After using spectacular graphics and creating wonders in Baahubali, director Rajamouli has decided not to use them in his next film. This stunning disclosure was made by none other than his father and writer of the film, Vijayendra Prasad.
“The first thing Rajamouli told me was that he doesn’t want to use graphics in his next project.”
Reacting to the news that Baahubali is about to touch Rs 1,500 crore, he says, “It’s all God’s grace. We knew that our film is going to be a big hit, but never expected that it will become such a hit!” When asked if Salman Khan, who is very close to him as they had worked together earlier, had said anything about Baahubali, Prasad replies, “No, we haven’t spoken to each other as Salman was not in India at the time of the film’s release. Once he watches, I am sure he will speak about it.”
He also reveals who was behind the idea of Kattappa killing Baahubali. “Actually, we wanted to put the scene as the interval bang in the middle of the first part, but both Keeravani and Rajamouli decided to shift it to the end while they were editing. When they told me, I immediately agreed,” he reveals.
Denying rumours that he is writing a story for Pawan Kalyan, he says, “He has not called me nor have I approached him.” However, the rumours seem to have started because the part two interval idea came from Pawan Kalyan fans. “At a promotional event for the first part, when actor Sesh Adivi mentioned Pawan Kalyan’s name, the fans went gaga for over five minutes. It was then I realised that Pawan commands huge following, and the way people react on hearing his name. I used that in the second part of our film. When Baahubali’s name is uttered, we show people reacting the same way,” shares the writer.
Prasad is also providing stories for two Hindi sequels. “One is a sequel to Nayak (a remake of Arjun’s Tamil film Mudhalvan). The second one is a sequel to Rowdy Rathode (a remake of Telugu film Vikramarkudu) for Sanjay Leela Bhansali,” apart from penning a soap opera Aarambh for Star TV.
The writer is now gearing up to release his directional venture Srivalli, a scientific thriller. When asked about the bold scenes in the film, he replies, “It’s all part of the story. There are two things about nudity — one is to seduce somebody and make them react like a beast and the second one is thought-provoking. My film falls in the second category.”
Prasad is also writing the story for historic film Manikarnika, a story of woman warrior Jhansi Lakshmibhai. “We know very less about the great warrior, but more importantly, the British portrayed her wrongly. In our film, we show her as a typical Indian warrior woman with more insightful information.”
