Movie Review: Baahubhali 1 & 2 (2015, 2017)

Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) directed by S. S. Rajamouli

The infant son of the ruler is taken from the kingdom to save his life from ruthless relatives. He grows up in obscurity with foster parents who do not tell him his true origin. He wants to climb the great mountain nearby, because he feels its his destiny. The kingdom he came from is on top of the mountain. His foster mother doesn't want him to go but he eventually succeeds at the herculean task. He's pulled into the court intrigue above when he helps a beautiful woman on her quest to free her queen (who also happens to be his mother). The kingdom is ruled by an iron-fisted ruler who has kept the true queen as a scorned hostage, living in a town square chained to the pillar. She's been collecting twigs and branches that fall into the square, preparing a bed of fire for the illegitimate king. Who does she expect to throw him in there? Her long absent (25 years!) son Baahubali. He's returned just in time to make things right!

But before he can start, he finds out the backstory of his parents. His father and his uncle were rivals for the throne and had to compete in tests of intelligence and bravery. They were equally matched. Then another nation attacked the country and the queen, whose word is law, declared that whoever killed the invading king would be the next ruler. Battle plans were drawn up and both brothers went to fight. Baahubali Senior fought nobly and fairly (which is more than can be said for his brother) and has the enemy king at sword point when his brother uses a ranged weapon to deliver the killing blow. Their queen (who is the biological mother of the uncle and adoptive mother of Baahubali Senior) declares Baahubali Senior as king and his brother as leader of the army. As with many political decisions, things do not work out the way she planned--a trusted advisor stabs the elder Baahubali in the back literally. With that revelation, part one ends.

The basic plot of the movie borrows a lot from other fantasy epics and follows the standard hero's journey. The young Baahubali is earnest in his desire to climb the mountain (he doesn't know the tunnel that brought him down has been sealed up). He starts doing fantastic feats even before he climbs the mountain, indicating his destiny as a great hero. When he unintentionally rescues his mother in the kingdom, many of the slaves in the city recognize him since he looks just like his father (the same actor plays both characters, so it's a natural identification). They declare him their hero, which gets the evil king's jealous attention and his chained-up, true mother's instant acceptance. In the meantime, his foster family has cleared the tunnel and come up the mountain, giving Baahubali additional confirmation about his true parentage. The drama follows a standard story arc that we've seen from Moses to Luke Skywalker--the unaware hero destined to save the people.

The execution of the story is fantastic. The movie is visually opulent in direction, cast, costumes, and sets. Some stuff is CGI, like every scene where an animal is part of the action (they even have a little "C.G.I." reminder in the corner of the screen to reassure viewers that no animal was harmed). The CGI looks good for the most part, only occasional brief scenes are obviously digital. The action is exciting and enjoyable, even when it goes over the top (it's a fantasy epic, after all). The actors and actresses are all convincing in the action scenes. Following the Indian filmmaking tradition, there's some musical numbers and singing that fits well with the story and shows off the beauty (both visual and vocal) of the cast (both male and female). The movie is a sheer delight to watch, except for the cliffhanger ending, with the promise of the next film in two years! Happy me, to watch it six years after release, so they are both streaming on Netflix.

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) directed by S. S. Rajamouli

The story picks up right where the first movie left off, i.e. in the middle of the flashback explaining the events that lead up to Baahubhali Senior's assassination (not everything was explained in the first film). He fights a long, losing political war against his brother even as he woos a neighboring princess (the woman who will be mother to Baahubali Junior). Eventually the Queen Mother is tricked into authorizing a death warrant for Senior, which is executed by another set of political machinations. Senior is killed just before his young wife gives birth to a child destined to change their world. Her mother-in-law sneaks the child off to the lower kingdom, dying in the effort and sealing the secrecy of his origin. With all this information in hand, Junior is ready to retake the throne. And, quite frankly, most of the regular people in the upper kingdom are ready to rise up against their dictatorial king. Junior leads an army to the capital city where a massive battle takes place. While viewers can guess how the battle will turn out, it's the journey to that end that is the great joy of the film.

This sequel follows on perfectly with the first film in tone, storytelling, and enjoyment. The battle tactics are creative, interesting, and occasionally ridiculously over-the-top (in the most enjoyable way). They dropped the "C.G.I." warnings about the animals. Some bits are more obviously CGI but the movie has so much heart and momentum that it's very easy to pass over relatively minor flaws. The cast does a great job in their performances, making their characters a believable part of the epic plot swirling around them. Junior is an exemplary and inspirational hero.

Highly recommended--these movies tell an epic romance/fantasy/action story that is wonderful to behold.

DVDs are a bit hard to come by, it's probably better to watch these movies streaming. I saw them on Netflix.

The movies are discussed on A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast #264.