SS Rajamouli unveils the book cover of 'Baahubali - The Rise of Sivagani (Book 1 of Baahubali: Before the Beginning)

SS Rajamouli, the much celebrated director of the film ‘Baahubali’ announced that he may not want to end the euphoria and excitement surrounding the film, and may actually come up with Baahubali Part 3.

He revealed his wish during the launch of the cover of the book – ‘Baahubali – The Rise of Sivagami’ written by popular author Anand Neelakanthan. The book is the first one in the trilogy Baahubali – Before the Beginning. Actor Rana Daggubati and co-producer of the film Prasad Devineni were also present during the launch held at Jaipur Literature Festival 2017 on Friday.

Speaking at the launch Rajamouli shared, “When we were writing the story, we created these long questionnaires on all the characters. For example – we noted down questions like – What colour does Sivagami like, was she educated, was she poor, where did she live…The exercise was done for actors to totally understand the characters. But on the other hand I realized that it could lead to a series of books.”

“I contacted Anand Neelakanthan because I was extremely impressed by his book Asura, and wanted to share my ideas and ask his opinion, and then we hit it off and the meeting led to the book,” he added.

For Anand Neelakanthan, who is a huge fan of the film – it was a wish come true – “I actually hoped for Rajamouli to read my book ‘Asura’ and decide to make a film, but here it worked out in such a way that I started writing the trilogy. It is wonderful to work backwards from where the film begins.”

Interestingly the book is primarily focused on Sivagami – a character that received much acclaim in the film, and the cult character Kattappa , and there are a host of new characters created the author. The story begins with Sivagami as a child and goes on to chart out her transformation to being Queen Mother, and a woman of strong will.

“Anand has written a gripping story. He would send me a few chapters from time to time, I would finish them, and demand for more. The first book has a cliffhanger ending and much like the audience who await the film, I await what Anand has to reveal in his next book,” shared Rajamouli.

Rajamouli’s vision of Baahubali includes not just the two films. He is a visionary, who created a world of Baahubali - Comic books, live action series, VR experience, animation and now the books. We are glad to be associated with it,” shared Prasad devineni.

Rana Daggubati, who has garnered fans across India with his portrayal of the villain in the film, Bhallaladeva read out extracts from the book. The book, probably the first of its kind in Indian publishing where a film is lending itself to novels, will be released on March 7.