Global recognition gave me immense satisfaction, says SS Rajamouli

Ace director SS Rajamouli thanks three people for believing in his vision and backing him to the hilt. The revered director thanks his family for giving him complete freedom for five years in a freewheeling chitchat with Sridhar Adivi

How would you sum up the whole experience of the ‘Baahubali’ journey?
It’s been an incredible journey of five years. When we started out, we didn’t expect it would take five years. Three people primarily made this possible: The producers who believed in my vision and risked everything for this project, my family who gave their 100 per cent, took absolute care of me and ensured that I wasn’t bogged down in any way and finally, Prabhas who was a great source of motivation and inspiration to me. Now, that the entire work is over, I wish that there was still some work left to be able to spend time with the unit.

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What is the biggest takeaway from ‘Baahubali’ for the industry and Indian cinema in general?
Outside our country, Indian cinema is identified with either Bollywood or Shah Rukh Khan. They are completely unaware of the diversity of languages and cinema industries in our nation. Today, ‘Baahubali’ has come to be associated with Indian cinema and we are extremely proud of it. For example, in South Korea and other countries, we had people coming over and clicking selfies with the ‘Baahubali’ unit. This global recognition gives me immense satisfaction.

What aspect of the film did you work on for the sequel in particular after the release of the first part?
First of all, ‘Baahubali 2’ is not a sequel. ‘Baahubali’ is one complete story told in two parts. The CG works for the first part went on till the last minute. But for the second part, we were thoroughly prepared and ensured that we had a time period of nearly six months by delegating the works to different studios from October thereby sparing us last minute hassles. Also, there would be humor in the second part.

As a storyteller, how would you rate ‘Baahubali’ among all your films? Were you able to translate what you visualized 100 % on to screen?
Undoubtedly, ‘Baahubali’, especially the second part is my most satisfying film as a storyteller. I don’t think it is possible for any director to translate his vision 100 % on to screen. There are many practical difficulties and the key is to retain the soul of the original vision on location.

What after ‘Baahubali’? Have you redefined your ambition as a director?
Post ‘Baahubali’, I would like to take a vacation with my family. As for my ambition as a director, I’ve already realised it which was to become a top director. But I would genuinely love to make the ‘Mahabharata’. However, I neither have the skill set nor the energy to attempt it for at least another ten years. It’s in a completely different dimension.

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Shobu accuses Airlines of racism
Producer Shobu Yarlagadda, has accused the staff of a private airline staff of racist behaviour. On Tuesday, the team of Baahubali was returning from Dubai to Hyderabad after participating in a promotional event. Shobu took to Twitter to vent his anger. “Flying to Hyd on @emirates EK526. Airline staff at gate B4 were very rude n harassed our team unnecessarily! Bad attitude n service!” tweeted Shobu tweeted Shobu and added, “I think one of the @emirates staff was being racist. I fly @emirates regularly n this is 1st time I have come across this kind of attitude.”

By Sridhar Adivi

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