An epic battle movie, likened to American blockbuster 300, is set to become India’s most expensive film ever, but it’s not Bollywood that will smash the record.
The two-part Baahubali, costing still a fraction of the budget of Hollywood blockbusters, has been made in the Telugu and Tamil languages and releases today. It’s also been dubbed into Hindi and other languages.
Its release shines a welcome spotlight on southern India’s film industries, which are often overshadowed by the glitz and glamour of the internationally-bankable Hindi-language Bollywood films.
Director SS Rajamouli told news agency AFP that the movie, which eager cinema-goers are also comparing toHercules, will break the previous big-budget Indian film by a whopping $17 million. “The budget will definitely be over 250 crore rupees ($40 million) for both parts,” Mr Rajamouli told AFP.
Baahubali, literally meaning The One With Strong Arms in English, is laden with special effects and tells the fictional story of two warring brothers battling for control of an ancient Indian kingdom.
Part two of the ambitious spectacle is scheduled to hit screens next year.
Indian cinema produces films in 39 languages and dialects. Last year, 216 Hindi or Bollywood movies were released, fewer than the 287 in Tamil and 255 Telugu-language films.
Bollywood is India’s biggest-grossing movie industry, accounting for $565 million in box office revenues in 2013 according to Deloitte. But the Telugu and Tamil industries were not far behind, raising a total of $468 million, and despite their relative anonymity abroad have form when it comes to releasing big-budget blockbusters.
Baahubali overtakes Rajinikanth’s 2010 Tamil movie Enthiran (Robot), which cost an estimated Rs 1.5 billion ($23 million) to make, as Indian cinema’s most costly film so far.
Movie critics and fans, who have watched the trailer and songs released over the last month, say its vast battle scenes draw comparisons with 2006 hit movie 300, which starred Gerard Butler.
“It’s the simple story of a father who has been back-stabbed, a mother who has been enchained for no wrong of hers and the story of a son who takes revenge. The two parts span two generations,” explained Mr Rajamouli to AFP.
Credits:-Ndtv.com
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