The nation will finally know why Kattappa killed Baahubali
Anybody associated with the making of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is understandably tight-lipped about its details, but one thing that we have been hearing consistently from everyone is that if you went gaga over Baahubali: The Beginning, be prepared to get blown away tomorrow.
Yes, the much-awaited sequel is going to hit the screens on Friday (April 28).
The performances, the emotions, the bloodshed; everything in part two will go up several notches. "The visual extravaganza of Mahishmati with all its architectural splendour and the keenest attention to detail, is taken to another level and literally upped by 10 times in part two," says Pete Draper, co-founder of Makuta VFX, the principal studio that has created the fantastic visual effects for the Baahubali series.
Draper showed us image after resplendent image of how a plain background transforms into pretty foliage or a raging fire or a sprawling palace. Taking off from the remarkable designs of art director, Sabu Cyril, the Makuta team worked on creating set extensions to virtually extend the actual physical live set. “The king’s court that was seen only from a distance in part one, we will see more closely, with greater richness of detail in the second part.”
This is the condition of #Baahubali2 booking at a hall in Delhi. That too on Monday. #Baahubali2Mania ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/sl86Xm3ohx
— Anushree???????????? (@2806anu) April 27, 2017
What we will also see enhanced in part two is the seamlessness of the virtual with the real. “We have polished our shading, lighting and compositing techniques from then to now to make it a lot more seamless and slick,” says Draper, adding that the best VFX is what you never see. “So you are never distracted from the story.”
A great amount of effort has gone into making the everyday — water or fire and facial animation — far more natural. “It is the tiny human errors that make CGI (computer-generated imagery) look real. These minute details or imperfections have to be put in, which take time and effort. To make it flawless, in that sense, we have been striving for imperfection,” he quips.
In the meanwhile, Annapurna Studios at Hyderabad has been like a fortress in itself with all resources involved in completing DI (digital intermediate) work for the last leg of post- production. Over the past two months, colour correction, fine-tuning every single shot and the final rendition of the film in multiple formats had been on in full rigour.
This section of the building was off-limits, manned by security all the time, till four days before the release. Among the several firsts associated with Baahubali, another one we hear about from CV Rao, GM post production at Annapurna Studios, is that it will be the first Telugu film to be released in IMAX format. “So, we get to see more of the magical world of Baahubali,” says Rao.
Outside Prasad’s IMAX, the queues of people braving the heat for tickets extends to three kilometers from the box office, with copious business transpiring in black on the side and traffic jams aplenty. Bookmyshow.com has sold over a million tickets for Baahubali 2: The Conclusion in one day.
A frenzied nation is waiting with bated breath to find out, in less than 24 hours, why kattappa killed Baahubali. After tomorrow, we can finally move on to other important questions in our lives.