July 11: Two men have seen Bahubali 2 more times over the last fortnight than most fans of the S.S. Rajamouli-directed magnum opus. Romio Hazra and Babu Paul are at the helm of this year's puja at Sreebhumi Sporting Club, where the palace of Mahishmati, the ancient kingdom portrayed in the Bahubali series, is being recreated. Come September 20 and the palatial pandal is scheduled to be inaugurated by the Bahubali of Argentine soccer, Diego Maradona.

"Bahubali 2 has done tremendous business across the country. A pandal on the theme will attract people. Durga is a goddess of power. So there is a synergy between Durga Puja and the valorous Bahubali," said Sujit Bose, the chief organiser of the Sreebhumi puja.

When Metro contacted Paul on June 26, a day after the khuti puja, the proprietor of Paul Electric Company, Chandernagore, had not even seen the film. "Dada (Bose) has just told me about the theme." But in less than two weeks, he is ready with concrete ideas on how to bring Bahubali 2 alive through illumination.

There will be an arching gate near the Big Ben prototype clock tower where an elephant will stand atop pedestals with its trunk raised. Climbing up its head along the trunk will be Amarendra Bahubali, as seen in the sequel's posters and the opening sequence. While the elephant will be in LED, the Bahubali figure will be of fibre. Visitors will make their way through the feet of the elephant. Eight more Bahubali-themed light pillars will guide them to the pandal. Paul has chosen four scenes that he wants to portray -Sivagami raising new-born Mahendra above water as she floats along the mountain stream, Amarendra and Devsena practising archery side by side, Mahendra carrying the gigantic Sivalinga and Mahendra standing astride two on-rushing bulls.

While Paul has been illuminating the Sreebhumi pandal "for seven-eight years", it is a first major assignment for Hazra. He said the pandal, close to 100 ft high and 55ft wide, will have a sandstone tone. "In the film, the camera zooms in on the palace for barely a few seconds before sweeping away. I had to pause and rewind the relevant portions of the film repeatedly on my laptop before I could come up with a miniature model."

While the superstructure will be made of wooden planks and plywood, there will be fibre sheets with elaborate carvings on the exterior. Hazra faces a challenge of having to fit in the rectangular royal court within a squarish pandal. The lion head behind Vallaladeva's throne will be placed on the sides of the passage leading into the pandal interior. There will be four pillars inside with animal motifs. The walls will feature fibre figures of guards standing with swords drawn.

Pradip Rudrapal's idols will continue to remain traditional, but Bose plans to decorate them in thick gold ornaments of the kind worn in the film.

With the FIFA Under-17 World Cup kicking off days after Puja, the pandal will also have a 12-ft statue of Maradona. He will feature in the illumination too, dribbling the ball, along with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Pele.

Another man, seated in far-away Chennai, is excited at the thought of the edifice coming up. He is Sabu Cyril, the production designer of the Bahubali series who built the sets for the film. "100 ft? Our palace was 75ft high. If they can capture its essence, nothing like it," he said. "I wish I was there... I might even come over!"