Q. Finally Baahubali is ready. Your thoughts at the end of the long journey?
At the end of a long journey, one will be exhausted. My mind is too tired to have any thoughts.
Q. It is touted as the most expensive film ever made in India. Would that be a correct estimate?
If you don’t take the stars’ remunerations into consideration yes, I think this is the most expensive film.
Q. You’ve told me in the past that you make films the way you want, irrespective of the financial considerations…
Did I? What do you mean by financial considerations? I always keep economics in my mind, but won’t let them dictate my creative freedom.
Q. How does the Tamil industry accommodate your vision each time?
In Tamil Nadu, a badly dubbed and mixed Magadheera released two years after the Telugu version released. Still it made a considerable impact. For Makkhi, we shot and released in Tamil simultaneously, which made a huge impact, and gave me a foothold in the Tamil industry. Even Baahubali was shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu. The pre-release business in Tamil is as good as Telugu. Whenever we have given a quality product, the Tamil audiences have been highly appreciative.
Q. Baahubali, like the much-celebrated Magadheera and some of your other works, is a period film. How do you explain your penchant for the past?
Amar Chitra Katha!!! Those comics, even today, transport me to those times. I have endless fantasies revolving around those stories set in the past. My excitement with that genre translates into my films.
Q. In your opinion, has Tamil cinema evolved over the years?
Along with the commercial potboilers, the Tamil field was always blessed with directors who made films ahead of their times.
Q. Baahubali was originally supposed to be in Tamil and Telugu. What prompted a Hindi version?
From the beginning itself, we had plans to dub and release it in Hindi. The success of Makkhi and the scale of Baahubali are the commercial reasons. The story being universal, with simple human emotions at the core, we are confident that it will appeal to Hindi-speaking audiences as well.
Q. When all the topnotch leading men of the South Indian film industry are pining to work with you, why did you pick Prabhas?
Prabhas himself is a huge star. We worked before on Chathrapathi and we clicked very well, both on the creative and personal front. I needed a giant of a man with royalty personified, but with a tender heart to play Baahubali. At the start, I told him I would need one year of his dates exclusively. He smiled and said I would be needing two years and kept himself free for the whole period. I don’t think I could have done this with anyone else.
Q. There are huge expectations from Baahubali. Do you feel burdened by the responsibility of continually delivering blockbusters?
I don’t feel burdened by my past successes. But I do feel the weight of the expectations of Baahubali. I try not to think about it and concentrate on how to get my shots right and polish the product as much as I can.
