It is the talk of the town, been that way literally, for the past year and a half and more. At about Rs. 180 crore, it is easily the biggest budget film that Telugu tinseltown has seen and one that took the longest to be made.
And now that the two-part ‘Bahubali’ is almost done and set to hit the screens in a few weeks, director S.S. Rajamouli and Arka Media are releasing one still a week or so, piquing the curiosity of fans. If it raised expectations, it also had its fair share of controversies generated by tech-savvy, film-crazy fans who had a ‘tit for tat’ for every visual.
Take for instance, the image of a child being held by a hand out of the water. No sooner than it was officially released to the media, social media and messaging networks saw a picture with a similar theme but one that showed two kids, ostensibly saying it was from an earlier English film, and suggested if it was an inspiration.
A couple of months ago, two reasonably-long videos found their way on a messaging network that actually made people believe that it was footage from the film ‘leaked’ by mischievous elements. There were some who said this was Rajamouli’s ploy, of continuing to keep attention riveted on his film. But whatever it was, fact remains that the Rajamouli of ‘Magadheera’ (2009), that was the biggest-ever grosser in the Telugu industry, remains unfazed.
This ‘Lion’ doesn’t roar
Two films short of his 100th movie, actor Balakrishna’s latest offering has failed to live up to the expectations of Nandamuri fans. ‘Lion’, with Trisha and Radhika Apte in the lead is being talked about as a disappointment due to the let-down in the technical departments as well as the predictable story narration. Though the audience as well as reviewers did not give a favourable verdict, they conveyed that the highlight of the movie was the acting and dialogue delivery of Balayya. Fans also have something to look forward to as the actor is all set to finalise his 99th movie soon.
