`Kattappa ne Baahubali ko kyu maara?` is a question that had the nation hooked after the release of SS Rajamouli`s `Baahubali: The Beginning` in 2015. Starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan and Tamannaah Bhatia in pivotal roles, the film became a massive blockbuster across the nation making the term `pan-India` popular. Now, stories from the world of SS Rajamouli`s `Baahubali` will be taken forward in the form of an animated series. `Baahubali: Crown of Blood` that is currently streaming on Disney+Hotstar sees brothers Amarendra and Bhallaldeva unite to fight a common enemy.
Sharad Devarajan, the series creator and CEO of Graphics India, aims at boosting animation storytelling through `Baahubali: Crown of Blood`. “There`s a beautiful part of the movie where we see the Princes` growing up and competing for the throne,” says Devarajan explaining that `Crown of Blood` is set in a time period before they fought for the throne and a little after their growing up years.
He explains, “Rajamouli was so brilliant when he created this universe. After the first film, he showed me the amount of stories that he had developed over years to try and really craft this amazing world that he had built. What we saw on the movie screens was just a fraction of all that. And he left these wonderful spaces within the films to allow us to go much deeper. This will reveal secrets they never knew before.”
“Through this series, you will find so many more things that you never even knew were possible and what motivated some of these characters, the rise of how they became who they are,” he said adding that the series can also be enjoyed even without having watched the films.
Baahubali in the world of animation?
The world of Baahubali as created by SS Rajamouli involves complexities in characters, plots and larger-than-life sets. Will animation be able to do justice to the world? “We`ll be treating animation in a very sophisticated way. The same tonality, complexity of narrative, complexity of drama and characters is what we`re trying to bring to animation for India.”
“The key is not to try and ape the other mediums,” says Devarajan delving into the challenges of animation storytelling in the country. “Because clearly, one thing that no one can replicate is when Rajamouli sir is actually directing a film. That is a true genius of craft. And any film he ever does is such a labor of love, it`s like watching a Da Vinci masterpiece. So from our point of view was to use the medium of animation as best we could, and to try and play within the boundaries of what we`re trying to do in an episodic format for that.
