Report by Janani K
“Have you watched MGR’s Adimai Penn?” asked a journalist well known for posing controversial questions at the thanksgiving meet of Baahubali. Prabhas was not exempt from his line of fire as well. The actor admitted to not watching the movie, but the journalist was far from done. Baahubali‘s script bears close resemblance to Adimai Penn, he said. Prabhas though, was quick with his response: a diplomatic one. “It was an honour to act in a movie that is on the lines of MGR’s Adimai Penn.”
The auditorium broke into a loud applause, and that effectively ended it once and for all.
Or so we thought, before said journalist asked the same thing of Ramya Krishnan!
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The Baahubali team was represented by Prabhas, Ramya Krishnan, producer Vamsi and KE Gnanavel Raja. While the presence of directors Lingusamy, M Rajesh, Sam Anton, music director-actor GV Prakash, producer CV Kumar and T Siva on stage got us thinking, their intentions soon became clear. They were here to shower praises.
Highlights:
1. T Siva was ‘mind-blown’ on seeing the extravagant visuals of Baahubali. He confessed that he dreamed of the lead characters of Baahubali even after a week.
2. Director Rajesh was confident that Baahubali will definitely break several other records.
3. Music director-actor GV Prakash said that it is a golden year for Tamil cinema and SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali is one of the reasons for it.
4. Director Lingusamy remarked that he was ‘mesmerized’ right from the first scene.
5. Producer CV Kumar spoke about Baahubali‘s near-perfect branding strategy which was apparently one of the reasons for its huge success.
6. Studio Green KE Gnanavel Raja was a happy man. He revealed that they were seated in a meeting on Baahubali‘s release day. “At around 11 am, the collection records started coming in, and we were all shocked to see the figures,” he added. Gnanavel Raja also revealed that the TRP rate of Naan Ee during its first time screening was higher when compared to another famous film that was telecast at the same time.
7. Actress Ramya Krishnan, seen wearing a black asymmetric top and red palazzo pants, thanked director Rajamouli for giving her the opportunity.
Prabhas Rapid-Fire:
1. “I would love to do a Tamil film if the right script comes across.”
2. The actor then dismissed rumors about his ‘impending marriage’ after the release of Baahubali.
3. “I was nervous while doing the scene in which I had to step on Sathyaraj. In fact, I requested Rajamouli to not include that scene as actor Sathyaraj is a huge star in Tamil Nadu. But Sathyaraj’s response on hearing about it was totally different. He said, ‘This scene is the highlight of the entire movie.'”
4. “Around 40% of Baahubali: The Conclusion is complete. We will begin shooting again in September, and the movie will definitely release in 2016.”
6. “There are no huge changes in the sequel, the basic story is still the same, but director Rajamouli keeps improvising on the sets, so I think he might change a few things on the spot.”
7. “There are a lot of Tamil directors I wish to work with in the industry. Director Shankar, Gautham Menon… the list is endless.”
