Writer-director K.V Vijayendra Prasad says the success of S.S Rajamouli-directed “Baahubali” should be celebrated as an achievement in Indian cinema and should not be restricted to one language or industry alone. Prasad, the father of Rajamouli, is the writer behind “Baahubali”, a film that was released on July 10 and has grossed over Rs. 350 crore worldwide in just ten days.
“The success of ‘Baahubali’ belongs to Indian cinema. Although it’s being celebrated as Telugu cinema’s biggest achievement, I feel it shouldn’t be restricted to one industry or language,” Prasad, who is extremely pleased with the overwhelming response to the film, told IANS. Originally made as a Telugu-Tamil bilingual, the film also released in Malayalam and Hindi.
“The fact that the film has been accepted nationally and has done well in other languages proves that it doesn’t belong to one industry. The success of the film is a big achievement in Indian cinema,” he said. He says audiences have a big contribution in this success. “Audiences decide the fate of any film. Nobody can guarantee the success of a film. When my son started working on ‘Baahubali’, he didn’t set out to make a blockbuster.
He made a film that we believed will be accepted globally and the numbers have proved it,” said Prasad, who has also penned the story of Salman Khan-starrer “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”. He’s pleased that both the films have been accepted unanimously.
“I’m happy that two good films have been unanimously appreciated and accepted. Even if I had not written these films, I’d have wished the same because only when good cinema gets its due credit, will we get more such films,” he added. If the Mahabharat was the inspiration behind “Baahubali”, Salman’s Eid release, which has already raked in over Rs. 100 crore in just three days, is inspired from an old Chiranjeevi film and also based on a real life story.
“Chiranjeevi’s 1987 Telugu film ‘Pasivadi Pranam’ moved me a lot. I wanted to rehash it and give it a contemporary touch. I had also learnt about the story of a Pakistani couple who came to India for their daughter’s heart surgery because they couldn’t afford it in their country,” he said.
“The parents were touched by the generosity of the Indians so much that they couldn’t stop talking about it. This got me thinking. I decided to work on a story that connected people over India-Pakistan border,” he added.