Baahubali, which releases on July 10 in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam, has already claimed one crown — being the most expensive film in the history of Indian cinema. The man at the helm of the historic opus is one of the best-known names of south cinema — S.S. Rajamouli. The Hindi audience might not know of Rajamouli but they sure must have watched remakes of his films like Son of Sardaar (Maryada Ramanna) and Rowdy Rathore (Vikramarkudu).

Baahubali is a two-part historical action-adventure set in medieval India with Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty and Tamannaah Bhatia leading the way. t2 met the director at Mumbai’s Sun ’n’ Sand Hotel to talk about the fantastical worlds he’s created in Baahubali. 

During the launch of the Baahubali trailer you thanked Uncle Pai (Anant Pai of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle comics) for inspiring you. How did he influence you as a filmmaker?
When I was in Class I, my father took me to our town library for the first time. We lived in a small town in Andhra Pradesh called Kovvur. He introduced me to Amar Chitra Katha. I was so fascinated by the artwork… the colourful panels and whatever English I could understand at that age. At the time, I didn’t realise, but Uncle Pai was a great editor. In just a few panels and dialogues, he’d put in so many emotions. I see so many graphic novels today and I feel that Amar Chitra Katha was far superior. I started day-dreaming about those worlds… the kings and queens, the palaces, the battles and the talking animals.

As I grew older, I would narrate stories from Amar Chitra Katha to my friends in school with my own twist. I would merge stories, interchange characters or change endings. I was a more successful storytellerthan a student (smiles). Even when I started making films, I didn’t realise the kind of effect Uncle Pai and Amar Chitra Katha had on me. About six-seven years ago, I bought all the Amar Chitra Katha titles…there are about 400. When I started reading the comics again, I realised so many scenes in my movies are similar to the panels in the comics. Subconsciously, I was mirroring Uncle Pai’s work. I owe so much of my character to him.
 
He passed away in 2011, did you ever get to meet him?
Unfortunately not. I only got to speak with him once. He was very old and unwell. I really wish I had got to meet him and tell him about the profound effect he had on my life. 

Most of your films have an element of fantasy. How do you dream up these worlds?
I don’t dream of them… I live in those worlds! (Laughs) The real world doesn’t seem strange to me, but I prefer living in my own worlds. I live by those ideals. I feel the standards we live by these days aren’t the same as the values people used to lived by. As for what those worlds look like, I don’t work too much on that. I work more on the emotions and the value systems of those characters. I work with fantastic technicians who can bring my thoughts into reality.

Did the idea for Baahubali come from your father?
Yes. My father (screenwriter and director Vijayendra Prasad) is the writer for almost all my films. For Baahubali, he didn’t give me the story. Instead he sketched some characters — Bhallala Deva (played by Rana Daggubati), Sivagami (Ramya Krishnan)… the character of Baahubali (played by Prabhas) came in much later. When he told me about these characters, it seemed like they would fit into my world. I started thinking of what kind of life they would have and the relationships that would have shaped them. That’s how the story developed in my head. 

Just the pre-production for the film took over a year!
That’s right. I don’t remember how many thousand sketches we worked on. Everything from character sketches, look and feel of the forests, palaces and costume...we had to pick and choose what worked and then combining them so there was a seamless narrative. It was a big task. Thanks to the technicians I had, it wasn’t a very difficult process. 

You shot the film for 380 days! 
(Laughs) Yes, you have to be a little mad to shoot so much. Almost all the actors got injured. We shot the war sequences for almost four months. We had a mini-hospital with two ambulances, nurses and doctors in one corner of the set. On the other end of the battle field, we had a veterinary hospital for all the animals. Luckily none of them had any major injuries. 

Was it tough to ask the actors and technicians to give two-three years of their life to this one project? 
The level of commitment all the actors had for the film was amazing. I had worked with Prabhas earlier in a film called Chatrapathi (2005). He is a very close friend. After I narrated the story of Baahubali to him, I told him that I’d need one year for the film. He said: ‘I don’t think you can complete this film in a year... I’ll give you two years’. He is such a big star in Telugu films and still he didn’t take on any other work in this time period. 

All the technicians I have worked with are those I have worked with before. When I narrated the story to them, they had a more realistic idea of how long the film would take. It’s their decision to work on this film. 

Your films seamlessly marry storytelling with special effects. How do you manage to balance it so perfectly?
I don’t balance anything. My focus is always on the story. All the special effects or technology is just a means to tell the story. In the trailer you see a massive waterfall that Baahubali climbs. Now that waterfall is not there because it would look spectacular and we want to wow the audience. In the film, I needed a story between two kingdoms. I didn’t want people to be able to travel freely between the two worlds, so we decided to have a cliff. 

Your dad writes the script, your wife Rama does the costumes and MM Kreem, who has done the music, is your cousin. Is it easier to work within the family?
We are a very huge joint family. My father has six brothers and we are 13 cousins. I am almost the youngest. We were all brought up together and we still live together. MM Kreem is the eldest, so he is like a father figure to me. His wife Srivali is my line producer. They think that I go overboard with my films and I get lost in work, so they feel very protective towards me. I don’t think I’d be able to make the kind of films I make without them.

Baahubali is the biggest Indian film. Does that put a lot of pressure on you?
I am not pressurised by the success of my past films. But I have a responsibility towards this film and its characters. I am also responsible to my producers (Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni) who have invested in this film. I am nervous before the release of all my films because I want them to do well. I was nervous even before the release of my trailer…it’s only natural because you wonder if people will like what you have created. 
 
Makkhi was presented to the Hindi audience by Reliance Entertainment…
Yes, I wasn’t very happy with how they promoted the film. Luckily, Makkhi was a big hit on TV. I realised that you need to have good presentation and I think Karan Johar would be able to do that for us (for Baahubali) in the rest of the country. His sensibility might be very different from mine, but our passion for cinema is very similar. 

When t2 had spoken to you after Makkhi, we had asked when you would make your Hindi debut…
(Laughs) See, the situation is the same as it was three years ago. Baahubali is the only film I have been living with since Makkhi. I want to make a Hindi film. I need to finish Baahubali Part Two. We have shot about 30-40 per cent so I need another year. After that, I will take stock of where my career is going next.

BAAHUBALI THE BIGGIE

Budget: Rs 150 crore-plus (approx)
Number of years in production: Three-plus
Number of shooting days: 720-plus
Number of parts: Two
Total running time of two parts: 293 minutes
Audio rights sold for: Rs 3 crore
Satellite rights sold for: Rs 25 crore to MAA TV
Prabhas’s diet to become Baahubali: 40 egg whites mixed with protein powder every day! 

Karishma Upadhyay
I will watch Baahubali because.... 
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