The second part of director S. S. Rajamouli‘s visionary movie series arrived in India with a bang. It broke several records on it’s opening day after releasing in total 9000 screens worldwide. This movie is bigger in every aspect as compared to the last movie. Be it the grandeur,emotions,action or the jaw dropping visuals, the movie certainly outpaces Baahubali: The Beginning. There are certain forced elements which may irk the viewers, but is the movie still better than the last one ? Let’s find out.
What’s Good: The director’s vision with equally balanced work on the movie is easily visible. There’s the exceptional visuals, Prabhas and Rana‘s commanding and suiting performance, and Ramya Krishna‘s show-stealing performance.
What’s Bad: The over-imposed songs, weak VFX work at some instances, weak performance from some members of the supporting cast, and a final fight that was slightly disappointing.
Story: The plot continues with Shiva, alias Mahendra Bahubali learning the secret about his true parentage and what led to the downfall of his father’s (Amarendra Baahubali) majestic reign.
It is only after the end of the second half when we get the answer to the most awaited question, that why did Katappa kill Baahubali.
The story itself is something we have seen or heard about in some Indian epics much like Mahabharata but what truly stands out for it is that it completely distinguishes itself from the other stories. The reason behind Baahubali‘s death is completely justified and satisfying. The people who haven’t seen the first movie may feel there is no character development regarding Shiva’s character who just blasts off into action. The conversation between the characters is very much simple except some melodrama at certain points. Rude movie also carries a high emotional value and all the mythological values that our Indian cinema promotes.
Performances: Prabhas as Mahendra/Amarendra Baahubali is very intriguing and a delight to watch. You literally feel his dedication towards the role with every shot. He certainly brings the grandeur to the movie with an outstanding performance.
Rana Daggubati as Bhallal Deva is very menacing and looks like the perfect nemesis for Bahubali. His physique speaks itself for his role. Though I wished there were more dialogues and fight sequences from him then what the makers had been teasing about him from the prequel.
Anushka Shetty as Devasena is perfect as the warrior queen. She has such confidence while speaking her dialogues and really makes them hard-hitting.
Ramya Krishnan as Shivagami Devi is the show stealer. She shows us why she is still a senior in acting than any other actors in this movie. Her expressions and eyes are also very compelling.
The rest of the supporting cast also does a decent job.
Technical Aspects: K. K. Senthil Kumar‘s cinematography and Rajamouli‘s direction are the soul of this movie. They show us such beautiful landscapes and set pieces which remind us of Lord of the rings. The visual effects are stunning but at some instances, the necessary detailing is absent. The songs are also compelling but at some moment they feel like a drag for the story. The action sequences will literally give you goosebumps but since of them completely defy that laws of physics.
The only thing which I wanted to see in this movie more was the final fight sequence between Prabhas and Rana. The two characters were an equal match but the fight somehow seemed to be one-sided.
Final Verdict: Baahubali 2: The Conclusion may not be the perfect movie, but it is something which will keep you completely hooked on your seats for almost 3 hours. Rajamouli emerges as the true king-maker with this one. I’ll recommend tits movie to everyone for sure.
