Can't think of anyone else for Baahubali but Prabhas: Rajamouli

Barring the question, ‘why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?’ for which you have to watch the film, you can ask me any other query,” Rajamouli starts his conversation with a disclaimer.

“Though Baahubali is being released in two parts, for me, it is a single complete story and for commercial reasons, we say parts one and two.” Delving more on the two editions, he says, “Baahubali: The Beginning dealt more with the characters’ establishment and the real drama comes only in Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.”

He asserts that other than Prabhas, he can’t think of anyone else for the protagonist’s role. “When I decided to make the film in such a grand scale, I knew what kind of effort and commitment was needed for this canvas. Even before I discussed the story with Prabhas, he was already in.”

On the possibility of Baahubali 3, he said, “There won’t be a Baahubali part 3. When you are talking about the continuation of Baahubali, actually there are several back-stories that are associated with it which will later take precedence. These may appear in the form of animation series, comic books, virtual reality shows etc, and hence the world of Baahubali will continue.”(smiles)

Looks like awards don’t seem to fascinate Rajamouli — “I don’t aim at awards and make films. If I get it, they are a bonus.” On being called India’s Spielberg, he says, “Using visual effects as a tool is an art. Shyam Prasad Reddy garu from Telugu and Shankar from Tamil are masters in that art. We are learning from them. If you say we are their followers, I will be happy. Most importantly, 2.O and Baahubali, two of the biggest films of the decade coming from the south gives me contentment.” Though the talk on him making Mahabharata is in the news, he said it would take some more time.