REPORT
Baahubali, a 250 Cr Film, is Being
Compared to
Hollywood Blockbuster 300
A
n 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, is
being made in the Telugu and Tamil languages for the
'Tollywood' and 'Kollywood' markets.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 said the movie, which
eager cinema-goers are also comparing to Hercules, will
break the previous big-budget Indian film by a whopping
$17 million. "There are
still over a hundred days
of shooting left, followed
by post-production for the
second part. 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.The opening part
of the ambitious spectacle, Baahubali - The Beginning,
is due for release on July 10, with the final instalment
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 Tollywood and Kollywood 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 will overtake the 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 a short teaser released last
month, say its vast battle scenes draw comparisons with
2006 hit movie 300, which starred Gerard Butler."It's the