{"id":948,"date":"2016-05-24T09:57:59","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T09:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=948"},"modified":"2016-05-24T09:57:59","modified_gmt":"2016-05-24T09:57:59","slug":"baahubali-2-the-conclusion-film-review-ss-rajamouli-lord-of-the-rings-indian-cinema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=948","title":{"rendered":"The One Thing That Stops Baahubali from Becoming India\u2019s LOTR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span class=\"dropcap\">T<\/span>he experience of watching SS Rajamouli\u2019s epic prequel to <\/p><em>Baahubali: The Beginning<\/em> can be summed up in a single scene which takes place at the conclusion of <em>Baahubali: The Conclusion<\/em>.\n\nDuring the final battle between Mahendra Baahubali (Prabhas), the rightful heir to the throne and the evil King Bhallala Deva (Rana Dagubatti), Baahubali\u2019s soldiers use palm trees as propellers to launch themselves to the terrace of the king\u2019s castle. The sight of human cannonballs being hurled from palm trees is a mad, genius idea that will fascinate you as much as, say, seeing the flaming horn of a bull being used as a weapon (another sequence). The soldiers land on the terrace with ease, in sync, and most importantly, without a single scratch \u2013 they go on to fight and win a bloody war.\n\nIt is a scene that leaves you dumbfounded on two counts: the inventive madness required to imagine and execute such a scene, as well as the sheer ludicrousness of it.\n\nThat\u2019s the state you should submit to when you sit down to watch Rajamouli\u2019s second instalment of the mighty <em>Baahubali<\/em> franchise this weekend. The first left us awed with the scale of visual grandeur (and the complete lack of a plotline and common sense). Two years later, you can\u2019t help but <em>still<\/em> be awed by the scale of the visual grandeur \u2013 and the complete lack of a plotline and common sense.\n\n<em>Baahubali<\/em> is a bit like watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Anything can happen: Palm trees can become propellors, bullhorns can become fiery weapons, and poetic justice can be served by drowning people in a Baahubali-made flood in which a swan-like Titanic-esque ship will suddenly become airborne and surround itself with cloud-shaped horses.\n\nIt is the scale of scenes like these that establish Rajamouli\u2019s shrewdness as a filmmaker. He is not trying to make a film \u2013 he is trying to take your breath away. So he takes conventional action tropes and squashes them under the weight of his audacious imagination before destroying them in a spectacular display of foolish fireworks.\n\nThe question you are left asking of this movie \u2013 widely touted as India\u2019s answer to Peter Jackson\u2019s <em>Lord of the Rings<\/em> trilogy \u2013 is WHY? Why, when you are sparing no expense to make the most visually stunning film, would you not give me a plot that I can enjoy without wholly suspending belief?\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\">\nBut, as phenomenal as the film looks, the epic spectacle is proof enough that Rajamouli falters terribly at the altar of his own ambition, wrapped in the film\u2019s over-indulgent grandiosity. <\/blockquote>\nThere is a lot in the film to grant it the <em>LoTR<\/em> comparison \u2013 the war sequences, for starters. In the previous instalment, much of the film\u2019s second half featured the mighty war between the Mahishmati and the Kalakeya kingdoms, which looked similar to the Battle of Helm\u2019s Deep and Pelenor fields from <em>The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers<\/em> (2002) in both scale and style. Then, like the Elvish language in <em>LoTR<\/em>, the makers <a href=\"http:\/\/www.firstpost.com\/entertainment\/baahubali-does-a-lord-of-the-rings-the-film-establishes-a-new-language-called-kilikili-2339430.html\">created<\/a> a new language called Kilikili in <em>Baahubaali: The Beginning<\/em> for the Kalakeya warriors. Even the misshapen faces of the Kalakeya warriors seem to be modelled on the villainous orcs from <em>Lord of the Rings: Return of the Kings<\/em> (2001). The fact that both the series feature elaborate set-pieces and rely heavily on special effects, further strengthen the comparison.\n\nBut, as phenomenal as the film looks, the epic spectacle is proof enough that Rajamouli falters terribly at the altar of his own ambition, wrapped in the film\u2019s over-indulgent grandiosity. This happens, despite the film\u2019s fascinating fictional universe populated by terrific actors playing intriguing, fleshed-out characters. But Rajamouli refuses to take it further. He refuses to take over the responsibility of taking the plot even a few notches above pedestrian level and leaving you with a movie that you could have watched on mute. It is a complaint that has never been hurled at <em>LoTR<\/em>.\n\nThe world of <em>Lord of the Rings<\/em> is so rich and deep that the audience isn\u2019t asked to suspend disbelief. However, <em>Baahubali<\/em> works only when there\u2019s a generous amount of suspension of disbelief, especially in the scene where Baahubali tames an elephant using a massive chariot, and then gets up on its head to stand like a heroic prince. <em>Lord of the Rings<\/em> amassed a cult following not solely because of its war sequences or stunning effects but because it aspired to give the audiences more, in the form of a new legend and a set of heroes, each fleshed out with purpose and a legit plotline.\n\nThe second instalment of <em>Baahubali<\/em>, on the other hand, is characterised by half-baked storylines and lazy writing. The CGI and special effects are its only saving grace.\n\nWith <em>Baahubali: The Beginning<\/em>\u2019s record-breaking success in 2015, Rajamouli had managed to capture the public\u2019s imagination in a way no movie ever had. It gave us the hope that it would eventually become a product that could stand on its own against its Hollywood counterparts. Two years and a three-hour movie later, <em>Baahubali: The Conclusion<\/em> will still succeed in driving the audience in herds to the theatres. But one question will remain unanswered\u2026 How is it possible to spend so much money and still make a movie that eventually feels silly?\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As you watch Baahubali: The Conclusion, prepare to be dumbfounded by its scale and grandeur. Then, ask yourself if you should expect more than just the spectacle from the movie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The One Thing That Stops Baahubali from Becoming India\u2019s LOTR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As you watch Baahubali: The Conclusion, prepare to be dumbfounded by its scale and grandeur. 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