Baahubali mania is here! The much-awaited sequel to
the 2015 blockbuster is here, and it mostly lives up to be the visual
masterpiece that SS Rajamouli and Karan Johar promised us for it to be.
Baahubali 2 released to packed houses and glowing reviews with special
mentions given to Prabhas and
Anushka Shetty’s performances, the visuals and the emotional drama. The
mystery behind Kattappa killing Baahubali may have come out to be
predictable and underwhelming but it worked well with the rest of the
proceedings. However, a weak climax and sudden shift of protagonists
do affect our immersive viewing experience. And yet Baahubali saga
remains to be an achievement in the right direction when it comes to
Indian cinema and also a lesson that when we have the vision and the
right determination, a magnum opus like Baahubali can be made.
Now there is a reason why Baahubali was made in Telugu and not in
Bollywood. First, if Baahubali had to be greenlighted by financiers,
they wouldn’t say yes to such a huge movie without roping in superstars.
And when we rope in the superstars, more than half the budgets would
have gone to their reimbursements, with little left for the technical
department to work. This is something that went wrong with last year’s
Mohenjo Daro. Then you also need to find an actor like Prabhas who
invested 5 years of his career in just one franchise, and had complete
trust in his director. This will not happen in Bollywood where most of
the stars live by the adage ‘out of sight, out of mind’. However, if
Rajamouli had thought of ever making Baahubali in Bollywood, we would have loved to see the below 7 actors play the iconic main roles.
Hrithik Roshan as Amarendra/Mahendra Baahubali
Hrithik Roshan has a great bod to pull off a role like Baahubali, and
he has also shined in a regal role in Jodha Akbar. This would also help
him rectify a disastrous fantasy period movie he has done before –
Mohenjo Daro. Coming to think of it, both Mohenjo Daro and Baahubali do
seem to have the same premise – son avenging father’s death and set in
ancient times.
Akshay Kumar as Bhallala Deva
If Hrithik Roshan takes on Baahubali, he needs to have a worthy
opponent to him, who is also slightly older to him. And we can;t think
of anyone better than Akshay Kumar to do the honours. The National award
winner has proven earlier with movies like Ajnabee and his upcoming
2.0, that he doesn’t mind taking on negative roles, as long as it has
something to appease his acting caliber.
Priyanka Chopra as Devasena
Anushka Shetty was brilliant as the fierce princess warrior, who
refused to be confined as just being an arm-candy. We need to have a
kick ass heroine to play her, and the first name that comes on the top
of our mind is Priyanka Chopra. She is adept at beating stuff out of
people with her involvement in the international series Quantico. She
also shares an easy chemistry with Hrithik as seen in movies like Krrish
franchise and Agneepath.
Katrina Kaif as Avanthika
Avanthika is a gritty rebel who also appears like an angel in
Shivudu’s imagination. Someone who fits that angelic description is none
other than Katrina Kaif. She has an incredible chemistry with Hrithik,
and she has also shown some of her action chops in Bang Bang.
Mithun Chakraborthy as Kattappa
Like Sathya Raj, even veteran actor Mithun has been a leading man for
years, before transitioning to popular supporting roles. He has the
likeable charm about him, while also being fierce when he wants. And
playing a warrior at his age in nothing new to him, as he has done once
in Veer.
Madhuri Dixit as Sivagami
Ramya Krishnan was fantastic as the Queen Mother who san spew fire
with her eyes, figuratively, while also being benevolent at the same
time. I can think of no one other than my all-time fave actress Madhuri
Dixit to take on this role. Having done movies like Mrityudand, Lajja,
this would be a perfect role for the terrific actress.
Anupam Kher as Bijjala
Remember Chaalbaaz? Or Jamairaja? Anupam Kher was simply superb in
both the movies, where he plays wily, scheming villains with a touch of
humour. As Bijjala, a role perfected by Nasser, Anupam Kher would easily
get into the skin of the character and make it a role worth
remembering.
Photo keeda-man: Neeraj Kathale
