Review of Bāhubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) by Ani B — 01 May 2017

If Indian cinema has a Hall of Fame, Baahubali 2 will be one of the all-time-greatest movies & will occupy the throne for a very long time to come. OMG, I have never watched a movie with so much awe for almost every scene. CGI, sets and reality have blended so well to create visual splendor at never seen before levels, that you forget yourself and become part of the movie. There is no more comparison with Hollywood for standards/quality of movie making. Indian cinema has truly ARRIVED at the world level, setting new standards for movie making.

That was about the experience of watching the movie and the quality of movie making itself. Coming to the story/script:

For me, "Why Kattappa killed Baahubali" was not a big question at all - knowing Kattappa's love for Baahubali & the fact that he was a slave to the throne, either Bhallala deva or Sivagami should have ordered him was obvious.

Baahubali stands tall(not just physically), but also by the measure of his character. He makes some good choices when faced with a dilemma of blind obedience to throne/mother or Dharma(even though it meant he picked his wife/lover and not mother). It is sad that he never could sit on the throne in spite of being people's choice. Prabhas has become synonymous with Baahubali with his utterly flawless all-around performance. He does it all - mind boggling stunts, romance, dance, comedy and sentimental scenes. Looking like a King should have been so effortless for him - he wears it so naturally.

If there is one character that can surpass/equal Baahubali, it is the warrior Princess Devasena. Be it the fight sequences, stoic endurance of 25 years of torture, romance, dialogue delivery - Anushka is an actress par excellence. She comes across as the personification of majestic beauty, strength and fierce independence. Her screen presence is a force to reckon with.

No other actress could have matched Prabhas - if Prabhas looks like a born King, she is a born Queen. Her characterization is by far THE BEST - the way she stands up to Sivagami - when Sivagami sends gold to get her hand in marriage for Bhallaladeva, her retort to Baahubali during her baby shower, the way she defends herself in the court for chopping off fingers of a Mahishmathi commander - simply WOW!

Rana has aced as Bhallala Deva. The gaunt face, void of any fat combined with a 6 pack body, gives a natural meanness to his face. He easily takes it up a notch with an ice cold look here or a devious smirk there. Be it the sly smiles that hide his hunger for the throne, the expressions of rage that make him hack the dead Baahubali's body, he knows where to hold back and where to go out and bare it all. He really manages to send a shiver down one's spine in terror and that is a huge victory.

The phrase "one and only" fits Ramya Krishnan perfectly. Her majestic screen presence in spite of being short, the combination of royal exuberance and dominance in her face, the eyes that can express compassion one second and fury the next - OMG, she gave me goosebumps so many times. Especially in the opening scene where she walks with a pot of fire on her head unperturbed by an approaching mad elephant. She should give classes on how to walk like THAT(hell or high water, I do what I do).

Sathyaraj as Kattappa and Nasser as Pingala Deva have played their roles very beautifully. There are no big surprises in their characters.

Tamannah is largely absent in part 2, save one or 2 scenes where she tries to show some grit and effort to fight, but goes unnoticed.

W.r.t. script, I felt that a lot of time was spent on the flashback and there was a sense of hurry when it came to the present where Shivu had to avenge his father's death. Jumping into.

A war with mighty Mahishmathi without any strategy did not sound wise. I expected that Kattappa will seek the help of Aslam Khan(Kicha Sudeep) or Baahubali's allies and advise Shivu about any weaknesses of Bhallaladeva or secrets of the Mahishmathi fort. The romance track in part 1 could have been replaced with some more story from part 2 & a couple of scenes that show brainstorming for the final war would have given it a sense of completeness.

The letdown for me in this movie is the character of Sivagami. The one who was the epitome of justice and fairness in part 1,falling prey to hearsay and giving/changing orders at the fall of a hat - she looks like a gullible person with a frail ego who has no regard for due diligence when it comes to matters of the state. If not for her saving the life of Mahendra Baahubali, she could very well be seen as a villain in part 2. May be "vinaasha kaale, vipareedha buddhi" is true in her case. When the time is bad, you make cloudy judgements and act in haste.

I can nitpick on the script a little bit, but nothing, I mean nothing will take away from the magnum opus this movie truly is. I am SO, SO, SO PROUD to be hailing from the region where this movie was made and speaking the same language as them.

Music - BGM is great and the songs sound great in Telugu, not that good in Tamil. I don't know if it is because I heard them in Telugu first, but so much is lost in translation. I had the.

Same feeling about part 1 songs. Somehow, Madhan Kaarky's lyric engineering does not sit well with me.

Sabu Cyril(Production Designer) and Rama Rajamouli and Prashanti (costume designers) need a special mention for their fabulous work. One cannot wrap one's head around the sheer amount of work, a production of this magnitude would have warranted. Hats off to the entire team, especially Rajamouli and his vision!