Baahubali the Beginning: Review
Yash Trivedi
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INTRODUCTION:
Baahubali the Beginning is an immensely popular action movie from South India. This specific movie was directed by the famed S. S. Rajamouli. Rajamouli is an important figure in Tollywood (Telugu cinema). He has even become popular in other parts of India and the West because of his hit movie, RRR. RRR became a hit for a reason, as Rajamouli’s movies are not popular for nothing, so let’s get into this amazing film!
SUMMARY:
At the beginning of the movie, we are introduced to a shocking scene. A woman is carrying a baby across a river while fighting off hordes of soldiers. Eventually, she gets too weak and falls into the waterfall. Though with her determination to save the baby, she shouts up at the mountain from where the waterfall originated, saying something along the lines of “Lord Shiva (a Hindu God), you may take my life, but please protect Baahubali, the rightful heir to the Mahishmati throne.” The woman then sinks into the water, with one of her hands holding up the baby. After a bit, locals from a nearby village find the baby above the water and rescue it. The woman who found the child decides to raise him as her own, naming him “Shiva.”
Years pass and Shiva (the human) is now 25 years old. He is a normal kid, but there is one thing he keeps going back to, the giant cliff towering above the waterfall. Even after falling off numerous times, he still tries to climb it. Shiva’s mom then starts pouring water on a Shivling (something Hindus use to worship Shiva), to stop him from climbing the waterfall. Since Shiva (the human) sees how hard his mom works to pick up water, to then pour it onto the Shivling, he goes beyond old cultural practices, and picks up the Shivling from its resting space, to put it under the waterfall. Suddenly, a mask drops down from the sky to him, and like the cliff, he is mesmerized by it. Knowing the mask came from the top of the waterfall, he is now more ready than ever to get to the top, so he does!
After getting to the top, he learns about two sides to a fight. One side has a powerful kingdom called Mahishmati, ruled by a corrupt leader. The other is a group that is rebelling against the king, planning to get Shiva’s biological mother, Devsena, back on the throne. After learning about all of this, Shiva then hears the story of Baahubali. A tale of two brothers, and their fight for the throne, and that is where the plot of the first movie lies.
WHAT I LIKED:
The average rating most sites give this movie is 80-90%, which I think is accurate, and in this section, I want to highlight why everyone gave it such a high rating.
The first thing I want to feature is how easily Baahubali can make you excited. The scenes in this movie get you to the edge of your seat; they hypnotize you. Baahubali is meant to be an epic of sorts. The story needs much explaining, so the first movie is mostly about Baahubali, and his brother Bhallaladeva. While explaining their story, many action scenes occur. The build-up to such segments is long and tedious, but I honestly think that is what makes it more enjoyable.
Another great thing is world-building. The area where Shiva lives at the beginning of the movie isn’t touched on all that much, but the waterfall of Lord Shiva looks great. It’s presented as something mystical, later being mentioned that only Lord Shiva can climb the cliff, making it so much cooler when Shiva (the kid) does climb the cliff. My favorite part of the world-building was definitely when Mahishmati was introduced. It’s painted as a beautiful, grand place, but with narcissistic and evil rulers.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
I only have one gripe with this movie, and it’s that things change up too quickly without explanation. In the film, a girl tries to kill Shiva (the boy). After one song where he magically seduces her, she loves him. It makes no sense. The movie also changes from the present to the past too quickly. This makes the movie a little confusing, but still great!
CONCLUSION:
Baahubali the Beginning is a great film that you should watch! Though I don’t recommend it for getting into Indian cinema, since it can be a bit overwhelming, it’s still a great movie! In all, I will give it a 9/10 rating.
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