Bahubali: The Beginning

Has a ‘been there, already seen in Hollywood’ feel to it.

Latest Issue

Anglo-Indians in 1940s
The Anglo-Indians Of Mhow

There was a time in the 40s when many Anglo-Indian families moved to Mhow. Most of them worked as railways personnel. But now, most of the families have moved abroad

Denzil Lobo
Anglo-Indians In Whitefield: Preserving The Present

Established as an Anglo-Indian village in 1800s, Whitefield in Bengaluru is now an IT hub. However, in some lanes, one can still find ‘Little Gem’ and ‘Perfect Peace’—names of houses of Anglo-Indian families

Anisha Reddy
A Novel On Anglo-Indians
The Story of McCluskieganj

Journalist Vikas Kumar Jha first visited McCluskieganj in 1990 to write a story for a magazine. But he fell in love with the unique Anglo-Indian town and ended up writing a novel that has won many awards and accolades

Vikas Kumar Jha
McCluskieganj
Heterotopia

A world within a world is running out of time. But the voices of McCluskieganj’s past continue to resonate within its ruins, even as development takes over

Chinki Sinha
Opinion
The Future Of Anglo-Indians In India

Where are Anglo-Indians, as a community, heading? What does the future hold for them? Will they be around or would they be relegated to the pages of history books?

Harry Maclure

Namrata Joshi

More from Namrata Joshi

View All

Updated: 05 Feb 2022 5:03 pm

Starring: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Tamannaah, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Sudeep, Nassar, Sathyaraj
Directed by S.S. Rajamouli
Rating: **

Does size matter? Not quite. In 2012, S.S. Rajamouli made Eega aka Makkhi, which emerged as a thoroughly enjoyable ride of a film with a small fly for the protagonist. Everything gets scaled up in his new outing, Bahubali, save entertainment. Despite the talent that has gone into making this larger-than-life spectacle, it doesn’t prove to be half as bewitching as Eega. Yes, there are some incredibly well-mounted scenes and eye-catching imagery—the child Shiva held above the water by the wounded mother figure Sivagami (Ramya), the hero Shiva’s (Prabhas) ride up the waterfall, his romance with Avantika (Tamannaah) in the midst of the butterflies, the eye-popping battle scenes..... However, this Amar Chitra Kathaesque mythological tale (about two cousins vying for the kingdom of Mahishmati) served up in the Lord of The Rings mould does not quite hold and has a ‘been there, already seen in Hollywood’ feel to it. Cliches abound: for the hero the warrior woman has to transform into a sultry seductress, and the enemy has to be weird, tribal brutes. Then you have Anushka Shetty’s cakey makeup. Most characters remain unidimensional, save the trusted lieutenant Kadappa, my one takeaway from the film. The flashbacks, the backstories within backstories, the oddly structured narrative and the abrupt, cliffhanger end would have worked if the second of this two-part epic was to follow quickly. Alas, it’s still a year away.