The Baahubali effect

Last week I went to see Baahubali. Glorious and extravagant, it is true to the south Indian style cinema. I really like south Indian movies for their original screenplays and neatly done quirky gimmicks. They are fresh and organic. I love the crude treatment they lend to their movies at times as it appeals to me due to their earthy leaning. They show beautiful mountains, valleys and unexplored and unreal terrains.

South Indian movies are said to have a huge impact on people as South Indian stars are worshipped by their fans. Prabhas plays the protagonist in Baahubali while Rana Daggubati is the antagonist.  Though people all over India have enjoyed Baahubali and now know who Prabhas is, I knew about his popularity since 4 years. I had gone to Hyderabad for a holiday when I had seen his Telugu movie Mr. Perfect. I saw it in Telugu, as I had my friends - Vanessa, Cimba and Kuhoo with me, who translated the dialogues for me. I was very excited to go to the single screen cinema to watch the South Indian flick in its true essence.

Single Screen theatre in Hyderabad

My movie ticket

They had curtains on the screen which went up and people threw coins in the air when Prabhas made his entry. There were so many coins in the air that the sound they made was sharp in spite of the loud background score as their Mr. Perfect made his way on the screen.

Prabhas' four storied poster alongside the youth committee poster

Indeed, all south Indian stars are perfect for their fans down south. They love their stars unconditionally. I remember feeling super awed when I saw Prabhas’ poster which was four storied high with a huge garland around his neck. Besides they had a picture of a committee of sorts with some guys and it was titled, ‘Young Rebel Star Prabhas’. It was because of the rebellious roles he played I suppose.  (Coincidently, Rana Daggubati’s Hindi movie Dum Maro Dum was also playing in the theatres at the same time, though I was keen on the Telugu film experience, hence went for it... I am glad I did as it was fun telling my friends here about South Indian cinema)  

I had also been to the Ramoji Film City which is a famous place for South Indian and even Hindi movie shoots. Here is a little flashback into my trip down South to Hyderabad as I got nostalgic as a result of this movie.

Cimba, Vanessa, me and Kuhoo at Ramoji

Here are a few snapshots from my trip... 

I took these pictures from the flight- remember feeling very proud of myself 

Golconda Fort - some movies have been shot here as well

This used to be the queens bath tub 

The world famous Char Minar 

Coming back to the movie, Baahubali literally means ‘the one with strong arms’. Prabhas shows off his enormous arms as he lifts and hits in the movie. No wonder I got rubbed off the Special South Indian effect. My friend Rashmi and I went for shopping after the movie. She liked a bag and wanted to see how it looked on her and was looking for a mirror but she couldn’t find one. That’s when I saw one in a corner. It was a very heavy one with a supporting stand but it was a shoe mirror(as bags and shoes are in the same vicinity in malls, and while women want to see how their shoes look on their feet before buying those, few are as picky as Rashmi who want to see if the bag looks good on the shoulder) Now I don’t know why instead of telling my friend to just buy the bag, I lifted the shoe mirror so that she could see if the bag suited her. I got some funny looks, but whatever. It was fun trying my might against the mighty Baahubali(though in a small and comical way)

I guess that’s why people love these movies. I love South Indian movies too... for their simplicity in characters, grandeur in production and beautiful dialogues. Ask a friend for translating and you would know what I mean.