The two- part epic series Bahubali, which set the cash registers ringing when the first instalment of the series was released in 2015, is all set to break the box office records once again, with the release of “Bahubali: The Conclusion”. A lot of time, energy and of course, an enormous amount of money was invested in the making of Bahubali. Let us munch on a few interesting facts about S.S Rajamouli’s magnum opus Bahubali, as we wait for the release of “Bahubali: The Conclusion”. The movie is scheduled on the 28th of this month.
- Bahubali: The Beginning was released in 4 languages in India. Kalakeya, the warlord spoke in “Kiliki” in all the 4 versions. Madhan Karky created this language and wrote dialogues in Kiliki. It is not gibberish. Kiliki consists of 750 words and 40 grammar rules.
- A 125 –foot statue of Pawaladevan/Ballaladeva (Rana Daggubati) was made. It was sculpted by 200 sculptors and weighed over 8000 kilograms. The team used 4 cranes to erect the statue.
- Bahubali 2 will be the first Indian movie to be released in 4K HD format. A number of standard theatres are being upgraded to present Bahubali 2 in all its glory.
- More than 800 technicians were involved in the making of Bahubali. A number of them were national award winners.
- The first part boasts of 90% computer-generated imagery, which accounts for around 2500 VFX shots.
- More than 50% of the CGI work was done by a VFX company in Hyderabad called Makuta. This company created the 1500 ft stunning waterfall, and all the elements of the Mahishmati kingdom. It took two years to create the virtual waterfall.
- Several media reports claimed that the makers of Bahubali roped in the VFX team that worked for Jurassic World to do the CGI work for Bahubali, but the producer Shobu Yarlagadda rubbished the claims stating that it was a rumour. It is believed that the movies shared a few common technicians, but not the same team.
- The waterfall sequence in the movie was shot for 109 days. The waterfall is an important element in the film because it is pivotal in the fate of Mahendra Bahubali. The waterfall scenes were shot in three different locations.
- More than 17 VFX companies were involved in the visual work of the film. It included more than 600 VFX artists.
- Prahbas and Ranu Daggubati followed a rigorous diet, gained weight, and sculpted their bodies to get into the skin of their characters. Anushka Shetty is also believed to have undergone body transformation, for the second part of Bahubali. It is to be noted that Anushka Shetty gained a lot of weight for the movie Inji Idupazzhagi/Size zero, and shed all the weight in a few months.
- Bahubali 1 recorded the highest opening performance for an Indian film in the United States.
- The team is planning to open a movie museum to showcase the weapons, props, and costumes used in the making of the film. If it happens, it would be India’s first movie museum.
- Prabhas postponed his wedding to concentrate on Bahubali.
- Bahubali entered the Guinness Book of World Records by making the largest movie poster ever. The said poster is 50, 000 sq feet tall.
- The pre-production of the first installment took about a year. No Indian movie has ever taken that much of time, for pre-production.
- Prabhas did not take up other projects for 3 years, in order to exclusively put in his efforts for Bahubali 1.
- Bahubali featured in BBC’s documentary on 100 Years of Indian Cinema, even before its release.
- The team created over 20000 weapons for this movie. No other Indian movie has ever created or used these many weapons.
- Rana Dagubbati put on 32 kilograms for Bahubali 1. He went from 88 kilograms to 120 kilograms, in order to look more muscular.
- Many scenes of Bahubali were shot in Ramoji Film City. The war scenes involved around 110 acres of land. Some scenes were shot in farm lands. Maize was cultivated in 20 acres of land to make the scenes look convincing.
- The pre-release business of Bahubali 2 has crossed around 500 crores.
- Karan Johar’s production company, Dharma Production is presenting the Hindi version of Bahubali 2. They have reportedly paid a hefty amount to acquire its theatrical rights. The last Bahubali outing in Hindi recorded a whopping income of 120 crores.
- The Satellite Rights of the Hindi version of Bahubali 2 has been obtained by Sony Tv for 51 crores, the highest amount ever paid for a dubbed movie. Star Vijay has bagged the satellites rights of the Tamil version.
- The makers took every step to keep the details of the movie from being leaked, but a few pictures from the pre-climax shoot were leaked online.
- Over 15,000 sketches were made, for Bahubali 1.
- It is believed that S.S Rajamouli initially approached Hrithik Roshan, and John Abraham to play the role of Bahubali, and Ballala Deva, respectively, but the actors were busy at that time, and the director decided to make the movie with Prabhas and Rana Daggubati playing the lead roles.
- Special body building equipment were presented to Prabhas by the makers. The equipment cost them 1.5 crores.
- All the lead actors underwent intense sword training. Prabhas additionally learnt rock climbing. Prabhas and Rana were trained in martial arts by Vietnamese trainer Tuan.
- 2000 junior artists were involved in the making of the war scenes. Most of the artists were body builders.
- English, German, French, Japanese, and Mandarin versions of Bahubali 2 are expected to release this year.
- The climax of the second installment cost 30 crores. It is almost double the cost of the climax of Bahubali 1.
- The sets used in Bahubali were 45 ft tool, as opposed to the regular 25 ft sets.
- Bahubali: The Beginning scored a number of awards, including the National Award for the best feature film.