A visual delight

new waterside view.

There’s a lot more in this fairytale world too: A new city where Baahubali (Prabhas) meets his future wife, Devasena (Anushka Shetty); splendid moonlit war scenes featuring cattle with fire in their horns, eagles carrying messages and Disneyesque palatial ships that fly.

There is an anthem for Mahishmati as well.

In any movie of such extravagant scale, there is the risk that one faltering moment will shatter the illusion entirely.

But Baahubali 2 never falters. Its cinematography and CGI are flawless.

The Conclusion begins seamlessly, just where it left off in the first movie, with Kattappa narrating the story of Mahishmati.

Soon enough, Baahubali enters, to tame an elephant gone wild. He is greeted with cheers from the early-morning audience. Clearly Prabhas is now a superstar; even at 8.30 am the hall is full bit slack in the first half; the long courtship episode with warrior princess Devasena doesn’t help; Kattappa turns into an archetypal comic sidekick.

The film gets its pace back and there are some brisk twists and turns involving a rejected marriage proposal, a new king and Baahubali being made army chief.

The cast is obviously in their element. Daggubati is marvellous as an all-powerful and commanding king; he holds up the tension of the plot beautifully. Ramya Krishnan is imposing and Sivagami.

The other female leads, however, continue to disappoint. As in the first part, Princess Avanthika (Tamannah Bhatia) and Devasena both start off as ace warriors, only to have their characters tamed into stereotypical damsels in distress.

Shetty still manages a strong performance, balancing eeriness and charm.

All in all, Baahubali is likely to be a delight for those who enjoy visual acrobatics. If you’re looking for subtlety, intricacy of plot andrawtalent youmightwantto