Bāhubali: The Beginning

Raised among a tribe, Sivudu finally learns what lies above the waterfall he has been trying to climb since childhood: the kingdom of Mahishmati, the imprisoned princess Devasena and his own identity. His name is Mahendra Baahubali and the throne is his. S. S. Rajamouli directed. At 170 crore rupees, roughly 26.4 million dollars, it was the most expensive Indian film ever made at the time. It was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil. The box office set records: between 600 and 650 crore rupees worldwide. It took the biggest opening weekend in the history of Indian cinema and became the second-highest-grossing Indian film globally at the time. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 91 percent. One critic called it full-tilt, fully-assured filmmaking of a very high order. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, the first Telugu film to do so, along with Best Special Effects, and became the first Indian film nominated for a Saturn Award. The question at the end became a cultural event: why did Kattappa kill Baahubali. Its success launched the pan-Indian film movement. Who it is for: viewers who like large-scale fantasy epic and outsized action. Who it is not for: anyone wanting realism. Physics is suspended on purpose and the story does not end until the second part.