Prabhas’ Bahubali series, the groundbreaking epic that redefined Indian cinema, remains a monumental achievement in storytelling and visual grandeur. Recently, writer Anand Neelakantan who penned novels based on the film’s world (Bahubali: The Rise of Sivagami, Chaturanga and Queen of Mahishmathi) shared his thoughts on the series’ worthiness for global recognition. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Neelakantan made a bold statement, claiming that Bahubali deserved an Oscar more than SS Rajamouli’s RRR.
When asked whether Prabhas’ Bahubali deserved to be India’s official entry to the Oscars, Neelakantan confidently responded, “Definitely! If you ask me, it deserved more than RRR.” He compared Bahubali to the legendary Mughal-E-Azam (1960), noting how the former similarly transformed Indian cinema. “Nothing has come after Mughal-E-Azam at that scale in the Indian film industry which changed the face of Indian cinema. After Bahubali, many films came like KGF and Kalki but the time when Bahubali came, it changed the entire film industry.”
He further elaborated, “It showed what is possible in the country by sticking to Indian stories fictional, of course but by Indian stories, we can create something universal. It represented our culture in one way.”
The Baahubali vs. RRR Debate
Neelakantan, while acknowledging RRR’s cinematic excellence, distinguished the two films. “RRR is a great film, but there’s a lot of fiction. Bahubali is also fiction but RRR used some historical characters and it is more of an entertainer.” He noted that his views are unbiased, as he joined the Bahubali team only for Part 2, while Part 1 had already been completed.
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“RRR is a great film cinematically but the story of Bahubali holds much more value. Even after 100 years, people will remember Bahubali. I don’t know the plight of RRR.” He emphasized Bahubali’s timeless impact, saying, “Like now, even after 10 years, people are talking about it, while how many people are talking about RRR?”
While RRR made history by winning an Oscar for Best Original Song, Neelakantan believes the legacy of Bahubali will endure far longer. His candid remarks highlight the unmatched cultural and cinematic value of Bahubali, a film that set new benchmarks for Indian storytelling on the global stage.
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