Scale of ambition: gargantuan. Quality of VFX: out of the ordinary. Content: only occasionally gripping. Final impact: pretty strong.
That, in a nutshell, is SS Rajamouli’s Telugu and Tamil fantasy epic Baahubali – The Beginning, which has been released nationwide in Hindi in collaboration with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.
The spectacular universe that the film conjures up is filled with magic, but the larger-than-life characters that populate its extraordinary expanse do not belong to any known mythic landscape.
To that extent, Baahubali, driven by the titular superhero who pulls off mind-boggling feats both in love and in war, throws up many a surprise that isn’t altogether meaningless.
The story by Vijayendra Prasad, however, does not offer much more than standard a tale of valour, betrayal and vendetta set in a fictional kingdom, Mahismathi, where two brawny cousins square off against each other for the throne.