Baahubali: The Beginning (2015)

Baahubali: The Beginning (stylized as bãhubali; English: The One with Strong Arms: The Beginning), also known by the initialism BBTB, is an Indian epic historical fiction film directed by S. S. Rajamouli. The film was produced by Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni and was shot as a bilingual in Telugu and Tamil. The film stars Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, and Tamannaah in the lead roles, with Ramya Krishnan, Sathyaraj, and Nassar in supporting roles. The first of two cinematic parts, The Beginning is a tale of the lost rightful heir of the fictional kingdom of Mahishmati, who learns about his true identity while falling in love with a rebellious warrior, who (among with her group) intends to rescue the former queen of Mahismati.

The film was conceived by Rajamouli's father K. V. Vijayendra Prasad, who randomly told him a story about Sivagami, a woman who carries a baby in her hand while crossing a river, and a few years later about Kattapa, which intrigued Rajamouli. His fascination with mythology and the tales of Amar Chitra Katha comics further fueled his interest in the story. However, it took the writers three months to finalise the final draft. The soundtrack and background score were composed by M. M. Keeravani while the cinematography, production design, and VFX were handled by K. K. Senthil Kumar, Sabu Cyril and V. Srinivas Mohan respectively.

The film was made on a budget of ₹180 crore (~ $27.9 million), making it the most expensive Indian film at its time of release. The film opened worldwide on 10 July 2015, garnering critical acclaim and record breaking box office success. With the worldwide box office gross of ₹6.5 billion (~ $100.9 million), it became the highest-grossing film in India and the third-highest grossing Indian film worldwide, and the highest-grossing South Indian film at the time of its release. Its Hindi dubbed version also broke several records by becoming the highest grossing dubbed film in India. Both budget and box office records since has been surpassed by its sequel, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. The Beginning is the highest grossing Indian film of 2015 and the fourth highest grossing Indian film of all time.

It received several accolades. It won the National Film Award for Best Special Effects and Best Feature Film, becoming the first Telugu film to win the award. At the 63rd Filmfare Awards South, the Telugu version won five awards from ten nominations, including Best Film, Best Director for Rajamouli and Best Supporting Actress for Krishnan. The Beginning became the first Indian film to be nominated for Saturn Awards, receiving five nominations at the 42nd ceremony, including Best Fantasy Film and Best Supporting Actress for Tamannaah. The film's second and final cinematic part was released on 28 April 2017.

Contents

• 1 Plot
• 2 Cast
• 3 Production
  • 3.1 Visual effects
  • 3.2 Kilikili language
• 4 Music
• 5 Release
  • 5.1 Re-release
  • 5.2 Marketing
  • 5.3 Distribution
• 6 Critical reception
• 7 Box office
  • 7.1 India
  • 7.2 Overseas
• 8 Accolades
• 9 Sequel
• 10 See also
• 11 External links

Plot

In the ancient kingdom of Mahismati, Sivagami (Ramya Krishnan) emerges from a cave while carrying a baby. She kills two soldiers pursuing her and attempts to wade towards a village across a raging river, but fails and falls in. She clutches a branch, before pleading to God Parameshwara that "Mahendra Baahubali must live!" and holds the baby in one hand above her head before dying.

Local villagers notice the baby and rescue it. Sanga (Rohini) and her husband name the infant Sivudu and raise him as their own son. The villagers seal the staircase leading up the waterfall, fearing that someone may come to take away the child.

Sivudu (Prabhas) grows up to be a strong, adventurous young man who tries to climb the waterfall, with minimal success. After carrying a stone Shiva lingam to the waterfalls, he finds a wooden mask on the ground. Driven to find the owner of the mask, he attempts to climb the waterfall again and succeeds. After his ascent, Sivudu discovers that the mask belongs to Avantika (Tamannaah), a rebellious warrior of a group engaged in guerrilla warfare against Emperor Bhallaladeva (Rana Daggubati) of Mahismati. The group, led by Devasena's brother (Balireddy Pruthviraj), intends to rescue their former queen Devasena (Anushka Shetty) who has been imprisoned in the kingdom for the past twenty-five years. Avantika is given the opportunity to rescue the queen.

Avantika falls in love with Sivudu after finding out that he climbed the waterfall for her. Sivudu pledges to help her in her mission and sneaks into Mahishmati to rescue Devasena. Sivudu rescues Devasena and flees with her, but is chased down by Bhallaladeva's son, Bhadra (Adivi Sesh) and the king's royal slave warrior Kattappa (Sathyaraj). After Sivudu beheads Bhadra, Kattappa drops his weapon, realizing that Sivudu is Mahendra Baahubali, the son of late king Amarendra Baahubali. Kattappa narrates the story of Amarendra's past.

Amarendra's mother had died giving birth to him, while his father had died long before that. His uncle Bijjaladeva (Nassar) was deemed unfit to rule due to his crooked nature, however he believes he was denied the throne due to the fact that one of his arms is disabled. Bijjaladeva's wife Sivagami assumed control of the kingdom with Kattappa's assistance until a new king could be selected. Amarendra Baahubali was brought up together with Bijjaladeva and Sivagami's son, his cousin Bhallaladeva. Both young men were trained in arts, science, disguise, politics, and warfare, but they had different approaches towards kingship. Amarendra Baahubali was gracious to everyone, and was loved by the people. Bhallaladeva was violent and achieved his goals by any means possible.
It was then discovered that Mahismathi was about to be attacked by an army of savages called Kalakeyas. Bijjaladeva proposed that the prince who killed Inkoshi, the king of Kalakeyas, would be the future king of Mahismati and the chief minister agrees. Sivagami, nevertheless, said that it was prince's duty to protect and defend their country and orders that Mahismati's war resources be distributed fairly among the two men. Bijjaladeva used his guile to make sure Bhallaladeva got the maximum war resources.

The Kalakeyas were given an opportunity to change their minds. The Kalakeya king Inkoshi rejected Queen Sivagami's offer and insulted her by saying he will have children with her. An enraged Sivagami said she wants Inkoshi brought to her alive, but with his limbs chopped off, so that she could feed him to the vultures. During the battle, the Kalakeyas used a dirty tactic of using the prisoners of Mahismati as shields. Bhallaladeva plowed through the line of innocent prisoners with his chariot which had blades turning and killed them. Amarendra, on the other hand, caused them to fall down and attacked the Kalakeyas behind them, thus saving the prisoners. When it seems that Mahishmati would end up being defeated, Amarendra inspired his soldiers to fight back and they ended up crushing the enemy. While Amarendra defeated Inkoshi and was about to obey the words of Sivagami by chopping off his limbs, Bhallaladeva swung his weapon from a distance and killed him. Despite Bhallaladeva being the one to kill Inkoshi, Sivagami announced Amarendra Baahubali as the new emperor because of his courage and leadership and also because of the fact that he shielded and protected his own countrymen throughout the war.

After the flashback, when asked about Amarendra's current whereabouts, a tearful Kattappa reveals that Amarendra is dead, and that he is the one who killed him.

Cast

Main article: List of Baahubali characters

• Prabhas as Amarendra Baahubali and Mahendra Baahubali alias Sivudu (Telugu) / Shivu (Tamil)
• Rana Daggubati as Bhallaladeva (Telugu)/Pallvalathevan in (Tamil)
• Anushka Shetty as Devasena (Telugu) / Thevasenai (Tamil)
• Ramya Krishnan as Rajamatha (Queen Mother) Sivagami (Telugu) / Shivakami (Tamil)
• Tamannaah as a rebel warrior Avantika (Telugu and Tamil)
• Sathyaraj as Kattappa (Telugu and Tamil), as a royal slave and warrior
• Nassar as Bijjaladeva (Telugu) / Pingalathevan (Tamil)
• Rohini as Sanga (Telugu and Tamil)
• Meka Ramakrishna as Jayasena, leader of the rebel group and the King of Kunthala Kingdom
• Tanikella Bharani as Swamiji
• Adivi Sesh as Bhadra (Telugu and Tamil), son of Bhallaladeva
• Prabhakar as king of the Kalakeyas Inkoshi (Telugu) / Inkhozhi (Tamil)
• Sudeep as Aslam Khan
• S. S. Rajamouli as spirit seller
• Nora Fatehi as dancer in green blouse
• Scarlett Mellish Wilson as dancer in orange blouse
• Sneha Upadhyay (cameo) as dancer in blue blouse
• Rakesh Varre as Bhallaladeva's friend
• Teja Kakumanu as Sakethudu
• Bharani as Marthanda
• Subbaraya Sharma
• Adatya as Raj Guru
• John Kokken as Kalki Brothers
• Gabriela Bertante

Production

Baahubali: The Beginning was produced in Tollywood, the center of Telugu language films in India. As of July 2015, the film series was considered the most expensive in India. In February 2011, S. S. Rajamouli announced that Prabhas will star in his upcoming movie. In January 2013, he announced that the working title as Baahubali and the actual film production started at Rock Gardens in Kurnool on 6 July 2013. The waterfall scenes in the film were shot at Athirappilly Falls in Kerala, huge sets for the Mahishmati kingdom were constructed at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad and the snow episodes in the film were shot in Bulgaria. The screen writer, K. V. Vijayendra Prasad who wrote stories for most of Rajamouli's films once again penned the story for Baahubali. The film boasts of one year pre production work where in 15,000 story board sketches for the film were created which is highest for any Indian Film till date. More than 90 percent of the film had visually enhanced shots and according to the producer, more than 600 VFX artists worked for the film from 18 facilities around the world led by Makuta VFX and Firefly in Hyderabad, Prasad Studios in Hyderabad and Chennai, Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad, Tau Films in Malaysia, and Dancing Digital Animation and Macrograph in South Korea. Makuta VFX which had prior experience of working with S.S.Rajamouli was chosen as principal visual effects studio. The cinematography of the movie was done by KK Senthil Kumar for 380 days using Arri Alexa XT camera with Master Prime lens marking Rajamouli's first film using digital camera. Most of the film was shot in ARRIRAW format in 4:3 aspect ratio while ARRIRAW 16.9 was used for slow motion shots at 120 fps. Open Gate format, which can utilise the full 3.4K sensor in the camera to produce frames larger than the standard ARRIRAW format was tapped in to get the maximum image quality in VFX shots.
For the first time in Indian movies, 4K movie print was rendered with an aspect ratio of 1:1.88 as compared to Cinemascope at 1:2.35 to get the best cinematic experience in screens that support the 4K projection claimed the Producer. Sabu Cyril, production designer for the film created 10,000 different kinds of weaponry ranging from swords, helmets and armors required for the soldiers. To make the swords light weight Carbon-fibre was used instead of steel, the same material used in manufacture of Helicopter blades claimed the art director. 3D printing technology was used to create the head of 100 foot Bhallaladeva's character in the movie and flexi foam was used to create amours to make them light weight and to have the look of leather. V. Srinivas Mohan was chosen as visual effects supervisor and Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao was the Editor. PM Satheesh was the sound designer and Peter Hein was responsible for the action sequences. The costume designers were Rama Rajamouli and Prasanthi Tipirneni. The line producer was M. M. Srivalli.

Visual effects

National Award Winner V. Srinivas Mohan was roped in as Visual effects supervisor for Baahubali. The film boasts of 90% CGI work which accounts for 2500 VFX shots. Makuta VFX which is based out of Hyderabad was chosen as principal visual effects studio and was responsible for more than 50% of the computer-generated imagery in the film. The majority of work done by Makuta involved bringing the 1500 foot mystical waterfall to life, creating enormous mountains and huge landscapes including the kingdom of Mahishmati, with its massive temples and courtyards. Creating the mammoth waterfall took nearly 2 years as Makuta has to deal with a lot of complexity in fluid dynamics and simulations. Each frame involving the water fall sequence was treated as creating a new set and employed a different set of methodology claims Makuta.

Firefly Creative Studio which is also based out of Hyderabad worked primarily on the avalanche and the war sequences which accounts for nearly 25 minutes of the film. Firefly Creative was also involved in creating underwater VFX shots and in establishing backstories for Kalakeya characters. Tau Films from Malaysia was responsible for creating the CGI bison, while Prasad EFX from Hyderabad was responsible for some shots in pre and post battle episodes involving digital multiplication. Prasad was also responsible for creating a 3D image of Kattappa and mapping his head on to a duplicate actor in one of the scenes.

Srushti VFX from Hyderabad was involved in digitally creating some of the shots in the war sequence along with Firefly studios. Annapurna Studios from Hyderabad was chosen as digital intermediate partner for the film which is responsible for generating the digital feed with the best color and audio for editing. For the first time in Indian movies, Academy Color Encoding System workflows were implemented along with Infinitely Scalable Information Storage keeping in mind the mammoth scale of digitally enhanced shots in the film. Arka Media Works, production company of Baahubali, teamed up with AMD to utilise the state of the art FirePro GPUs W9100 and W8100 during the post production of the film which are capable of rendering 4K content in real time and are considered the best in Industry to date.

Reacting to media reports on the same VFX team for Baahubali and Jurassic World, producer Shobu Yarlagadda denied outright any such collaboration, calling such claims an internet rumor. In an interview with Quartz, the co-founder of Makuta VFX stated, "Most of Baahubali was developed in Hyderabad, home to Tollywood, and used local talent. It was principally a homegrown feature produced by homegrown talent." 

Kilikili language

The fictional language Kilikili (also referred to as Kiliki) used as the language of the Kalakeyas - a ferocious warrior tribe, was created by Madhan Karky for the film. It is said to be the first fictitious language to be created for an Indian film character.

While Karky was pursuing PhD in Australia, he took up a part-time job of teaching and baby-sitting children. During one such interaction, he thought it would be fun to create a new language that could be easily grasped. Basic words were first made up and opposites were represented by word reversals - me was min and you was nim. The language which introduced 100 new words was called "Click" to highlight its simplicity. This formed the foundation for Kiliki.

• Kilikili consists of at least 750 words and more than 40 concrete grammar rules
• It was designed to be an intuitive language - Karky said he used hard consonants and soft consonants depending on the nature of the word's meaning.
• The language was created keeping in mind that the Kalakeya warriors had to be portrayed as terrifying brutes.
• The language sounds the same in all the versions - Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam - of Baahubali.

Music

Main article: Baahubali: The Beginning (soundtrack)

Rajamouli's cousin M. M. Keeravani composed the music for this film and the sound supervision is done by Kalyan Koduri.

Release

The film released on 10 July 2015 in 4,000 screens worldwide in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam languages. A record number of 1600 screens in Telugu, 1500 screens in Hindi, 350 in Tamil and 225 screens in Malayalam were booked for the release. The film was released in USA a day earlier by BlueSky Cinemas in 135 screens. A premier show was also held on 9 July at Prasads IMAX Hyderabad. The film's release in Kerala was hindered amidst a close down by a section of theatres over the piracy issue of Malayalm film Premam and released only in few theatres. The Telugu version of the film was presented by K. Raghavendra Rao, Tamil version by K.E. Gnanavel Raja, Sri Thenandal Films and UV Creations, Karan Johar presented the Hindi version and Global United Media presented the Malayalam theatrical version. International version of the film which is 20 mins shorter than the original one, done by Vincent Tabaillon was screened at Busan International Film Festival . Producers of the film have planned to release the film in China in over 5000 screens in November 2015 by E Stars Films. Baahubali will be the biggest release in China for an Indian film, beating PK which was released on 22 May 2015. The film is also set to release in Japan. Twin Co which is a leading distributor for international films in Japan has acquired the rights for screening of the film. The producer Shobu Yarlagadda who struck the deal at Busan Asian Film Market also revealed his plans to release the movie in Latin America, Germany and European countries. MVP Entertainment is set to release the movie in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste countries. Sun Distribution acquired the distribution rights of the movie in Latin American countries while Creative Century Entertainment got the rights for Taiwan. In Korea, the movie is scheduled to be released via Entermode Corp. Arka International, which is the sales arm for International release has made arrangements to release the movie in Germany and 70 other territories.

The Tamil version of the film faced a controversy relating to a word used in the film. On 22 July 2015, activists of Dalit group Puratchi Pulikal Iyakkam hurled petrol bombs outside the 'Tamil, Jaya' multiplex in Madurai screening the Tamil version of the film. Dalit group Puratchi Pulikal Iyakkam protested against the movie featuring a line Pagadaikku Pirandhavan, words considered derogatory against dalits as they are contemptuous terms used by caste Hindus to address members of the Arunthathiyar Dalit sub-caste. Dialogue Writer of Tamil version, Madhan Karky issued an apology for offending Dalits.

Re-release

As the sequel Baahubali: The Conclusion was released on 28 April 2017, the producers and distributors re-released the first part(Hindi) again on 7 April 2017.

The film was screened at various film festivals like Open Cinema Strand of Busan International Film Festival, Indian Film Festival The Hague, Sitges Film Festival in Spain, Utopiales Film Festival in France, Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei, Taiwan, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia, L'Etrange International Film Festival in Paris, Five Flavours Film Festival in Poland, Hawaii International Film Festival in Honolulu, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in Brussels, Belgium, Cannes Film Festival in France, Transilvania International Film Festival in Romania, Le Grand Rex in Paris, Kurja Polt Horror Film Festival, Festival de Lacamo, 8th BRICS summit, and the 2016 Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India, Goa. The international version of the film was released in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Timor-Leste along with some European and Latin American countries.

Marketing

Marketing of the film started 2 years before the shoot by S. S. Rajamouli with the audition campaign in Facebook and YouTube. A number of short promotional Making-of videos were released on ArkaMediaworks YouTube channel and the team unveiled first look posters and videos featuring the film's lead stars on the occasions of their birthdays. The film used an augmented reality application to play the trailer on smart phones and tablets. The crown used by the character of Baahubali in the film was exhibited at Comic Con, Hyderabad as a part of the film's promotion. A cosplay event was held in which chosen winners were given a chance to visit the sets of the film. The film's unit also launched a WhatsApp messenger to give regular updates about the film to the subscribers. On 22 July 2015, Guinness World Records approved the poster created during the audio launch of Baahubali in Kochi on 27 June 2015 as the world's largest poster. The poster has an area of 4,793.65 m² (51,598.21 ft²) and it was achieved by Global United Media Company Pvt Ltd. (This record has since been broken with a 5,969.61 m² poster for the film MSG-2 The Messenger.) A special skit was performed by the Baahubali team for the event named Memu Saitham to help the victims affected by Cyclone Hudhud. After the film's release, an interactive quiz was conducted by marketing team on storygag allowing users to find out which Baahubali movie character they were. Producers are also has planning to create a film museum at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad which will showcase the weapons, armours and costumes used by actors in the film which is first of its kind for any Indian movie till date. Museum is expected to be ready before or right after the release of Baahubali: The Conclusion. The film's website hosts merchandise which includes apparels, accessories and film's collectibles.

It is also one of the films featured in BBC's documentary on 100 Years of Indian cinema directed by Sanjeev Bhaskar.

Distribution

In early July 2014, the film first part's Karnataka and Ceded (Rayalaseema) region distribution rights were sold to a prominent distributor for ₹23 crore (US$3.6 million) out of which the Ceded region, which included Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantapur, Chittoor and Bellary areas, the rights alone fetched ₹14 crore (US$2.2 million) At the same time, the film's Nizam region theatrical distribution rights were purchased by Dil Raju for an amount of ₹25 crore (US$3.9 million). only for the first part. Though he did not confirm the price, Dil Raju said in an interview to Deccan Chronicle that he purchased the first part's Nizam region rights and added that he would acquire the rights of the second part also for this region. BlueSky Cinemas, Inc. acquired the theatrical screening and distribution rights in United States and Canada.

Critical reception

Critics praised the film for its direction, technical values, and the actors' performances. Lisa Tsering based on The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "The story has been told many times before — a child is born destined for greatness and as a man vanquishes the forces of evil — but in the confident hands of accomplished South Indian director S.S. Rajamouli the tale gets potent new life in Baahubali: The Beginning." Allan Hunter, writing for Screen Daily noted that "The broad brushstrokes storytelling and the director's over-fondness for slow-motion sequences are among the film's failings but this is still a rousing film, easily accessible epic. There's rarely a dull moment in Baahubali: The Beginning, part one of a gung-ho, crowd-pleasing Telugu-language epic that has been shattering box-office records throughout India." Mike McCahill of The Guardian rated the film four stars out of five, praising the film, "Rajamouli defers on the latter for now, but his skilful choreography of these elements shucks off any cynicism one might carry into Screen 1: wide-eyed and wondrous, his film could be a blockbuster reboot, or the first blockbuster ever made, a reinvigoration of archetypes that is always entertaining, and often thrilling, to behold." Suprateek Chatterjee of The Huffington Post wrote, "However, all said and done, Baahubali: The Beginning is a remarkable achievement. What Rajamouli has pulled off here, despite its flaws, is nothing short of a miracle, especially when you take into account India's notoriously risk-averse filmmaking environment and when the film ends on a tantalising cliffhanger (paving the way for Baahubali: The Conclusion, due to release next year), one can't help but applaud his singularly brave vision. As the cliché goes, a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step, but it doesn't really matter if that first step is shaky as long as it lands firmly and confidently."
 
Deepanjana Pal of Firstpost wrote, "This battle is Rajamouli's tour de force. It's elaborate, well-choreographed and has some breathtaking moments. Prabhas and Dagubatti are both in their elements as the warriors who approach warfare in two distinctive styles. The outcome of the battle is no surprise, but there are enough clever tactics and twists to keep the audience hooked. The biggest surprise, however, lies in the film's final shot, which gives you a glimpse into the sequel that will come out next year. And it's good enough to make you wish 2016 was here already." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV India rated the film with three stars out of five and stated, "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." Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express praised the film: "Right from its opening frames, 'Baahubali' holds out many promises: of adventure and romance, love and betrayal, valour and weakness. And it delivers magnificently on each of them. This is full-tilt, fully-assured filmmaking of a very high order. 'Baahubali' is simply spectacular." IN her review for The Hindu, Sangeetha Devi Dundoo wrote, "The war formations that form a chunk of the latter portions of the film are the best we've seen in Indian cinema so far. These portions are spectacular and show the technical finesse of the cinematographer (K.K. Senthil Kumar) and the visual effects teams. The waterfall, the mystical forests and water bodies above the cliffs and the lead pair escaping an avalanche all add to the spectacle. Give into its magic, without drawing comparisons to Hollywood flicks."

Sukanya Varma of Rediff gave the film four out of five stars, calling it 'mega, ingenious and envelope pushing!'. Critic Archita Kashyap based at Koimoi also gave the same ratings, "Be it the war sequences, or sword fighting; or a visual spectacle, or pure entertainment it is worth a watch. Kudos to the dedication of S S Rajamouli and his leading men, Prabhas and Rana, for spending years putting this film together. Actually, in its imagination and Indianness, Baahubali might just be a whole new start." Rachit Gupta of Filmfare gave the film four stars (out of 5) and summarised, "Baahubali is truly an epic experience. Had the story not been so jaded, this would've gone into the history books as an all-time classic. But that's not the case. It has its set of storytelling flaws, but even those are overshadowed by Rajamouli's ideas and execution. This is definitely worthy of being India's most expensive film. It's a definite movie watching experience." Suparna Sharma of Deccan Chronicle praised the second half of the film, writing, "Rajamouli has reserved all the grander and grandstanding for later, after interval. That's when the film stands up and begins to strut like an epic." Suhani Singh of India Today pointed out that the film is best enjoyed keeping logic at bay. She added, "SS Rajamouli and his team put up a fascinating wild, wild east adventure. It takes pluck to conceive a world like the one seen in Baahubali and to pull it off on a level which is on par with the international standards. The almost 45-minute-long battle sequence at the end is not just one of the biggest climaxes, but also the action spectacle rarely seen in Indian cinema. And if Rajamouli can present another one like that in part 2, then he is on course to register his name in cinema's history books. We can't wait to revisit Mahishmati kingdom." Critical reception penned by Shubha Shetty Saha for Mid Day rates the film with four stars out of film, exclaiming, "While watching Baahubali, you might have to periodically pick up your jaw off the floor. Because this is not merely a movie, it is an unbelievably thrilling fantasy ride." The review extends praising the aspects, "It is to the director's credit that every aspect of the film – action, mind-boggling set design and choreography – lives up to this epic film of gigantic scale. The choreography in the song that has Shiva disrobing Avantika to get her in touch with her feminine side, is an absolute gem."

Box office

See also: List of highest-grossing Indian films

Baahubali: The Beginning on the first day of its release collected ₹75 crore (US$12 million) worldwide which was the highest opening ever for an Indian film until Kabali surpassed it in 2016 by earning ₹87.5 crore (US$14 million). The film collected ₹15 crore (US$2.3 million) alone from United States on its first day. First weekend collections stood around ₹162 crore (US$25 million) worldwide from all its versions, the third biggest ever for an Indian film. The film grossed around ₹255 crore (US$40 million) worldwide in the first week of its release. It became the first South Indian film to gross ₹300 crore (US$47 million) worldwide, reaching there in 9 days, and subsequently grossed ₹401 crore (US$63 million) worldwide in 15 days. And has successfully crossed ₹500 crore (US$78 million) mark in 24 days. By the end of 50 days, the film grossed an approximate ₹595 crore (US$93 million) crore worldwide, based on estimates from International Business Times. Overall collections of the film stood at ₹650 crore (US$100 million) as of today. Baahubali: The Beginning grossed ₹518 crore (US$81 million) in all languages in India alone, and became the highest-grossing movie in India surpassing the gross of PK (2015) of ₹440 crore (US$69 million) from India.

India

Baahubali: The Beginning opened to 100 percent occupancy in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and close to 70 percent occupancy in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. It grossed around ₹50 crore (US$7.8 million) on its first day of release in India from all four versions (Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi). The Hindi version earned around ₹5 crore (US$780,000) nett which was the highest opening for any film dubbed into Hindi. Baahubali grossed ₹49.48 crore (US$7.7 million) on the first day in India. The Hindi version grossed around ₹19.5 crore (US$3.0 million) nett in the first weekend.

The Telugu version alone earned around ₹65 crore (US$10 million) nett in first weekend in India. The film, from all its versions, earned almost ₹100 crore (US$16 million) nett in its first weekend. It had the fourth biggest opening weekend ever in India. The Hindi version collected around ₹40 crore (US$6.2 million) nett in its first week. Baahubali: The Beginning grossed more than ₹178 crore (US$28 million) nett from all its versions in India in the first week. It added a further ₹45 crore (US$7.0 million) nett in its second weekend to take its total to around ₹224 crore (US$35 million) nett in ten days. The Hindi version grossed over ₹40 crore (US$6.2 million) nett in the Mumbai circuit.

Overseas

The film collected around ₹20 crore (US$3.1 million) in its first day from the international markets. The film opened on the ninth spot for its weekend, collecting around US$3.5 million with a per-screen average of $15,148. The film debuted in the ninth position for the US and Canadian box office collecting $4,630,000 for three days and $3,250,000 for the weekend of 10–12 July 2015 Baahubali: The Beginning grossed £66,659 from its Telugu version in United Kingdom and Ireland and A$194,405 from its Tamil version in Australia in till its second weekend (17 – 19 July 2015). The film also grossed MYR 663,869 in Malaysia from its Tamil version. The film grossed US$540,000 on its opening weekend in China. It has grossed a total of CN¥7.49 million(₹7.78 crore) in the country. The film totally earned $10.94 million at the overseas box office.

Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by Baahubali: The Beginning

At the 63rd National Film Awards, The Beginning won the Best Feature Film, becoming the first Telugu film to win the award, and Best Special Effects. At the 63rd Filmfare Awards South, the Telugu version won five awards from ten nominations, including Best Film, Best Director for Rajamouli and Best Supporting Actress for Krishnan. Both the Tamil and Telugu versions won several awards in their respective categories, including Best Film, Best Director for Rajamouli, and Best Supporting Actress for Krishnan at the 1st IIFA Utsavam. The Beginning became the first Indian film to be nominated for Saturn Awards, receiving five nominations at the 42nd ceremony, including Best Fantasy Film and Best Supporting Actress for Tamannaah.

Sequel

Main article: Baahubali 2: The Conclusion

The second part, entitled Baahubali 2: The Conclusion was released worldwide on 28 April 2017.

See also

• List of most expensive Indian films
• List of highest-grossing Indian films

External links

Heropanti (2014)

Heropanti (English: Big Attitude) a Bollywood action drama film directed by Sabbir Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. Actors Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon make their Hindi film debut with the film, alongside Prakash Raj as an important supporting role. This is a remake of the Telugu film Parugu, Heropanti released on 23 May 2014. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but managed to become a box office super hit. The satellite rights were bagged by Sony Entertainment Television.

Contents

• 1 Plot
• 2 Cast
• 3 Production and promotion
• 4 Critical reception
• 5 Awards and nominations
• 6 Character map of remakes
• 7 Music
  • 7.1 Soundtrack
  • 7.2 Track listing
  • 7.3 Soundtrack reception
• 8 Box office
• 9 External links

 

Plot

Chaudhary (Prakash Raj) is a very well known and respected man in his village. He is a very strict patriarch of the Jatt family consisting of four brothers – Chaudhary himself, Bhuppi (Samar Jai Singh), Pappi (K. C. Shankar) and Sukhi (Prashant Singh). On the night of her marriage, Renu (Sandeepa Dhar), the elder daughter of Chaudhary, elopes with her boyfriend, Rakesh. Chaudhary decides to find them at any cost.

Chaudhary and his men manage to locate two of Rakesh's friends from different places and beat them up. Chaudhary and his men bring them over to his place and one of them reveals a Bablu's (Tiger Shroff) name and that he might have an idea where Renu and Rakesh are. At first when Bhuppi, Pappi, Sukhi & the gang confront Bablu and attack him to find Rakesh, Bablu single-handedly beats up all of them but is hit in the head and loses consciousness.

Chaudhary holds Bablu and the other two friends captive till they tell of the couple's whereabouts. They tell him that they don't know anything, but no one believes them. Meanwhile, Bablu tells his friends that he is in love with a girl of that town, whom he doesn't know and he only has her earring which she dropped that day. The friends decide to flee one day, but Bablu gets a glimpse of the girl and stops in his tracks to look at her and the boys are caught because of him.

Back at Chaudhary's household where the friends are held captive, Chaudhary's younger daughter and Renu's sister, Dimpy (Kriti Sanon
 ) tries to ask them where her sister is, but they won't tell her. Dimpy finds Renu's love letters in her room one of which reaches her uncle. Dimpy manages to clean up everything before her uncle Bhuppi reaches her room. When Shaalu is about to burn those letters, Dimpy's uncle asks one of his men to check it. Without thinking much she drops those letters where these boys are held captive. With the help of these letters Bablu and his friends blackmail her. However, Bablu makes a deal with her that in exchange for her sister's whereabouts, Dimpy find the girl he fell in love with. Dimpy does not agree, but later when circumstances force her, she agrees. That night, Bablu escapes and enters the house after the light fuse burns out. He drinks from the glass of Rajjo (who later turns out to be the would-be-suitor of Dimpy) and becomes drunk. Dimpy finds Bablu and he gives her the earring he found that belongs to the girl he fell in love with. To Dimpy's shock, it turns out that it was none other than Dimpy that Bablu saw that day. But Dimpy stays silent.
Bablu and his friends go with Chaudhary's men to town one day to search for Renu and Rakesh, where Bablu helps them to board a bus to Shimla. Dimpy's uncle, Pappi, comes to know that Bablu had helped them to flee when he overhears Dimpy. The entire group is beaten badly. When they threaten to kill one of his friends, Bablu tells them that Renu and Rakesh are in Delhi.

Bablu and his friends as well as Dimpy accompany her father to Delhi to find the couple. At this juncture, Dimpy is kidnapped by some local goons, who attempt to molest her. Bablu manages to locate her in time and beats up the goons, winning the trust of Dimpy's father.

That night Dimpy and Bablu go to a night club. In the morning, while Dimpy is confessing her love to Bablu, Chaudhary spots Renu and Rakesh on a bus and chases after them with Bablu and Chaudhary's men following close behind. They manage to stop the bus but when Renu talks back to her father, Chaudhary is heartbroken. When Renu and Rakesh are about to be killed as punishment, Renu confesses that she is pregnant. Chaudhary decides to spare their lives, but at a cost- openly claiming that, to him, Renu is no more.

The group returns home and Chaudhary arranges Dimpy's marriage with Rajjo. He plans on conducting the marriage with pomp. Bablu realises that he misses Dimpy too much. He and his friends come back with the intention to get Dimpy to elope with Bablu. Chaudhary, however, is frightened when Bablu returns, fearing that he will elope with Dimpy. He keeps a close eye on Bablu and Dimpy. When Chaudhary takes Bablu outside, Bablu tells him that he understands how Chaudhary felt when Renu ran way from home and promises him that he will not elope with Dimpy.
When Bablu and his friends are about to leave, Rajjo beats up Bablu with the intention of injuring him, however Bablu fights back and defeats Rajjo in a hand-to-hand combat when Rajjo insults him and Dimpy. They are however stopped at the last moment by Chaudhary. He realises that Dimpy will only be happy if she is with Bablu, and tells Bablu to take her away. Bablu and Dimpy unite with a hug, while Chaudhary and the other people of the Jatt community agree to permit inter-caste and love marriages and Chaudhary accepts Renu back as his daughter.

Cast

• Tiger Shroff as Bablu
• Kriti Sanon as Dimpy
• Prakash Raj as Chowdhary
• Sandeepa Dhar as Renu
• Vikram Singh as Rajjo Fauji
• Shireesh Sharma as Police Commissioner
• Priyamvada Kant in special appearance
• Samar Jai Singh as Bhuppi
• K. C. Shankar as Pappi
• Sunil Grover as Driver
• Jatin Suri as Jitesh (Bablu's friend)
• Sugandha Mishra as Shalu (Dimpy's friend)

Production and promotion

Heropanti was shot at many places including Gulmarg in Kashmir Valley. The romantic song Rabba was filmed in Kashmir.

The trailer was released on 4 April 2014.

Critical reception

Film critic Subhash K. Jha gave it 3.5 stars and said that Shroff delivers a rare combination of romantic and action oriented protagonist. Bollywood critic Taran Adarsh also gave the movie 3.5 stars, calling it an entertainer that hits the right notes.

CNN-IBN critic Rajeev Masand gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and stated that "for Heropanti, with its regressive themes, sexist humor, and stock villains wears you out early on during its 2 hours 26-minute running time." Anupama Chopra also gave the movie 2 out of 5 stars and overall criticised the movie by saying, "the disjointed narrative brims with low-IQ high-testosterone men brandishing weapons. The women are puppets who either simper or scream."

Awards and nominations

 

Character map of remakes

Music

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Sajid-Wajid, Manj Musik and Mustafa Zahid. The lyrics are written by Kausar Munir, Raftaar and Mustafa Zahid. Mohit Chauhan, Wajid, Manj Musik, Nindy Kaur, Raftaar, Mustafa Zahid, Shreya Ghoshal and Arijit Singh lent their voices for the soundtrack. The soundtrack was released on 21 April 2014.

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist(s)	Length
1.	"Whistle Baja"	Raftaar	Manj Musik & Laxmikant Pyarelal	Manj, Nindy Kaur, Rap: Raftaar	03:13
2.	"Rabba"	Kausar Munir	Sajid-Wajid	Mohit Chauhan	04:53
3.	"Raat Bhar"	Kausar Munir	Sajid-Wajid	Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal	05:26
4.	"Tabah"	Kausar Munir	Sajid-Wajid	Mohit Chauhan	05:20
5.	"The Pappi Song"	Raftaar	Manj Musik	Rap Raftaar, Manj	02:44
6.	"Tere Binaa"	Mustafa Zahid	Mustafa Zahid	Mustafa Zahid	03:23
7.	"Tabah (Remix)"	Kausar Munir	Sajid-Wajid	Mohit Chauhan	03:36

Soundtrack reception

Joginder Tuteja from Rediff gave 3.5 star and stated, "With four good songs in a row, Heropanti's music is pretty much a paisa vasool experience already. So, though you may be taken aback by the title of Manju Musik Raftaar's next offering 'The Pappi Song', you would like to hear it.". Koimoi's Aishwarya gave 3 stars and mentioned, "A sweet stereotypically Bollywood album with nothing much to say about. Love it for the good old pyaar – vyaar and dance – shance or hate it for being yet another pile of numbers tracing the lines of tested compositions.

Box office

Heropanti collected ₹540 million (US$8.0 million) (Nett) in Domestic markets and ₹150 million (US$2.2 million) (Nett) in overseas markets.

External links

A Flying Jatt (2016)

A Flying Jatt is a 2016 Bollywood superhero action film co-written and directed by Remo D'Souza and produced under the banner of Balaji Motion Pictures. It features Tiger Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Nathan Jones in the lead roles. A Flying Jatt narrates the story of an ordinary man (Shroff) who gains superpowers. The film released worldwide on 25 August 2016.

Contents

• 1 Plot
• 2 Cast
• 3 Reception
• 4 Soundtrack
• 5 Graphic novel
• 6 External links

 

Plot

The story begins with a strong influential businessman Mr. Malhotra (Kay Kay Menon) who has his factory on a land near a lake into which pollutants and toxins are leaked. He wants to build a bridge across it for faster transportation but cannot do so due to a sacred tree present on the other side of the lake on a piece of land which belongs to Mrs. Dhillon.

Mrs. Dhillon is a hard core Punjabi woman living with her two sons Aman Dhillon (Tiger Shroff) and Rohit Dhillon (Gaurav Pandey). Aman is a martial arts teacher in a school. He has a crush on Kirti (Jacqueline Fernandez).

Malhotra who wants to get rid of the tree brings in Raka (Nathan Jones), a mutant, to get the job done.

He reaches the spot but Aman is present there and tries to stop Raka. Raka sticks Aman against the tree and tries to kill him. He does not notice that Aman has got a certain glow emanating from his body after hitting the tree. Raka tries to insert the saw blade into his neck but as soon as it touches the skin, a sudden thunderstorm hits the tree. The impact throws back Raka and he lands in Malhotra's factory's garbage area.

Next morning Aman finds himself on his bed alive with no sign of any injury and presumes all that happened to be a dream. He does not notice the khanda that has appeared on his back, which is also carved on the tree. That day, he and his brother notice a few unusual things such as easily catching fast balls from a bowling machine, learning new stuff quickly by just touching items, etc. Later his mother also confirms this by hitting Aman various times witj a sharp knife and all wounds are healed within seconds, confirming he gained access to a rapidly advanced healing factor. She immediately declares him a super hero.

She even tells him the story of his father Sardar Kartar Singh Dhillon, a sikh who went to Shaolin to learn martial arts and was named "Flying Jatt". She asks Aman to take up the legacy of his father and keep "Flying Jatt" as his superhero name to which he agrees. Initially various events takes place like flying low due to his fear of heights, misunderstandings due to his costume, but he is recognised when he saved hostages from a terrorist attack at an airport. He even proposes to Kirti in the process and reveals his identity.

Raka, who had been missing all this while, is found alive but is now stronger and more dangerous than before because he has more toxins deposited in his body and started growing stronger with increased pollution. Aman goes to battle him various times but is fatally injured. To save him from further pain, his brother Rohit goes in his place as Flying Jatt and gets killed. Not wanting to lose her other son, Mrs. Dhillon decides to leave the town.

Aman decides to stay, saying that he can leave the town, but the cries and sounds of pain of the people would never leave him. Aman's mother asks him to wear his father's turban, but he refuses. She then reminds him of a story of their town, in which all women were kidnapped. It was only the men of the town that had saved all of them while wearing their turbans. She said their turbans gave them power, and the power of his father would be with him if he would wear his turban. Aman then finally agrees to wear the turban and fight Raka.

On the other hand, the people who think Flying Jatt is dead decide to defeat Raka on their own and even Malhotra joins them.

They decide to eliminate pollution by planting trees everywhere, but Raka comes to kill them once and for all, but Flying Jatt suddenly appears. Raka, in a fit of rage, drags Flying Jatt to the tree and tries to kill him when his mother comes in front and prays, giving more inspiration to Aman who gets up, and, while cutting through the clouds, takes Raka to an asteroid near Earth. He says that there is no place on earth to defeat him, but he becomes vulnerable on the pollution free asteroid. After a long fight, Aman finally inserts his kara (steel bracelet) into Raka due to which Raka explodes. Victorious Aman returns to earth.

Cast

• Tiger Shroff as Aman Dhillon / Flying Jatt
• Jacqueline Fernandez as Kirti
• Nathan Jones as Raka
• Kay Kay Menon as Mr. Malhotra
• Amrita Singh as Mrs. Dhillon
• Gaurav Pandey as Rohit
• Shraddha Kapoor as Herself (cameo appearance)

Reception

The Times of India gave the film 3 and a half stars out of five.

Firstpost said "The film's comedy, occasional inventiveness and aura of innocence are what make it effective in its own way, despite the lack of depth. D'souza had displayed his natural wit even in his first film F.A.L.T.U. in 2011. A Flying Jatt could have been so much better than what it is, if he had not kept one eye fixed Westward for inspiration. This one is perhaps best suited to the very very young."

The Economic Times said "Overall, the director seems to have lost the plot after the second act, as the narrative meanders making the entire comic affair agonising."

Anupama Chopra from the Hindustan Times gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5, and said "The first half of A Flying Jatt has moments of fun — I loved that despite being a superhero he has a fear of heights, so he flies very close to the ground. But post-interval, laughter takes a back seat."

Soundtrack

 The songs are composed by Sachin-Jigar.

TrackList

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"A Flying Jatt"	Vayu & Raftaar	Sachin-Jigar	Mansheel Gujral, Raftaar, Tanishkaa	4:48
2.	"Toota Jo Kabhi Tara"	Priya Saraiya	Sachin-Jigar	Atif Aslam, Sumedha Karmahe	5:23
3.	"Beat Pe Booty"	Vayu	Sachin-Jigar	Sachin Sanghvi, Jigar Saraiya, Vayu	3:17
4.	"Bhangda Pa"	Mayur Puri	Sachin-Jigar	Vishal Dadlani, Divya Kumar, Asees Kaur	3:58

Graphic novel

A Flying Jatt has been made into a graphic novel by Thought Bubbles Studio Planet. The story continues where the film ends.

External links

Baaghi (2016)

Baaghi (English: Rebel) is a 2016 Indian martial arts film directed by Sabbir Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under his banner of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. It features Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor in lead roles, with Sudheer Babu in a supporting role. Journalists noted similarities between the film and the 2011 Indonesian film The Raid: Redemption and the 2004 Telugu-language Indian film Varsham.

The film was released worldwide on 29 April 2016. Made on a budget of ₹350 million (US$5.2 million), Baaghi has earned over ₹1.20 billion (US$18 million) worldwide. The film has grossed 100 crores from India.

Contents

• 1 Plot
• 2 Cast
• 3 Production
• 4 Music
• 5 External links

Plot

The movie starts with martial arts champion Raghav (Sudheer Babu) kidnapping Sia (Shraddha Kapoor) from her film's set and taking her to Bangkok. Sia's father P.P. Khurana (Sunil Grover) goes to government offices for help but no one is ready to assist them since Raghav is an influential man. Khurana then turns to the man that shares a past with Sia: Ronny (Tiger Shroff).

In a flashback, Ronny and Sia meet on a train. Raghav sees Sia at the train station and tells his men to get information about her. Ronny visits the school of Guruswamy in Kerala. In a letter to Guruswamy, Ronny's father explains that Ronny is a Baaghi (rebel), and asks him to make Ronny a good human being. Ronny and Sia fall in love, and Sia gives him a ring she got from her father, asking him to always keep it. Raghav asks for Sia's hand from Khurana, but Khurana is overcome by greed when he sees how much money Raghav offers for Sia. He agrees to hand Sia over to Raghav but when he sees that Ronny has Sia's ring, he realizes she is in love with Ronny. He informs Raghav, who decides to kill Ronny.

Ronny beats up Raghav's men when they manhandle Subbu, a mute little boy Ronny is close to, only for Raghav to get him arrested later on. Guruswamy tries to persuade Raghav, his son, to stop pursuing Sia, but Raghav poisons and kills him to get him out of the way. Ronny is heartbroken to hear of Guruswamy's death, since he had seen him as a father figure. Khurana then creates a misunderstanding between Sia and Ronny to separate them, which works, and the two part ways.
In the present, Ronny reaches Bangkok and visits Raghav's fight club, beating the strongest fighter there to get Raghav's attention. The next day, Ronny breaks into the house of Raghav's right-hand man, Viju, and threatens Viju's wife at gunpoint, forcing him to reveal Sia's location. Ronny finds Sia and escapes with her. The two stop at an island on their way back to India, where Sia discovers her father's deceit when she sees that Ronny is still wearing her ring. The couple reconciles but Raghav and his men attack them. Viju shoots Ronny, who falls off a cliff.

Raghav takes Sia back to his place. It is then revealed that Ronny is alive. It turns out that Viju had used blank bullets in his gun, sparing him as Ronny had spared his wife's life earlier. Raghav kills Viju when Viju says that he believes Ronny to be right.

Ronny storms Raghav's building and single-handedly fights off all of the killers and swordsmen in Raghav's employ. He reaches Raghav, who initially overpowers him, but when Raghav reveals that he was the one who murdered Guruswamy, Ronny becomes enraged and uses Guruswamy's signature moves to kill Raghav. At the end, Ronny becomes the new teacher in Guruswamy's school, where a statue of Guruswamy now stands.

Cast

• Tiger Shroff as Ronny
• Shraddha Kapoor as Sia Khurana
• Sudheer Babu as Raghav Shetty
• Sunil Grover as P. P. Khurrana (Sia's father)
• Shaurya Bharadwaj as Guruswamy (Raghav's father)
• Sanjay Mishra as Harry
• Aryan Prajapati as Subbu
• Sourav Chakraborty as Viju

Production

Shroff trained and took up stunt classes for the film. Sajid Nadiadwala hired a special team of 50 people to keep Shroff's look under wraps. The makers did not want his look to be revealed because of his role in the film being distinct from his role in Heropanti. Telugu actor Sudheer Babu was signed to play a negative role, making his Bollywood debut. Shooting for Baaghi started on 27 May 2015. The shooting of the film completed on 21 February 2016.

Music

 The music of the film is composed by Meet Bros, Amaal Mallik, Ankit Tiwari & Manj Musik while the background score is given by Julius Packiam. Lyrics of the movie are penned by Kumaar, Abhendra Kumar, Sanjeev Chaturvedi & Raftaar. The first song of the movie Sab Tera was released on 18 March 2016 which is sung by Shraddha Kapoor & Armaan Malik. The full music album was released on 29 March 2016.

TrackList

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Sab Tera"	Sanjeev Chaturvedi	Amaal Mallik	Armaan Malik, Shraddha Kapoor	3:48
2.	"Let's Talk About Love"	Raftaar, Sabbir Khan	Manj Musik	Raftaar, Neha Kakkar	3:21
3.	"Cham Cham"	Kumaar	Meet Bros	Meet Bros, Monali Thakur	4:44
4.	"Agar Tu Hota"	Abhendra Kumar Upadhyay	Ankit Tiwari	Ankit Tiwari	5:28
5.	"Girl I Need You"	Kumaar	Meet Bros	Meet Bros, Arijit Singh, Roach Killa, Khushboo Grewal	4:57

External links