Netflix review: Baahubali 1 and 2 are India’s answer to Lord of the Rings
The spectacular and absurd pair of films are well worth watching…
★★★★½
In ancient India, an adventurous and daring man becomes involved in a decades old feud between two warring people. (IMDb)
A few weeks ago, an absolutely ridiculous Bollywood clip went viral, showing six heavily armoured soldiers joining hands before using a palm tree to launch themselves over the ramparts of a huge castle, in order to attack it. I can barely describe it effectively, let alone convey its brilliance, and it needs to be seen to be understood (I’ve embedded the viral tweet below, so you can watch it too). Soon after witnessing this snippet of fantastical absurdity, I discovered that it’s just one small moment from SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, the sequel to Baahubali: The Beginning. Obviously, I immediately knew I had to find and watch both of these films. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go far — both of them are available to stream on Netflix UK. I highly recommend you watch them too. These movies are epic in scope and ambition, telling a story that’s a hybrid of Game of Thrones, 300 and The Lord of the Rings that’s been given the Bollywood treatment.
They’re long movies (both are over two-and-a-half hours long) and I have no regrets at all about devoting much of my weekend to watching them. It’s an experience. Aside from just being ridiculous, they’re also ridiculously entertaining. Both Baahubali films show off the kind of mad special effects that it’s rare to see in Hollywood productions, along with some enjoyable characters, astonishing action sequences and, of course, the occasional random dance number interspersed throughout. There’s not much these films don’t have. You’ll find yourself getting invested in the story, shocked by the twists and turns and delighted by the ingenious and crazy developments throughout this pair of blockbuster adventures.
India’s biggest movies
Neither of the Baahubali films are niche movies, these are some of India’s biggest films. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is the highest-grossing Hindi film worldwide, of all time. When you look at all of the highest-grossing foreign language films, it comes in at number 11. The first film didn’t make quite as big an impression at the box office, but you can tell that it did the job of getting people excited enough to rush out to see the sequel. What are the movies about, though? Well, they’re essentially all about one adventurous young man (played by Prabhas, a superstar of Indian action cinema) who discovers long-held secrets about his family and legacy.
He comes to realise that he is really the true heir to the throne of the kingdom of Mahishmati, which has been overthrown by his evil uncle Bhallaladeva (KV Vijayendra Prasad), who’s the kind of man who puts up giant golden statues of himself. The young man learns that his true identity is that of Mahendra Baahubali, the son of Amarendra Baahubali (also played by Prabhas, obviously), and that he’s meant to be the king. He aims to rescue the former queen Devasena (played by Anushka Shetty), who is also his mother (not that he knows that), and learns of his true origins from Kattappa (Sathyaraj), a soldier loyal to the crown. There’s a lot more about this all that I could attempt to explain but, honestly, it’s just worth watching it just to see how it all unfolds.
Epic Bollywood blockbuster filmmaking
If there’s one thing I can almost guarantee, it’s that most people who primarily watch American action cinema just won’t have seen films like these before. There’s a certain absurd scale to the whole thing that just feels ridiculously ambitious, and it almost doesn’t matter that the vast majority of what we see onscreen defies the laws of physics and isn’t realistic or possible. The Baahubali films also feature the most outrageous uses of digital effects that really are just something else. We all joked about how Game of Thrones hinted that it wasn’t really able to afford elephants in its final battles, well Baahubali 2 has something like 50 elephants all in the same scene. Some of the effects don’t look perfectly polished or finished, but it doesn’t matter, it’s the sheer ambition that is so impressive.
The structure of the two movies is also completely unlike anything I’d ever watched before. The first movie follows a largely straightforward narrative before switching to a lengthy extended flashback. This flashback, though, doesn’t really conclude until midway through the second film, and it’s likely that the narrative spends just as much, if not more, time focused on the story set in the past as it does telling the story that we’re meant to be following in the present. It’s highly unusual, but it also works and makes you feel like you know the characters and their struggles by the time the climactic showdown happens at the end of The Conclusion.
It’s a visual treat that needs to be seen
While it’s easy to laugh at the craziness of the clip that went viral, it’s unquestionably gripping and makes you want to see what happens next. The entirety of both Baahubali films feels like that clip. Throughout, Rajamouli brings lush and vibrant images to the screen and delivers astonishingly grandiose special effects and complex fight choreography. It’s compelling and fascinating to watch. There are weird and wonderful moments, impressive and surprising dance interludes, and gorgeous shots of monumental castles and Indian scenery.
These movies aren’t without their issues, and some of the plot developments can feel a bit dated even for films that were released in 2015 and 2017 respectively. One scene where Mahendra Baahubali undresses and puts makeup on his love interest (who is a warrior, mind you) while dancing with her is well-choreographed but also sends an uncomfortable message. There’s also a strong notion that the protagonist is suited for the throne because it’s his birthright, which is a rather outdated notion, and both films have been criticised as glorifications of the caste system. It’s also worth noting that the villainous armies (in particular, the Kalakeyas) featured throughout are shown to be savages, with darker skin than the heroes.
There’s a fair bit that’s not perfect here, especially when it comes to the views of these films on class and female characters, but it is still hard to deny how endlessly entertaining they are. The art direction, visual effects and performances alone make these films easy to recommend and they really are a visual treat that needs to be seen to be believed. Both of the Baahubali films are a cultural phenomenon in India, and it’s easy to see why. These are films that are well worth experiencing, and they’re stuffed full of memorable, rousing and crowd-pleasing moments.
Verdict
Both Baahubali movies are absolutely bonkers, full of too many outrageous moments to list. The cliffhanger ending to the first one leaves you gripped and wanting to see more of the dance numbers, violent carnage, ridiculous choreography, weird mysteries, family drama, royal intrigue and silly characters. The Conclusion then just makes it even bigger, crazier and more spectacular. These films have great action sequences, ambitious uses of CGI and deliver an epic climactic showdown.
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