Baahubali 2: The Conclusion

Welcome to a cinematic celebration that tectonically shifts the status quo of blockbusters ever since!

The foremost reason why Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is the film it is today, is unshakably because of the solid and concrete writing! Right from the beginning with the imposing title card and Sivagami's (Ramya Krishnan) monologue at attempt to save the heir of Mahishmati, it puts the audiences into a trance! With the exuberant title credits under the command of Oru Yaagam highlighting major events from the preceding film through porcelain wax statues, jaws will drop! Immediately one will notice that The Beginning is a pre-requisite to a pre-requisite. In other words, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is a motion picture that functions on its own with the most minimal dependencies to the first instalment. It is as if S. S. Rajamouli is trying to erase the existence of the subpar The Beginning with an extraordinary product like The Conclusion! Since the first made enough profit at the box office to cover budget expenditures for both the movies, it very well could be that the esteemed director has now full control and freedom in regards of the creative decisions and visions he initially planned for this franchise! And through Part 2, he proves that this is the Rajamouli we know and want!

Pushing forward, our protagonist Amarendra Baahubali (Prabhas) is introduced. With just one song titled Bale Bale Bale, his character, the relationship between him and his foster mother plus the community encompassing the kingdom of Mahishmati are established. The way the writer-director fits numbers within a Three Act Structure to narrate a story is impressive! Only when the inclusion of songs are relevant, a plot doesn't slow down. And in this case, songs are mere tools used to navigate the film on the storyline it has drawn. Cutting back to Bhallaladeva (Rana Daggubati) and Pingaladeva (Nasser), you know jealousy and dangers are brewing on the other side of the majestic castle. Trials to snatch the throne and power away from Amarendra Baahubali are on its way, thus forming the dramatic premise and situation.

A king is never complete without a queen. As a call or catalyst to adventure, Sivagami has been scouting for the perfect lady to pair with her son. Before Plot Point I arrives with Amarendra Baahubali deciding to go for Devasena (Anushka Shetty), the relationship between him and Kattappa (Sathyaraj) are explored and fleshed out. The significance of both to each other are well told! This is important, because Kattappa will be the pivotal character who kills Baahubali later on! The effort that went into the writing in bridging to this particular event is great! Entering Act II, we have defining conflicts to add weight to the whole proceedings! On one end, we have a jocular form of struggles, in terms of Baahubali's ventures in capturing Devasena's heart. Kanna Nee Thoongada signals the ignition while Orey Oar Ooril seals the romance. On the other end, we have a serious ordeal going on with Bhallaladeva's evil moves to seize Devasena legitimately before his half-brother does. Tension is heightened the moment Sivagami promises to do so for him, without realizing the truth behind curtains. It slowly escalates when Devasena rebuttals in rudeness, leading to Baahubali being ordered to bring her as a prisoner to the doorsteps of Mahishmati. Baahubali loses the throne because of going against his mother's words in place of what is right as he hints to her and at the Mid-Point, Bhallaladeva is officially crowned as king. This is our hero's failure for the first time.

As the story travels into Act II, even more conflicts arrive for Baahubali, pounding him further and further away from sovereignty. Devasena's request for Baahubali to become king appends fire! From losing his position as the commander-in-chief to losing his place in the castles, Baahubali repeatedly falls to defeat. Since the people's attentions are still with him as he rules by being one of them, as shown in Vandhaai Ayya, the most brutal decision is made to murder him using the hands of his strongest ally, Kattappa. All hope is lost. But, the stronger you pummel down the protagonist, the more gratifying will be the redemption and resurrection! Plot Point II is the announcement of Mahendra Baahubali as king, rekindling hopes in our eyes! As the climax builds toward the biggest moment the film has been waiting for, Bhallaladeva and Mahendra Baahubali squares off in a wailing battle, concluding a classic tale of good triumphing over evil!

One thing to bear in mind is that Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is not your everyday revenge story. Look closely and you'll see S. S. Rajamouli has crafted a narrative to show life comes to full circle, in terms of incidents and characters' replacements. Sivagami once upon a time bore coal fire as a vow to destroy evilness before her son becomes king, which is repeated by Devasena for the same reason a couple of decades later. Devasena is the only person who has the similar caliber and traits as Sivagami. Devasena is also the only one who dares to speak against Sivagami. Thus, as time decides, Devasena is the new Sivagami in the kingdom of Mahishmati, as Avanthika (Tamannaah) becomes the new Devasena. Amarendra Baahubali unbars a water dam to clean off enemies attacking Kuntala Kingdom, while Mahendra Baahubali breaks the chains to let his troop eviscerate the baddies inside Mahismati Kingdom. The former chopping off Bhadra's (Adivi Sesh) head in Baahubali: The Beginning is a homage paid to the latter's action in plucking off the wrongdoer's head during the hearing. Mahendra Baahubali isn't a character on his own here. He is the reincarnation of his father for a chance at avengement. Kattappa and Amarendra Baahubali exchange swords during duels at two different instances. One is when they have each other's back. Another is when one of them decides to stab at the back.

If you are producing an expensive film, the opulence should be visually visible, or else, what's the point? You can tell S. S. Rajamouli was utmost determined in gifting us the best looking visual presentation he could afford on the big screens! The scope for his canvas is huge and resplendent! Pigeons, paintings, drapes, portraits, costumes, horse statues, landscapes, moon, windmill, grass, night sky, love birds, flowers, colors, backdrops and lamp-lit castles have never been shown this prodigiously before! The director is excruciatingly meticulous, to a point where he even differentiates arrows by gender with blue or pink tails! Practical effects based exiled head of Bhadra and telescope technology are wonderful. Secret passageway in chamber, Bhallaladeva's upgraded war vehicle and bulls make the settings richer! With these being said, some of the wigs and moustaches are apparently fake.

Indian Cinema has witnessed a lot of music videos, but Orey Oar Ooril takes the cake from everything we've seen thus far! No words are sufficient to describe how magical and mystical this number is portrayed onscreen! Swan headed ship with intricate scales on body, tilted angle showing queen at the top and king at the bottom of the staircases that are swept by cloud smokes, sky flowers forming on a crescent moon, blue-pink fluid spell dust and cloud horses racing alongside the ship are here to dwell in your dreams forever! Coronation episode at the Mid-Point with elephants bowing and soldiers marching followed by a strong rebellious protest by the people is absolutely goosebumps-inducing! Devasena has always had the desire to learn how to dart multiple arrows from a single aim bow. Just at the opportune moment, as the situation demands, Amarendra Baahubali rises to show how it is done! The way he teaches her with the number of fingers to use and as they tac-team in taking down the horde of enemies, one of the most adorable sequences in Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is born!

The key event or pinnacle incident in this motion picture is the assassination of Amarendra Baahubali! The writing leading to this particular sequence is so detailed and steady that when the moment finally hits, you anticipate it to happen while at the same time, you don't want it to! The arena for this catastrophe with heavy wind, rain and lightning stroke that splits the tree on a dark, steely toned combat teases the upcoming tragedy in every sense of the word! Before the high point, it crushes us to see Amarendra Baahubali has already been severely injured with myriad arrow impales. That orchestral piece by M. M. Keeravani as Kattappa and Baahubali exchange swords at their final duel before the former decides to make the move and pierce the sword right through the latter is spellbinding! With the blazing fire at the background as Baahubali is stabbed from the back, please freeze that one moment to savor as it is one of the best shots ever canned on celluloid! "There's no one around to kill me as long as you are by my side," said Baahubali to Kattappa. "Take care of my mother," he says before passing away. Souls vacate. Hearts robbed. Tears pour. Amarendra Baahubali's demise is the most unfair thing to ever happen, and as Kattappa wipes the blood onto Sivagami's hands, her colossal misjudgment comes to light and realization.

War episodes are tensely entertaining! Attack on Kuntala Kingdom is a fantastic watch! You would soon realize that the inhabitant kids of this particular kingdom are the members of the guerilla group venturing to save Devasena in Baahubali: The Beginning, with the uncle being the leader after their houses have been destroyed for good. It's unfathomable though who the brute tribe ambushers are, during the homicide of Amarendra Baahubali and why they are attacking out of nowhere suddenly. Nevertheless, an interesting sequence. Comedies surrounding Kumara Varma's cowardice may come across typical, but it plays out fine for what it is. Similarly, the ones that take place for the boar hunt and recipe for love birds work, while the rant for the absence of anyone to sing lullaby doesn't quite function the same. The replacement commander-in-chief's misbehavior may be a little tacked on. Golden statue head streaming across the waterfalls and finally ending up at the feet of a God's idol speaks for itself.

Forget about the sequences. Let's talk about the clips and scenes! Each clip or scene is a craftsman's masterstroke! Lightning revealing Kattappa's silhouette after a moment of darkness, sweat droplet descending Bhallaladeva's neck side, inclined camera shot showing Mahendra Baahubali at the top right and Bhallaladeva at the bottom left before they are about to attack each other, Bhallaladeva's war chariot crashing upside down, Devasena crossing the gap by stepping on the broken headpiece of the golden statue, Kattappa placing the baby's foot on his forehead, swan ship's mast beam breaking upon glazing the welcoming elephant statue of Mahishmati Kingdom, flame overthrow that reveals the true identity of Amarendra Baahubali, dark clouds and thunders recreating the image of Amarendra Baahubali as the apex second of revenge is finally here, red drape gradually drizzling down to unveil Devasena's portrait and Bhallaladeva's mace hitting the floor resulting in sending ripples across the waterbed are sure to stunt you!

Amarendra Baahubali constantly carries the persona and attitude of a king! At every instance, he behaves like a king. And Prabhas is too good in showering his charisma for the role! The way he tames the rampaging elephant, climbs on top of it, poses as it trumpets before shooting arrows from the bow it holds for him while simultaneously creating a pathway for his mum to complete her walk are imaginations' peak! He creates an opportunity for a coward to defend himself when the time becomes needy. Talk about his mannerisms too! The way he falls asleep on a tree branch, lion-walks behind a confessing miscreant, picks up a lotus flower, returns safely on a wood boat after an epic war, engineers solutions to problems, proposes to the girl of his interest, interacts measurably with her and uses his shoulders plus arms for the lady to go across the boat are scrumptious! Even before death, he is able to evince the surrounding stones as a throne chair before dying like the badass king he is! Baahubali 2: The Conclusion beautifully displays the notion that one does not have to be in reign to be king. Instead, king is a characteristic trait! The moment the flashback ends and the film cuts back to the son Mahendra, we could at once see the vast difference in both these characters. You are instantly convinced that these two are distinct individuals, although both of them resemble each other in terms of facial features. It's all in the writing, you see!

Performances by all the cast members are simply flawless! Ramya Krishnan as Sivagami is august at best! Anushka Shetty as Devasena is the fitting opposition for her, while being the rightest supporting character to our protagonist! Nasser's intonations, speech patterns, voice projections and monologues delivery as Pingaladeva are the best qualities extracted from experienced theater acting! Sathyaraj is such a cool thespian who's able to pull off Kattappa in various dimensions the character requires, be it from rollicking comedy to saddening tragedy! Rana Daggubati aptly brings out the pain, anguish and jealousy as the underprivileged Bhallaladeva. S. S. Rajamouli utilizes minor characters such as Kumara Varma, played by Subbaraju, to be a constituent responsible in moving the story forward, apart from being present for comic purposes only. Neat and tidy with no loose ends to any personas introduced.

When you first enter the movie, a parade of temple elephants are shown to start going berserk. With a slow-motion shot on one of the elephants, your mood will be disrupted. But, the moment Amarendra Baahubali arrives, you'll be completely sold to this universe for the rest of the runtime! In Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, you'll realize that the second-rate computer graphics do not hinder your experience of watching, enjoying and appreciating the show. This is because the writing is so firmly on point that it supersedes every other aspects around it! CGI is merely visual aids here in the storytelling process. Cow horns on fire and fighters launching across the gate of Mahishmati with the help of tree projectiles are great ideas, which would have looked better onscreen of course with superlative visual effects support. With these being said, it is a plain fact that the visual effects quality is subpar. The scene where farmers are chasing after their cows is an obvious green screen. Mahendra Baahubali's attempt to jump across the closing pathway of Mahishmati Kingdom is lousy looking. Budget constraints or logistic affairs are unrelated external factors that can't be considered in judging the final product. Pingaladeva's deformed limb looks miles better than the first instalment though.

Conveniences are situated here and there in the script. Message-carrying pigeon arriving at the same spot and time after an epic war outtake blends fairly well within the mindscape of the motion picture. But, Bhallaladeva's advent on the location of murder, just to spill his evil plans so that Kattappa would eventually hear and know is too convenient for its own sake, although the occurrence is partially excusable due to the ruler's suspect whether the latter would carry out the assigned task or otherwise. Nonetheless, it is at this scene, you would truly feel Bhallaladeva's rage as he chops and chops the corpse in furtherance! Also, the scheme to execute Amarendra Baahubali has to perfectly ensure that Kumara Varma would follow the knife-bearer and eavesdrop to the fake conversation. One can't proposition this to happen exactly the way it did by hitting all the transpiration beats; in other words, it's too ideal and convenient as well.

On the flipside, the climax clash felt a little long. Lack of moderation in strength is the persistent issue here from Baahubali: The Beginning. The individuals here are not God-God's or God-human's offspring, which would have made them either Gods or Demigods respectively. The idea is to establish these people as stronger ones than commoners, but the line of limit is blurry here, even if it isn't as bad as it was in Baahubali: The Beginning. Cow knocking off Amarendra Baahubali without a bruise caused is an example. Side actors as villagers overact occasionally. It's unnecessary for Kattappa and Amarendra Baahubali to be involved in the roughhouse happening at the local settlement. Pingaladeva trying to manipulate Kattappa for the second time is unneeded. Here's a nitpick; the thanking session before the picture begins is overstretched a tad. Audiences care least about the parties need to be shown gratitude for by the filmmakers, so it's best to reserve these for after the show. This is for the wellbeing of the overall presentation in order to be as succinct and crisp as possible.

Barring the poor slow-motioned and fast-tracked movements here and there, the editing is precise. The insert of silence as Mahendra Baahubali hammers down the gate chain is artistically accurate! Transitions in conveying a particular message, like the letter from Devasena to Sivagami and Pingaladeva's coy planned for Amarendra Baahubali before slicing off Kumara Varma avoid repetitions intelligently! Cinematographic framing and angles are professionally perfect! When you get hold of the home media copy of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, try screenshotting each and every scene exhibited in the picture! It will all look like vantage paintings! Although the usage of ropes for the stunts are blatant, the one-take cans of rhythmic stunt choreography are catchy! Madhan Karky's dialogues elevate the verbal aura and quality of the words spoken in this universe! Saying the God is leaving the temple to stay with the commoners when Amarendra Baahubali is banished from Mahishmati is just brilliant! He has also written the ultimate comeback dialogue of the century after a long, long time, from Kattappa to Pingaladeva, do not miss! And the reason why the dialogues click no matter which language you watch this movie in, is because the idea behind the words is one and uniform, thus giving the similar impact. Coming to the best, M. M. Keeravani's music is the life to this feature, period!

S. S. Rajamouli has bestowed us with a dramatically heavy visual miracle that's permanently burnt onto our memory core. It is orgasm to the eyeballs, surprise to the bones and one hell of a satisfying ride at the cinemas! Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is without a doubt, a pure gold in the entertainment of mankind!