cinematic flair to the film and cleverly edited portions that no longer needed an extended look. For example, the love story between Prabhas and Tamannaah Bhatia, the tattoo scene, was a key element of Baahubali: The Beginning. The makers cleverly condensed their love story with a narration, however, kept the Dheevar song intact.

Many elements of Prabhas and Anushka Shetty’s love story were also edited in the second part. The songs Manohari and Kanha So Jaa Zara starring Nora Fatehi were also removed from the film.