Bahubali: The Beginning (2015)

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Bahubali: The Beginning (2015)
The film’s director Rajamouli ‘appeared for a few short minutes in a barely recognisable avatar, as a spirit seller. Right before the Manohari song kicks in Amarendra Baahubali (Prabhas) argues with the spirit seller to give him more to drink.
From The Times of India
Little Shiva/ Sivudu in Bahubali: The Beginning (2015)
Shiva/ Sivudu (Prabhas), left, ‘leaps off a cliff’... Bahubali: The Beginning (2015)
…and, aided by computer graphics and VFX, he makes a giant leap for mankid: Bahubali: The Beginning (2015) (We wish India really had waterfalls this huge—and this clean! Chitrakoot is the closest.) Prabhas is that tiny boomerang- shaped speck near the top left of centre

Also spelt ‘Baahubali: The Beginning.’ The official spelling is ‘Bãhubali: The Beginning.’


See also Bahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017)

Shiva/ Sivudu (Prabhas) in Bahubali: The Beginning (2015). The country gets a new superstar.

This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content.

Box office figures were updated almost daily for the first four weeks and regularly after that.

Contents

Bãhubali: The Beginning is...

A spectacular ancient Indian city is recreated in Bahubali: The Beginning (2015). The Akshardham temples are the finest and grandest such buildings built after 1947, but the scale of Bahubali’s sets is several times bigger.
Bahubali: The Beginning (2015)
In an even more thrilling scene, bad guy Bhallal Dev ‘fights a bull’ (or computer graphics and VFX do) with his ‘bare hands’: Bahubali: The Beginning (2015)
Bahubali: the Beginning (2015)
Bahubali: the Beginning (2015)
Bahubali: The Beginning (2015)
Baahubali (2015) seems headed towards Indian box-office history
The blockbuster Baahubali (2015) was received well by the all-India press.
Bahubali: The Beginning (2015) has a 45-minute war sequence
Bahubali: The Beginning (2015) is no Telugu flash in the national pan. It comes in the wake of the hugely successful Magadheera (which had a similar martial theme set in mediæval India, with a major Muslim warrior character) and Eega (Makkhi) (in which director S.S. Rajamouli set out to prove that he did not need stars like Ram Charan Teja to make a mega-hit; of course, Rajamouli succeeded and by a wide margin)

Bãhubali: The Beginning (159 minutes) is the first part of a two-film, almost-five-hour, Rs240 crore ($40 million) Indian blockbuster released in the Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi languages. The Rs 240 crore that "Baahubali" is said to have been made for includes 40% of the production cost of its sequel. Because of the film's success the film's makers have decided to make Part 3 as well.

The way Bahubali opened on Indian and international screens, and for the ten days or so thereafter, it seemed that the film would rewrite all box office records ever set in Indian film history. And in its first two weeks it did just that. For a few days it was the 2nd biggest hit in Indian film history (in terms of absolute earnings not indexed for inflation, behind only PK). However, Bajrangi Bhaijaan came up from behind.

By October 2015, Bahubali I had settled for the 3rd highest box office collections in Indian film history, and the highest for a film primarily in a language other than Hindi-Urdu. (For its comparative position see Box office records of Hindi-Urdu films.) Its version dubbed into Hindi-Urdu collected almost six times as much as the previous record holder, Endhiran/ Robot. This is one record that is unlikely to be broken in a very long time: unless ‘Bahubali: The Conclusion’ does that in 2016.

Bahubali is the biggest national crossover film from the Telugu industry, and the second in order of time from the South, after Robot/ Endhiran/ Robo (2010), the Rs.290 crore 'lifetime' profits of which Bãhubali: The Beginning overtook in nine days.

The official spelling of the film is Bãhubali: The Beginning; the ‘a’ has a wavy diacritical mark above it to indicate the longer (aa) sound. Indpaedia has not put a diacritical mark in its top heading because most readers are likely to search for the film with a plain ‘a.’

Story

The film opens alongside a huge waterfall, as a young mother being pursued by a band of marauders sacrifices herself in rushing waters to save her infant. The baby boy is miraculously found alive in the middle of a river by a few villagers.

A local village woman raises the boy {named Shiva/ Shivudu (Prabhas)} as her own. (Lisa Tsering, The Hollywood Reporter)

Shivudu (Prabhas) lives at the foot of a massive waterfall that fascinates and frustrates him at the same time because he is never able to scale the slippery rocks or the mountain.

Shiva is the Bahubali (‘strong arms’) of the film's title, a human with god-like strength and valor. ((Rajeev Masand, CNN-IBN)

The infant Bãhubali could be Moses; shifting a stone shrine several hundred feet, his teenage self is as hefty as Hercules; swinging from vines so as to climb the waterfall his village sits under, he’s as romantic a figure as Tarzan. (Mike McCahill, The Guardian, UK)

After repeated attempts to scale the mountains and climb up to the top of the waterfall, Shiva finally achieves his goal, only to encounter Avanthika (Tamannah), a female warrior and member of a rebel group. ((Rajeev Masand, CNN-IBN)

New frontiers unfold before our eyes: one moment we’re witnessing mildly risqué canoodling in a forest of orchids, the next prowling the streets of a fortified city where hundreds of flogged and flogging extras have been charged with erecting a towering golden statue. (Again with the Moses comparisons.) (Mike McCahill, The Guardian, UK)

Upon scaling that waterfall, the adult Bãhubali finds he’s strayed into a civil war; only with a glimpse of warrior princess Avanthika (Tamannaah Bhatia) does he sense which side to pick. Their slyly feminist pairing makes some headway. (Mike McCahill, The Guardian, UK)

Their frankly silly romantic track - in which he distracts ([Avanthika]) with a snake while tattooing her shoulder, or undresses her systematically while giving her a makeover - is the weakest link in the film, stretching out an already overlong first half. ((Rajeev Masand, CNN-IBN)

It’s merely cute when Bãhubali plunges into a lake to paint the hand the dozing Avanthika has let slip into the waters, yet the action has a lovely pay-off: this impromptu tattoo is seen to complete one on the hero’s bicep during a later embrace. (Mike McCahill, The Guardian, UK)

Avanthika leads Shiva to his destiny beyond the walls of Mahishmati, where despotic king Bhallal Dev (Rana Dagubatti) is installing a 50-foot gold statue of himself. ((Rajeev Masand, CNN-IBN)

Shiva discovers a kingdom in turmoil. Bhallala Deva, the despotic king of Mahishmati, has imprisoned Queen Devasena (Anushka Shetty) for many years now. Shivudu, unaware of his connection to the kingdom, spends his days wooing Avanthika, one of the followers of the queen. But when he replaces her in a mission to rescue Devasena, his past unknowingly catches up with him.

The boy had grown up to be an adventurous commoner until his past comes back to haunt him. now it turns out, Shiva is royalty and heir to the Mahishmati kingdom. Son of the noble king Amarendra Bãhubali (Prabhas in a dual role) and queen Devasena, he must now fight the evil king Bhallala Deva, who tortured his parents and forcefully seized their kingdom. From The Times of India)

When Shiva/ Shivudu learns that he is actually a prince, whose estranged brother is now a brutal ruler of a sprawling kingdom, he is called upon to bring justice to his people.

Rajamouli gives us a terrific interval point, and the film moves briskly in its second half, when it goes into flashback mode to reveal a familiar story of family conflict within the royal household, and Shiva's true identity.

The piece de resistance of the film is a [long] war sequence achieved through a combination of special effects and thrilling in-camera shots. You're riveted by the action, and by the drama that unfolds on the battlefield, leading to an explosive finale. Prabhas and Rana, each flexing his tree trunk-sized biceps, puts up a great show. ((Rajeev Masand, CNN-IBN)

The final 45 minutes roam a vast battlefield that, with its human shields and Boadicea-style murder chariots, makes Helms Deep resemble a punch-up in a chip shop. At each turn, the money’s right there on screen...

That last-act battle forms part of an extended flashback that reveals the full extent of the dynastic tangle [Bãhubali and Avanthika have] charged into. (The decision to split one epic into two films here makes narrative and economic sense: this mess will require some cleaning up.) (Mike McCahill, The Guardian, UK)

(Lisa Tsering, The Hollywood Reporter), too, had commented on the ‘confusing flashbacks.’

Obviously they will be cleared up in Bãhubali: The Beginning

’Can’t wait for the sequel’

(Most critics agree on the bottom line, which is:)

Rajamouli ends the film with a cliffhanger so that you buy tickets to the sequel that comes out next year. ((Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Reuters) )

I can't wait for Part 2, which comes next year. ((Rajeev Masand, CNN-IBN)

Facts about Bahubali

The making of the film

By Yahoo.com, citing THR and Rishabh Chakravorty, India.com The THR original can be found at: The Hollywood Reporter

Indian film director S S Rajamouli’s epic film ‘Bahubali’ has secured a place in international box office’s top 10 movies within a week of its release with an opening of over $20 million.

1. ‘Bahubali’ is India’s most-expensive movie ever, made at an estimated budget of Rs 250 crore [both parts of the film put together] Nearly 10 per cent of the cost was for Prabhas

Biggest hit: Salman Khan has said, ‘Bahubali’s box office collection scares me: Salman Khan’.

2. There are 5000 VFX shots (visual effects) used in the entire film. 17 VFX & 800+ technicians involved. Cost of VFX effects was at Rs 85 crore.

Bahubali’s lead VFX supervisor V. Srinivas Mohan is a three-time national award winner with credits including Tamil director Shankar’s hits I and Enthiran/ Robot/ Robo.

The production was farmed out between 17 VFX companies and other individual artists. Hyderabad-based Makuta VFX and Firefly Visual Effects handled the film’s key sequences. Overseas VFX companies included Los Angeles-based Tau Films (formerly Rhythm and Hues), China’s Dancing Digital and Part 3 and South Korea’s Macro Graph, which worked on a majority of the movie’s war sequences.

3. When and where the story is set:

Yarlagadda told THR: “We looked at the period before the invention of gunpowder or fire power.” (A Muslim character in the film means it is set in mediæval India, by when gunpowder had been invented)

4. Bahubali invents a new language: In what is another first for an Indian film [something the West has been doing from Tarzan to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.]

Baahubali’s language, Kiliki, was invented by the film’s writer-lyricist Madhan Karky and is said to be made up of about 750 words with its own set of 40 grammar rules.

The language was invented for the film’s terrifying warrior tribe, the Kalakeya.

5. The movie has set a Guinness World Record for the largest film poster ever at 51,598.21 square feet in size. It was created by Global United Media, the company that distributed "Baahubali" in Kerala, during the audio launch of "Baahubali" in Kochi on 27 June 2015. 30 craftsmen and artists worked around the clock for three days to complete the poster.


The Bhallala Statue is 125 feet high and needed four cranes to lift it up. The scene of the Bhallala Statue being erected took 12 days to shoot.

6. Took three years to make: Movie pre-production took 1 year during which period over 15,000 sketches were created, to be used during the shooting. Then it took two years and three days from the start of the shooting to the film releasing in theatres.. This is the longest time taken by any India movie.

109 days to shoot just one waterfall: Rajamouli took 109 days to reshoot just one scene involving a waterfall.

7. Weapons: Over 20,000 weapons were designed and used in Bahubali.

7a. Beefing up: Rana Daggubati weighed 88 kilograms at the time the film was signed by him. During pre-production, Rana put on an additional 32 kilograms of muscle to weigh a total of 120 kg to get the muscular look required to play a great warrior. Prabhas and Raja Dugabatti consumed 40 egg whites daily to beef up for the fim. It was reported that Prabhas spent Rs 1.5 crore on equipment for a private gymnasium just to add bulk for the film.

9. Prabhas postponed his marriage for the movie.

10. The movie puts the spotlight on South India’s film industry

“Film makers from South India are showing far more courage than the North,” he said. “Where are the courageous film makers like @ssrajamouli in Mumbai?” Yahoo.com]

11. The Bahubali film trailer recorded over 4 million views in just 24 hours on YouTube, and 1.5 million views on Facebook.

12. BBC: It is the only Indian film to feature on BBC’s documentary on 100 years of cinema.

13. Prabhas is the first actor from Tollywood [or South India] to get Rs 20 crore (Rs 24 crore, according to India.com) for a movie. That is more than Rajnikanth or Kamal Haasan or Chiranjeevi or Mammoothy.

14. It is the first Indian film to have sold its satellite rights for as much as Rs 25 crore; the cost of the Hindi-Urdu rights might increase.

15. Bahubali is expected to get a film museum showcasing the film’s sets, weapons, artillery, costumes and props. That would also be a first for India. “

Producer Shobu Yarlagadda said:"This could be ready before or just after the release of Baahubali's sequel [scheduled for 2016]." (The Hollywood Reporter)

16. Over a hundred acres of Ramoji Film City’s land was used to shoot the massive war sequences for the film. For the scenes where farm land was required, 20 acres of land was cultivated with maize crops to get the authentic shot.

The Times of India

Baahubali’s VFX had errors?

SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus, Baahubali: The Beginning, was one of the best films to have released in 2015. The film set new benchmarks for films with visual appeal. It will also be remembered for its spectacular war sequences. However, as surprising as it may sound, the cinematographer of the film, KK Senthil Kumar, recently said that he wasn’t happy with the quality of the CGI (Computer Graphics Image) used in the film. He went on to say that he is disappointed as there are major issues in a number of sequences that make the CGI appear fake. He adds that they are trying to rectify these issues in the second part of the movie.

VFX breakdown of 'Baahubali - The Beginning'

Baahubali - The Beginning has been a great success both in terms of critical acclaim and box-office numbers. The film continues to cast a spell at the theatres. However, just as interesting as the film was the process of how it was made. The film, that was lauded for its high-end graphics, is a VFX-enthusiast's delight. Each frame has been carefully crafted with months of laboriously poring over the details. A video by Makuta VFX, a Hyderabad based graphics firm that shows how intricately, yet beautifully the graphics and effects were conceptualised and customised. The video shows the actual process of how important scenes like the drama at Mahishmati’s grand palace, Sivagami’s sacrifice and Avantika’s dance were executed.

Baahubali earned accolades for being a VFX-fest that adhered to the standards set by Hollywood films. So much so, that the film is being considered for the Oscars.

Baahubali is made on a grand scale and everything - from the sets to the props has been paid special attention to. There are huge statues in the film that were inspired by the Colossus of Rhodes. The team was instructed to construct something on the same lines as the Colossus of Rhodes, keeping in mind it’s scale and size. The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek-titan God of the sun, constructed to celebrate Rhodes' victory over the ruler of Cyprus. It is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and stood tall before it’s destruction in an earthquake. A glimpse of the statue is seen in the trailer. It is as huge and grand as the Colossus of Rhodes.

The lead actor of the film, Prabhas, will be seen climbing rocks in the film. He had to learn rock climbing for this and underwent proper training and practice for the extensive scenes where he seen climbing on the rocks. While shooting for the film, Prabhas fell in love with rock climbing. So much so, that he continues doing it. He thoroughly enjoys rock climbing and grabs every chance he gets to do it. Wherever he is, Prabhas seeks out locations where he can practise his rock climbing skills.

SS Rajamouli shot for the waterfall sequence of Baahubali for 109 days. The total time that he took to shoot this particular sequence was almost equal to 1/3rd of the total shooting time of the film. This was because it was one of the most important sequences of the film. The waterfall is almost a character in the film. It is pivotal to the fate of the lead actor's life in the film. SS Rajamouli was personally involved in the recce of the place since he wanted the perfect location for the waterfall. They shot at 3 different waterfall locations for the sequence.

Happenings after the release of The Beginning

Total earnings

Director S S Rajamouli's magnum opus Baahubali: The Beginning went on to become the highest grossing Indian film ever by earning an unthinkable sum of Rs 600 crore, The Times of India reported. Indpaedia has discussed this figure elsewhere on this page]

Rajamouli and Prabhas were paid Rs 26 crore and Rs 20 crore

But nobody knew as to how much Rajamouli and the film's lead actor Prabhas earned. While there were speculations about it, there were no concrete reports. However, the director and actor have appeared on the 2015 Forbes India Celebrity List where its mentioned that the Rajamouli and Prabhas have received Rs 26 crore and Rs 20 crore respectively, as reported by DNA. The actor and director are currently shooting the second part of the film, Baahubali: The Conclusion.

Baahubali style wedding in Kerala

The sets of SS Rajamouli’s blockbuster Baahubali were a complete visual delight! Now, the same sets will reportedly be recreated. However, this time it will apparently be for the wedding of Kerala’s business tycoon, Ravi Pillai’s daughter, Dr Arathi Pillai, who will be tying the knot with Dr Adhitya Vishnu. According to a DNA report, Sabu Cyril, the person responsible for the sets, will apparently be at the helm of affairs again to recreate the set that was reportedly worth Rs 20 crore. While the sets in Baahubali spanned five acres, this one will be spread over eight acres. But this is not all. Reportedly, actresses Shobana and Manju Warrier have also been roped in to perform at the grand event. The entire wedding will apparently cost a whopping Rs 55 crore.

Prabhas to marry after completing 'Baahubali 2' shooting

SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali, not only created magic at the box office, but also gave Prabhas’ career an incredible boost. Since the last few days, rumours of Prabhas’ marriage were spreading like wildfire. However, the actor’s uncle Krishnam Raju has cleared the confusion and stated that Prabhas is currently preparing for his role in Baahubali 2 and marriage is certainly not on the cards right now, as per a report on Bollywoodlife.com. His uncle also stated that he will get married only after the completion of the shooting for Baahubali: The Conclusion. Well, it does look like Prabhas has chosen to focus on his career at the moment, and doesn’t have the time to tie the knot.

SS Rajamouli: There will be a ‘Baahubali 3’

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli said that Baahubali 3 is definitely on the cards. He also said that he will reveal the details when the time is appropriate. In a series of tweets, Rajamouli said, "Many rumours on Baahubali-3..:) The story will conclude with part-2. No dragging..but the world of Baahubali will continue in a way that's. Been never experienced before ever. Will reveal the details when appropriate. don't believe the rumours. Only I know what's going to come. Looks Like I created more confusion instead of giving clarity..apologies.. Baahubali-3 is on cards...But the story that's written for the two parts will not be dragged for the sake of it. This story will conclude with the second part itself. Baahubali-3 will be done in a way that audience have never experienced films before. Hope that clarifies.." [sic]

‘Baahubali’ to make it to the Oscars?

Baahubali: The Beginning has been garnering accolades ever since it released. The film has also done well at the box office. According to a report on Dnaindia.com, SS Rajamouli's Baahubali might now make its way to the 88th Academy Awards. The report stated that the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce has announced Baahubali as the official entry from the Telugu film industry for India's Oscar shortlist. If selected Baahubali will be Telugu film industry's first Oscar entry in 29 years.

The trailer of SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali, that released on June 1, 2015 amassed 1 crore views on YouTube. The film had an extravagant trailer launch with the cast and it’s director, SS Rajamouli. Baahubali was the first film that launched the trailer in Dolby Atmos.

For the first time ever, a museum has been created for the film. The museum will house all the weapons, armours and costumes that the actors sport in the film. While museums have been built for Hollywood films, this is the first time that a museum has been created for a Bollywood film. When Karan Johar, the presenter of Baahubali, was informed about the museum, he got excited about it. The museum will be absolutely spectacular going by what we have seen and heard about the film. When contacted, the producer of the film, Shobu Yarlagadda says, “It is Rajamouli sir’s idea to create the museum. It’s a first for India.

Reviews

International

Forbes

Rob Cain, Forbes

Why Can't China Make A Movie Like 'Baahubali'?

[This is the strongest international review, indeed, endorsement of Baahubali.]

Why does China, with a population larger than India’s, and with an equally rich artistic and cultural history, have so little comparative ability to reach the level of cinematic achievement that India does? Why, with its government’s desperate desire and enormous financial ability to achieve “soft power” by spreading its cultural influence and ideas around the globe, can’t the Chinese film industry create even a single movie that the world wants to see?

China’s highest grossing movie ever, ‘Lost in Thailand,’ earned $200 million in box office receipts in China but less than $500,00 in the rest of the world.

China has lately poured billions upon billions of dollars into state-of-the-art production facilities in hopes of achieving the international respect that a filmmaker like Rajamouli seems to win so effortlessly. But this investment has returned discouragingly limited results

[Very glowing international] reviews are all written about India’s new blockbuster hit Baahubali: The Beginning directed by South Indian filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli. The unfortunate truth is that no Chinese filmmaker has made a film that earned that sort of praise in a long, long time.

The Guardian, UK

By Mike McCahill

The Guardian, UK

        • (4 / 5 stars: 'Dil Dhadakne Do' was awarded ***) (The Guardian's four star rating is the other major international thumbs up for Baahubali)

‘fantastic bang for your buck…SS Rajamouli’s two-part epic brilliantly ticks off the blockbuster wish-list, and innovates with it’

The most expensive Indian movie …reportedly set its producers back around $40 million: pocket change by Hollywood standards, a sign of how the movie world’s other half live. Yet for once with these lavish items, the budget isn’t the whole story: the impressive results only set one to wondering why the American studios don’t insist on getting more for their money….

[W]hat’s most striking is how these resources have been marshalled – to enhance, rather than clutter up, the narrative throughline…

In this, Bãhubali demonstrates the pleasing, straight-ahead simplicity of certain videogames: whenever our hero accomplishes a task, some new challenge presents itself.

Throughout, Rajamouli strikes a near-perfect balance between physicality and poetics. That waterfall becomes both mirror and measure of personal growth.

The Hollywood Reporter

Lisa Tsering, The Hollywood Reporter

The Bottom Line:

Epic entertainment for those with a taste for swords, sandals and saris. '

[I]n the confident hands of accomplished South Indian director S.S. Rajamouli, the tale gets potent new life in Bahubali: The Beginning.

It is "possible to enjoy the film as pure entertainment even without being privy to the superlatives surrounding it."

Much of the credit for the film’s success goes to Telugu superstar Prabhas, who elicited cheers and whistles when he emerged bare-chested from a waterfall in his first scene at a sold-out XD screening near Silicon Valley on the film’s opening Friday. …

Prabhas has a presence grand enough to transcend language. His Bahubali is more than a superhuman leader of men able to heft a two-ton stone Shiva lingam; the muscle-bound, bearded actor manages to imbue him with vulnerability and pureness of spirit.

M.M. Keeravani’s score captures the epic scale of the story, and the songs are a welcome — at times even erotic — diversion from its equally epic seriousness. Senthil Kumar’s cinematography makes excellent use of the film’s jungle and desert locations.

Bahubali: The Conclusion is slated for 2016: Rajamouli, with his gift for cinematic rhythm, is assured an eager audience the next time around.

imdb.com

Users gave the film a 9.4 out of 10 rating on imdb.com after the first day. On the sixth morning—based on the first five days’ performance—the rating remained unusually steadfast at 9.4/ 10 from 21,053 users. One Indian trade analyst commented, ‘"Baahubali" is the highest rated Indian film on the site.’

On the film’s second Friday the rating remained firm at 9.4/10, though now from 25,671 users.

Even on the film's 22nd day the rating had slipped only slightly: 9.2/10 from 39,938 users

Reuters

Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Reuters

The world of S S Rajamouli’s “Bahubali” is decidedly strange – there are arid plains alongside cascading waterfalls, and tropical gardens magically emerge from snow-clad mountains. But the Telugu director’s imaginary world in the first film of a two-part epic fantasy fits in so well with the story that such discrepancies don’t matter.

For two-and-a-half hours, “Bahubali” consistently delivers top-class entertainment and spectacle, which is not true of any movie to have come out of Bollywood in a long, long time. Rajamouli’s scale and vision are as towering as the waterfall that forms a crucial part of the film’s backdrop.

The film’s biggest achievement comes from the fact that it marries Hollywood’s grandeur of scale with an inherently Indian tale of good and evil. And the result is a near-perfect mix of entertainment.

Rajamouli never lets the story slacken, revealing twist after twist right until the end. He uses every single cliché – song and dance, mother-son bond, good-versus-evil battle and sibling rivalry – but doesn’t stereotype them.

The cast blends perfectly with the look of the film. Prabhas is the perfect male specimen, with rippling muscles and washboard abs, displaying charm and intensity with equal ease.

Daggubati looks menacing and Bhatia has more to do than just simper and smile, which is a big deal for a movie like this. In fact, the women in “Bahubali” are more than just decorative items, which is worth applauding, because it is easy to make it into a film about machismo.

The film is an adrenaline rush, a spectacle of the kind we haven’t seen from an Indian film-maker before and hopefully it is a sign of good things to come.

Screen Rant: no.12 in world, outside Hollywood

Screen Rant

More than a year after Bahubali: The Beginning (2015)’s release, Screen Rant put it at no. 12 among ‘15 Foreign Blockbusters Hollywood Wishes They’d Made.’ Kurosawa’s masterpiece Ran headed the list, with Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at no. 3.

About Bahubali the site’s Theo Prasidis wrote, ‘This list could not go without an entry from Hollywood’s biggest rival, Bollywood. One of the most hugely invested and massively productive national film industries in the world, with more than 1500 films each year, Indian cinema is known for its flamboyant, wildly imaginative extravaganzas. South Indian director S.S. Rajamouli’s historical/fantasy epic Baahubali: The Beginning is one of its most magnificent creations.

‘With a satisfactory storytelling and decent performances by a glowing cast, …some viewers may find Rajamouli’s filmmaking a bit over the top, but his grandiose vision is unlike anything seen in Western cinema. Featuring sweeping battle sequences and gorgeous musical acts, the film is so full of eye-candy you won’t be able to look away from the screen from beginning to end.

‘The highest grossing Indian film within India [not correct] and third globally, it was cleverly marketed via social media campaigns, smartphone apps, cosplay events and setting the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest poster.’

Variety.com

Patrick Frater, Variety.com

‘ “Baahubali,” the …action epic, looks on course to break the opening day record for an Indian film release. Unofficial data puts the film on a first day gross of $12 million.

‘The film is seen as a major test of the countrywide and international commercial viability of movies from India’s lesser known Tollywood and Kollywood industries.

‘The two-part film was directed by SS Rajamouli and produced by Arka Mediaworks on a budget of $40 million. P&A costs are estimated at a modest $1.5 million, as the production predominantly used social media to connect with the key South Indian audiences and avoided posters or TV advertising…in North India, conventional TV advertising was used to create awareness of the upcoming event film.’

National

CNN-IBN news network

Rajeev Masand, CNN-IBN

The film is exactly what a blockbuster should be

Rating: 4 / 5

[I]t's an ambitious work from a visionary filmmaker who skillfully blends a tale of old school palace politics with modern VFX to deliver a consistently watchable blockbuster.

Save for a few unconvincing bits, including an escape from an oncoming avalanche that looks completely fake, the VFX in Bahubali are more sophisticated than what we've seen in most Indian films. Art director Sabu Cyril employs them niftily to give depth and scale to his magnificent sets, and cinematographer KK Senthil Kumar gives us beautiful vistas combining the real and the computer-generated more-or-less seamlessly.

From the tropical landscapes of Avatar and the bloody battles of The Lord of The Rings films, to the images from [Indian epics] the Mahabharata and the Ramayana that it evokes, Rajamouli’s film hat-tips to its various influences without ever stealing from any.

But the film's secret sauce is Rajamouli's expert handling of the simple but dependable screenplay, his ability to whip up rousing moments, and his skill at mining emotions from even clichéd scenarios. He is aided by an impressive cast who're at the top of their game, including Ramya Krishna as just queen Sivagami, and Sathyaraj as Katappa, loyal senapati of Mahishmati. Rana Dagubatti has a strong presence, and invokes fear by simply bulging those eyes. Prabhas lets his hulking physicality do the bulk of work for him, but brings much by way of performance through his sheer intensity.

Hugely entertaining, without ever being dumb.

The Hindu

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo wrote: “Bahubali is several notches higher than a regular Telugu film. But it was meant to be a game changer, not a regular film. If a spellbinding saga is what you go looking for, some portions can leave you underwhelmed. The writing could have been better. Yet, there’s so much to root for. As for part two, bring it on!”

The Indian Express

Shubhra Gupta wrote

“I have to say that I dread long-drawn skirmishes between armor-clad armies (having suffered through Peter Jackson’s never-ending battles) because they turn so turgid and dull so fast, but the battle scenes in Bahubali are completely engrossing”

The Times of India

By Renuka Vyavahare

Critic's rating: 3.5/5

Avg readers' rating: 4.5/5

‘…manages to enthrall you with its sheer scale and grandeur. Painstakingly made, paying acute attention to detail for the minutest of sound and visuals, Rajamouli… ensures that the larger-than-life execution matches his grandiose vision. It doesn't lack emotional resonance. It manages to be much more than a blood-soaked romp. The heart of the film lies in the simple thought that good is mightier than evil.’

Telugu critics

Pravallika Anjuri wrote in Filmi Beat that Baahubali ‘opened to mixed reviews from Telugu critics.’ (Please to note the relatively subdued tone of Sangeetha Devi Dundoo’s review in The Hindu (above), compared to the gushing excitement among Hindi-Urdu reviewers and international reviewers.)

Box office and other earnings

Sources include

KoiMoi.com<>KoiMoi.com <>KoiMoi.com<>Joginder Tuteja, KoiMoi.com <> Prakash Upadhyaya, International Business Times<> IANS/ First Post <> Patrick Frater, Variety.com <> The Times of India<>KoiMoi.com <> KoiMoi.com <> KoiMoi.com <> Joginder Tuteja, KoiMoi.com<>Shekhar H Hooli, IBTimes<> KoiMoi.com<>KoiMoi.com<> KoiMoi.com <> KoiMoi.com <> KoiMoi.com <>Raymond Ronamai, KoiMoi.com <>IBTimes <>PinkVilla <> The Wiire<> KoiMoi.com<>Ankita Mehta, IBTimes<>IBTimes, citing IANS<>The Wiire <> Box Office Hits<>Shekhar H Hooli, IBTimes<>Shekhar H Hooli, IBTimes<>KoiMoi.com<>Shekhar H Hooli, IBTimes<>Shekhar H Hooli, IBTimes<>Prakash Upadhyaya, IBTimes<>Shekhar H Hooli, IBTimes<>Prakash Upadhyaya, IBTimes<>Shekhar H Hooli, IBTimes <> Shekhar H Hooli, IBTimes<>Joginder Tuteja, KoiMoi.com<>Shekhar H Hooli, IBTimes

Total of all language versions

Bahubali was released on a reported [1] 4200 screens worldwide. (THR, a reliable authority, put the number of screens as 4,650. Therefore, 4,200 screens must be domestic.)

Bãhubali: The Beginning created Indian national history by earning Rs50 crore on Day 1, Rs.153 crore in its First Weekend and an estimated Rs 255 crore gross (net: Rs 185.69 crore) [2] in its first week worldwide. It, thus, set new records for the Day 1, First Weekend and First Week collections of an Indian film in any language.

Day 1: Rs50 crore

First Weekend Rs.153 crore

First week Rs 255 crore gross (net: Rs 185.69 crore)

After Day 9:

i) at the end of Day 9 Bahubali had grossed Rs.303 crore worldwide

ii) Bahubali became the first Indian film to gross Rs.300 crore in just 9 days.

11 days’ total Rs 349.50 Crore (all languages)

After 12 days Rs 365 crore

13 days’ total US $59 million (Rs 375 crore) worldwide, according to Forbes

14 days’ total Rs 385 crore

Second week: Rs 130 crore (worldwide)

15 days’ total: Rs 401 crore (Rs 282 crore net) (at the end of the third Friday)

16 days’ total: Rs 416 crore gross

17 days’ total: Rs 425 crore (Rs 302 crore net worldwide; distributors’ share: Rs 236 crore approx.)

18 days’ total: ₹435 crore gross

21 days' total: Rs462 Crore

(Third week total: Rs 77 crore)(approx.. Rs 41 gross in its third weekend + Rs 36 crore gross 3rd Mon- to 3rd Thurs)

22 days' total: Rs.468.4 crore

4th Friday and 4th Saturday: Rs 24 crore gross

23 days' total: Rs.485 crore (about Rs 370 crore net, Worldwide distributors' share Rs 268 crore)

Shekhar H Hooli, IBTimes wrote after 23 days: ‘In recent years, a trend has emerged where any big movie loses 80% of its opening day screen count in three weeks. But "Baahubali the Beginning" seems to be an exception, as it continues to drive movie buffs to theatres even after three weeks. The movie has reportedly been successful in retaining nearly 2,000 screens across the globe in its fourth week and has continued to keep cash registers ringing.’

Fourth weekend: Rs 38 crore

24 days' total Rs 502 crore gross.

Fourth Monday + Tuesday: Rs 13 crore gross worldwide

26 days' total Rs 515 crore globally

38 days' total Rs 577 crore globally

50 days' total Rs.581 crore plus globally

8th week: Rs 3 crore,worldwide

After 56 days Rs 598 crore worldwide (IBTimes) (According to Desire Trees this landmark was achieved after 72 days)

After 59 days Overseas total (as on 22 Sept 2015): $10,992,455 (Rs 71.62 crore) Details below

After 77 days ₹ 600 Crore mark crossed(Desire Trees)

'Lifetime' i) A site whose accuracy is not known says that Bahubali has made Rs.616 crore worldwide.

GRAND (LIFETIME) TOTAL

After 87 days there were doubts about the Rs. 600 crore figure having been reached, leave alone having been crossed. Shekhar H Hooli, I B Times, October 8, 2015 reported that:

a) The film had earned Rs 302 crore for its distributors. They had actually received the money, therefore, this much was certain.

b) The respected website Andhra Box Office, which goes into distributor-wise details, said that the film had earned Rs 586.45 crore (total worldwide gross) till then.

The territory-wise gross earnings of The Beginning were:

Nizam/ AP: Gross Nizam Rs 71.65 crore; Ceded Rs 28.5 crore;

Nizam/ AP: Distributor's share Vizag Rs 9.7 crore; East Om Sri Manikanta Rs 9.45 crore; West Rs 7.80 crore; Krishna Rs 6.80 crore; Guntur Rs 10.25 crore; Nellore Rs 4.65 crore;

NIZAM/ AP TOTAL Gross: Rs 174.35 crore; Distributor's share: Rs 113.75 crore;

Karnataka Gross: Rs 79.2 crore;

Tamil Nadu Gross: Rs 75.5 crore;

Kerala (+TV rights) Gross: Rs 13 crore;

Rest of India Gross: Rs 169.3 crore; (almost as high as in Nizam/ AP)

Indian domestic total Rs 511.35 crore was the figure accepted by the respected Andhra Box Office.

However, going by KoiMoi even this seems on the high side. Two years later, in 2017, when part 2 was released, the widely accepted lifetime domestic total for Part 1 was put at Rs 419 crore (KoiMoi.com)

Overseas Gross: Rs 75.1 crore;

WORLDWIDE TOTAL Rs 586.45 crore (Andhra Box Office)

OR

Rs495 crore (Using KoiMoi's domestic figure)


Rs495 crore or Rs 586.45 crore, either way for a hile Bahubali: The Beginning was India’s third biggest hit ever, before Bajrangi Bhaijaan pushed it to the no.4 spot among India's all time hits--till then. That too was very high rank.

Besides, the lifetime of Bahubali: The Beginning (2015) is far from over, as the results of its triumphant march into 5,000 Chinese screens are awaited. Indpaedia's assessment is that it will match or beat 'PK' in China.


The changing power of the different language versions: Hindi-Urdu emerges at the top

Indpaedia had initially arranged the section on language-wise receipts according to the film’s initial business, in this order: Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi-Urdu and then overseas.

The craze among Hindi-Urdu audiences and non-Indian overseas audiences in the first week was such that the order of this section has been rearranged to Telugu, Hindi-Urdu, overseas, Tamil and then Malayalam. Karanataka (all language versions) was added and put above Malayalam.

The gap between Telugu (Rs 62.1 crore) and Hindi-Urdu (Rs.46.77 crore) was extremely narrow and in the course of the film’s first run itself, Indpaeda predicted, it would get narrower still. And that was exactly what happened. By the 87th day the Rest of India (not counting the Southern states) had almost matched Nizam/ AP's total; and if the other Southern states are included, the Rest of India had greatly outstripped Nizam/ AP.

(Overseas fetched more than Tamil or Malayalam but being a separate category, it has also been listed separately.)

Day 1 records:

Occupancy in South India was almost 90 to 100%, in the other regions of India it was more than 55%. Movie lovers broke theatre windows to enter in Pavagada, Karnataka.

Day 1: All-India gross: Rs50 crore

In addition, it earned Rs.16 crore overseas.

Hence worldwide gross for Day One: around Rs.66 crore. (According to IB Timesit was approximately Rs 75 crore gross and Rs 62 crore net).

Gross in all languages put together

Friday 10 July (Day 1): Rs.50 crore (approx.)

Saturday 11 July: Rs.48 crore

Sunday 12 July: Rs.55 crore

First weekend total: Rs.153 crore gross

Previous record:

Happy New Year Rs.108 crore over the opening weekend.


Day 18 (third Monday)

₹10 crore gross (₹4 crore in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, ₹4 crore Hindi-Urdu, ₹1.50 crore Karnataka + Tamil Nadu + Kerala, ₹50 lakh overseas).

Indpaedia had predicted that the gap between the daily collections of the Telugu and Hindi-Urdu versions would narrow with every passing day. On the 18th day there was no gap. After this, further business for ‘The Beginning’ (and a very big chunk of business for ‘The Conclusion’) is more likely from the Hindi-Urdu version.

Domestic box office performance

Telugu

Between Thursday 9 July premieres and Friday 10 July, the film collected Rs.14.96 crore

By the end of the first Friday its cumulative from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was Rs34 crore ($5.37 million).

First week net collection from AP/ Telangana: Rs.62.1 crore

The territory-wise break up is: Vizag Rs 5.67 crore; Godavari East Rs 5.23 crore; Godavari West Rs 4.50 crore; Krishna Rs 3.68 crore; Guntur Rs 5.52 crore; Nellore Rs 2.25 crore; Ceeded territories Rs 12.15 crore; Nizam Rs 23.09 crore

Hindi-Urdu

Friday 10 July: i) According to most sources (and accepted by Indpaedia): Rs.5.15 crore (a record for a film dubbed into Hindi-Urdu); ii) According to Boxofficeindia.com: Rs 4.25 crore net.

Saturday 11 July: i) According to most sources (and accepted by Indpaedia): Rs 7.09 crore; ii) According to Boxofficeindia.com: Rs 6.25 crore net.

(Total of Days 1 and 2: Rs 12.24 crore)(a record for a film dubbed into Hindi-Urdu)

Sunday 12 July: Rs.10.11 crore

Opening weekend, three-day total: Rs 22.35 crore

Monday 13 July: Rs.6.10 crore (This strong Monday showing is unusual for a film in any language. Bahubali bucked the Monday blues.)

Day 5 (Tues 14 July): Rs 6.15 crore

Day 6 (Wed 15 July) Rs6.05 crore

(It is extremely unusual for weekdays to bring in even more revenues than the 1st Friday, and a record-beating First Friday at that. All this is due to the excellent word of mouth generated among Hindi-Urdu audiences)

Six day total Rs40.65 crore

Day 7: Rs 6.12 crore

First week net collection: Rs 46.77 crore

Day 8 collections: Rs. 3.25 crore (reduced because of the release of Bajrangi Bhaijaan)

Eight day total collections: Rs 50.02 crore net

Day 9 (2nd Saturday): Rs 4.70 crore (which is a 9th day record for an Indian film dubbed into Hindi-Urdu, especially considering that it was blockbuster Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s second day).

Summary of the Bajrangi Bhaijaan vs. Bahubali clash:

i) Bahubali made a dent in Bajrangi Bhaijaan's opening weekend in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and other southern cities.

ii) Bajrangi Bhaijaan was able to dampen Bahubali only on BB's opening day; from the next day Bahubali resumed its record breaking spree in North India as well.

Day 10 (Sunday): Rs.5.40 crores

Ten day total: Rs60.12 crore.

Day 11 (2nd Monday) Rs3.82 crore (higher than 2nd Friday!)

11 day total Rs63.94 crore (domestic)

Day 13 (2nd Wednesday) Rs3.05 crore

13 day total Rs70.19 crore

Day 14 Rs2.60 crore

14 day total Rs.72.89 crore

Day 15/ 3rd Friday Rs3.10 crore

Day 16/ 3rd Saturday Rs4.35 crore

Day 17/ 3rd Sunday Rs 5.11 crore

Third weekend (15th to 17th days) RsRs12.56 crore.

17 day total

17 day total Rs85.71 crore (Hindi-Urdu domestic alone)

21 day total (three-week total) Rs95.76 crore

24 day total Rs.100 crore plus

28 day total Rs.105 crore plus

32 day total Rs. 113.95 crore

50 day total Rs. 117 crore (this, as Joginder Tuteja points out, is more than what was collected by Salman Khan’s not-a-hit Jai Ho, Shahrukh Khan’s much-hated-but-high earning Ra. One; and Aamir Khan's superhit (but a few years old) Ghajini. Bahubali I’s success is noteworthy because its dubbed version beat the primary versions of these three superstars’ films.

Tamil Nadu

Day 1: Rs5 crore ($800,000)

In Chennai "Baahubali" collected ₹1.66 crore from 363 shows from Tamil and Telugu versions, this being a record for a film dubbed into Tamil from Telugu. (It beat the Kamal Haasan starrer "Papanasam,"which collected only ₹84.85 lakh from 246 shows in the same three days: though this was Papanasam’s second weekend.)

In Tamil Nadu as a whole it collected ₹10.25 crore in the first two days, and around ₹17 crore from the Tamil and Telugu versions in the three-day weekend.

First week net collection: Rs 25 Crore

After 21 days in Chennai: Rs. 5.52 crore (Tamil+Telugu)

After 21 days in Tamil Nadu: Rs.53 crore net; Rs.64 crore gross (Tamil+Telugu)

Chennai fourth weekend Rs.59.73 lakh; 3rd Mon to 3rd Thurs Rs.57.93 lakh.

After 23 days in Tamil Nadu: Gross: 'close to' Rs.70 crore

Karnataka

First week net collection: Rs 10 Crore

Malayalam

Day 1: Rs7crore ($1.11 million) from Kerala

First week net collection: Rs 4 Crore

Overseas box office performance

Summary

The first 24 days (4 weekends)

i) Broke the first day record of PK

ii) Total earnings (gross) in 38 days: Rs 71.30 crore/ $10,945,623

iii) The Hindi-Urdu and even Tamil versions continued to be screened after the Telugu version was discontinued throughout the overseas market in its fifth week.

iv) Total for the Hindi-Urdu version after 24 days:

In the USA: $ 441,914 (Rs 2.88 crore)

In Canada: $ 107,320 (Rs 70.14 lakh)

v) Total for the Tamil version after 24 days:

In Australia: $ 303,039 (Rs 1.45 crore)

In Malaysia: MYR 1,107,188 (Rs 1.76 crore)

Fun facts

The Hollywood Reporter gave the following box office facts:

The film opened across 4,650 screens worldwide.

Baahubali also recorded the highest opening weekend ever for an Indian film at the U.S. box office, collecting $3 million, according to Rentrak, landing in the 11th spot. According to the producers, Baahubali also picked up another $1.4 million from Thursday preview shows.

The first part of a planned two-part epic has become the fastest Indian film to cross the 1 billion [100 crore] rupee ($16 million) mark, the local standard for a strong box-office performer. According to the producers, the film's opening weekend box-office revenue reached almost $25 million (1.63 billion/ 163 crore rupees), considered the highest for any Indian film ever.

After 59 days

Source: IB Times

i) Overseas total (after 59 days, i.e. as on 22 Sept 2015): $10,992,455 (Rs 71.62 crore)

1 a) USA total: $7,514,643 [Rs 48.31 crore]

1 a a) Telugu version total in the USA: $6,460,124 [Rs 41.45 crore]

1 a b) Tamil version total in the USA: $567,227 [Rs 3.63 crore]

1 a c) Hindi-Urdu version total in the USA: $4,87,292 [Rs 3.23 crore]

Select details

North America

Opening weekend

First weekend (including Thursday previews in some places): $4.5 million (Rs28.6 crore) in North America

USA

Telugu

Thursday 9 July: $ 1,360,201

Friday 10 July: $ 999,975

(Rs 14.96 crore in two days) Patrick Frater, Variety.com estimated a gross $2.5 million from Friday and Thursday night previews.

Opening weekend: Rs.26.66 crore from 170 screens

Day 5: Tuesday $186,575

Day 6: Wednesday $155,318

Day 7: Thursday $100,441

Day 8: 2nd Friday $288,245

Day 9: 2nd Saturday $439,945

Total of 9 days: $5,665,384 (₹ 35.96 crore) according to Taran Adarsh

Second weekend: $941,444 according to Bollywood Hungama

Total of 10 days: ₹37.42 crore ($5,878,637) according to Bollywood Hungama


Tamil

Thursday 9 July: $ 10,850

Friday 10 July: $ 50,821

(Rs39.08 lakh in two days)

Opening weekend: Rs.1.41 crore from 66 screens

Total for opening weekend in the USA: just under $4.5 million

First week total: Rs 30 crore

Second weekend: $146,090

Total of first 10 days: ₹2.85 crore ($448,769).

USA total (Telugu + Tamil) First 10 days Rs₹40.27 crore.

Hindi-Urdu

Fourth weekend: $ 30,891 from 11 screens

Canada

Thursday 9 July: $ 21,875 (paid previews)

Friday 10 July: $ 25,342

(Rs 23.63 lakh from just two screens)

Patrick Frater, Variety.com estimated $1 million from overseas territories other than the USA are expected to weigh in for combined.

Opening weekend/ Canada

(Telugu version) Rs. 51.65 lakh from 2 screens

(Tamil version) Rs.13.85 lakh from 3 screens.

Hindi-Urdu version:

Fourth weekend: $ 1,937 from one screen

UK and Ireland

Opening weekend

(Telugu version) Rs31.55 lakh from 10 screens

Australia

Opening weekend

Tamil version: Rs25 lakh from 18 screens.

Sixth weekend: A$ 4,358 from two screens (Tamil)

Malaysia

Tamil version:

Sixth weekend: MYR 507 from one screen

Overseas other than USA

First week net collection: Rs 8 Crore

Opening weekend overseas Rs ₹29.57 crore

Overseas (including USA)

Sixth weekend (total for all overseas in Hindi Urdu and Tamil, Telugu having been discontinued): $36,162 (Rs 23.57 lakh)

For comparisons with other Indian films, see Box office records of Hindi-Urdu films

Pre-release business

Initial expectations

Overseas rights were to be sold for a record Rs9 crore

Telugu version alone: AP/Nizam+ KA + overseas theatrical rights were sold for Rs88 crore

plus

Rest of India and satellite etc rights: Just under Rs.18 crore.

Total for Telugu: Rs. 105 crore

Dubbed Tamil and Hindi Versions Their theatrical and satellite are said to have sold for Rs.15-25 crore

Total in all languages: ‘a minimum of 120 Cr and upto 140Cr rivalling Robo in Terms of Pre Release Business,’ Andhra Box Office.com had reported on Aug 12, 2014.

It revised its own estimate a few months later Andhra Box Office.com, with the following details.

Actual amounts sold for

After the media hype died down,

Bãhubali part 1 was reported to have actually been sold for the following sums:

i) The Telugu areas of Nizam (roughly: Telengana) and AP: Rs 66.05 crore (The break up was: Nizam Rs. 23 crore; ‘Ceded’ territories Rs. 13 crore; Vizag Rs. 7 crore; East Rs.5.05 crore; West Rs. 4.5 crore; Krishna Rs. 4 crore; Guntur Rs. 6 crore; Nellore Rs. 3.5 crore)

Karnataka (Telugu and other versions) Rs. 12 crore

Overseas (Telugu and Hindi versions) Rs. 11 crore

Total for the Telugu/ basic version: Rs. 89.05 crore

ii) Tamil Nadu: Rs. 13 crore

iii) Kerala (including Malayalam TV): Rs. 3.25 crore

iv) Rest of India: Rs. 10 crore [In the event, this was recovered in less than two days]

v) Overseas rights of the Tamil version: Rs. 2 crore

Worldwide theatrical Rs. 117.3 crore

vi) Audio and launch: Rs. 3 crore (sold to Lahari/ TV5)

vi) Satellite: Rs. 35-45 crore (sold to Star India, the figure had depended on the success of the Hindi-Urdu version; the film being a nationwide hit, the latter figure is the correct one)

vii) Video, digital, miscellaneous: Rs. 1 crore

Grand total Rs. 156-166 crore (outstripping Robot/ Endhiran)

Andhra Box Office: sold for Rs 117.3 crore

The respected website Andhra Box Office, which goes into distributor-wise details, said that the film had actually been sold, worldwide, for Rs 117.3 crore. The area-wise break up was:

Nizam Rs 23 crore; Ceeded Rs 13 crore; Vizag Rs 7 crore; East Rs 5.05 crore; West Rs 4.5 crore; Krishna Rs 4 crore; Guntur Rs 6 crore; Nellore Rs 3.5 crore; Nizam/AP Total Rs 66.05 crore;

Karnataka Rs 12 crore;

Tamil Nadu Rs 13 crore;

Kerala (+TV rights) Rs 3.25 crore;

Rest of India Rs 10 crore;

INDIAN DOMESTIC TOTAL Rs 104.3 crore;

Overseas Rs 13 crore;

WORLDWIDE TOTAL Rs 117.3 crore.

Distributors' post-release profits

(Not counting audio, video, satellite etc. rights)

Theatrical rights are said to have been sold for around Rs 140 crore. By its fifth week Bahubali: The Beginning gave a 150% return to its distributors.

Cast and crew

Cast

Prabhas Bãhubhali / Sivudu

Rana Daggubati Bhalladeva

Anushka Shetty Devasena

Tamannaah Bhatia Avanthika

Ramya Krishnan Sivagami

Nasser Bijjaladeva

Sudeep Aslaam Khan

Satyaraj Kattappa

Prabhakar Kalakeya Chieftain

The ‘Manohari’ girls

See the independent pages on

Gabriela Bertante

Nora Fatehi

Scarlett Mellish Wilson

Crew

Direction, screenplay: S.S. Rajamouli

Writers:

Madhan Karky ..

Rahul Koda

Vijayendra Prasad

Producers

Prasad Devineni

K. Raghavendra Rao

Shobu Yarlagadda

Music: MM Kreem

Cinematography Senthil Kumar

Film Editing Venkateswara Rao Kotagiri

Production Design Sabu Cyril

Art Direction Manu Jagadh

Technical specifications

Total playing time 2 hr 39 min

Sound Mix Dolby Surround 7.1

Aspect Ratio 1.78 : 1 / (high definition)

Camera Arri Alexa (ARRI RAW)

Bahubali 2

Part 2's release date, announced by Karan Johar, is April 28, 2017

See also

Bahubali: The Beginning (2015)

Bahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017)

Box office records of Hindi-Urdu films

Kabali

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