Whoa... It's been a long long time since we parted our ways. Precisely 5 long years. But as there's saying you can't go too far away from the one you love.
So hey all you people out there, here I'm back with my writing. Here we go !!!
Well, I'm not a South Indian movie fan, mostly because of exaggerated movie plots, forced comedy, loud expressions of the actors and over the top action sequences. Not that I have not seen and enjoyed some of the movies yet I kept myself at a distance from the lot. But for once my perspective has changed.
I was wrong when I thought I didn't watch South Indian movies for their over the top everything; because when I analysed myself I figured I do not enjoy any movie for that matter falling in the above genre. And many of us must have mutual feelings.
I watched Bahubali: The Beginning few months back on a heavy recommendation of a friend. That proves my apprehension for the South Indian movies which took me 2 years to finally watch a super saga. When I saw this movie first, I just watched it without any opinion for the movie. But yes it definitely gave me a reason to wait for the second part. So now here I was with the release of the movie and yet I was quite patient to wait till the third week of the release for the crowd to taper which obviously did not happen and so without further wait I finally went and watched Bahubali: The Conclusion a couple of days back.
While waiting for my turn, I went to check for the reviews. Of course, the media went gaga about its box office collection, but then there were articles that talked explicitly about the flaws the movie has. The scenes that defy the laws of physics, how the plot was so weak, how the strong woman like Sivagami went so gullible, how Devasena a fierce warrior princess succumbed to the loss of her husband, and many such faults that went unnoticed under the grandeur of the visuals.
My take on this subject:
Yes, I agree that the movie had flaws and some over the top moments [one such being the flying boat]. Yet I would say it is one of the best movies of its time. Why? Because, the history is touched very delicately and executed genuinely. I remember the climax of Bajirao Mastani and I cringe even today. When the whole history speaks of an years gap between their death, Mr Bhansali audaciously showed them dying together just to showcase their true love. Well, that's his share of flaws yet it was a blockbuster and an epic. Then, we had Mohenjodaro which had Persian horses and gladiator sandals that came way post the existence of Mohenjodaro itself. Still an epic!
And then, we have Bahubali. We spoke a lot about the unrealistic power he had [thanks to VFX]. But don't we believe that our very own Hanuman could lift a mountain and fly to Lanka with the Sanjeevani plant for Lakshman? Don't we believe in Rama who could aim at fish's eye looking at it from a reflection in a basin of water; a man of his words; an ideal son, brother, husband and a leader? Yet we forget to notice the strength and righteousness of Bahubali. Just believed and bullied the VFX. We lose our imagination here to believe that thousand years back there may have been a man so just and about perfect that his loss was mourned by all his people.We may have a man as cunning and jealous as Duryodhana [Bhallaladeva]; a royal lady as brave and strong as Kaikeyi [Sivagami]; a princess as fierce as Sita who could fight adverse situations with pride and honour [Devasena].
For me, Bahubali is not just a movie that entertains, it is a movie that revives our ancient history and churns the whole world. It speaks of the richness of our lifestyle and the dharma that our culture is built upon. [It's not BJP driven thought by the way]. Instead of criticizing it, let's try to find out the source of inspiration for this story and in the process get inspired by our own values that we've forgotten for a long time now.
