Trailer Review: Baahubali 2 - The Conclusion

Two years ago, director S. S. Rajamouli bestowed cinephiles across the country with a question that has been tickling our cerebrums till date - Kattapaa ne Baahubali ko kyun maara? Traces of the answer lie playfully within the much-anticipated trailer of Baahubali 2 - The Conclusion, which has been shot in Tamil and Telugu simultaneously and dubbed in Malayalam as well as Hindi. Produced by Arka Media Works and distributed by Dharma Productions (Hindi version), the period drama has all of its cast - Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Tamannaahh, Sathyaraj and Ramya Krishnan - reprising their roles from the first instalment.

The prequel, Baahubali - The Beginning (2015), emerged as the highest grossing Indian film of all time, but will its sequel match up to its success? BollyCurry decided to find out!

While the two-and-a-half minute trailer does give a detailed account of Amarendra Baahubali's assassination, the forbidden question still remains unresolved. The constant shift in eras which juggles between the conflict-ridden lives of the father-son duo, although apposite, is rather confusing. The trailer is packed with larger than life visuals of a love that eventually led to an internal battle within the confines of the Mahishmati kingdom and you cannot help but be curious. Another striking feature is the scanty use of dialogues or even shots of characters mouthing them.

Prabhas, Daggubati and Sathyaraj continue their action-packed performances, only this time accompanied with more bloodshed than their previous outing in the series. Owing to the legend that she is, Krishnan is fierce as ever. Despite not being a protagonist, she instils her irreplaceability as Rajmata Sivagami each time she appears on our screens. What has us majorly excited is Shetty's transformation from a shackled queen to a gorgeous but feisty princess. Though her experience of portraying a valiant ruler is vast, thanks to her roles in Arundhati (2009) and Rudramadevi (2015), her semblance is sure to leave you inquisitive. Tamannaahh does not have much to emote in the minimal screen time allotted to her.

BollyCurry has always ardently believed in content over cinematography but we cannot conclude without dedicating an entire paragraph to the optic delight that the Baahubali series is. K.K. Senthil Kumar and  R.C. Kamalakannan are pure geniuses - their presentation of K.V. Vijayendra Prasad's fictional world is unbelievably believable. Rajamouli's artistry with the camera has always been exceptional, but his graph from the predecessor does lie quite flat. A special mention to M.M. Keeravani's background score which aptly compliments the trailer's high-octane drama.

There are many factors that make Baahubali 2 - The Conclusion a presumed winner but a few that stand out are Karan Johar's association, Rajamouli's artistry and a talented ensemble. BollyCurry rates the trailer 4 out of 5 (an extra half for Kumar and Kamalakannan) and are almost definite of the movie's cinematic and commercial victory. While the film releases on 28thApril 2017, we urge you to tune into YouTube or your favourite video streaming website to give the trailer a watch. Comment below and let us know if you were able to decipher the boggling mystery of modern cinema!

 

Writer: Anushka J.

Editors: Pooja B. and Jenifer A.

Graphics: Neha R.