Filmmaker Karan Johar on Sunday thanked the makers of “Baahubali” for letting him being a small part of the project. He also said he doesn’t even have ten percent of director S.S Rajamouli’s gumption.
Johar, who had acquired the theatrical rights of the Hindi version of “Baahubali” franchise, said “Baahubali” is “probably the greatest film ever made”.
At the pre-release event of “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion” here, Johar said: “This is the biggest movie event in the history of Indian cinema and I have to say I’m amazed. This is pure dedication, pure strength and this is what I want to go back and teach.”
At the event, a special audio-video on Johar’s career was screened. He said he was “stumped”.
“‘Baahubali’, 67 years later, has beaten the magic created by ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ on screen. Rajamouli’s cinema has soul, his personality has gumption and I don’t think I even have ten percent of it,” he said.
Producer Shobu Yarlagadda thanked Johar for helping them conquer one of the toughest industries (Bollywood) with “Baahubali”.
“We went to Karan Johar to take ‘Baahubali’ out of Tollywood. When he saw the film, he could see the potential in it. Since he believed in the film and put his name on it, we could conquer Bollywood market. Thank you, Karan Johar, for being a part of this journey,” Yarlagadda said, and added that the film wouldn’t have happened if everybody didn’t stick together for five years.
“Baahubali 2: The Conclusion” is slated for release on April 28. The film will finally shed the light on why Kattappa killed Baahubali.
Veteran Tamil actor Sathyaraj plays Kattappa in the franchise. On the occasion, he finally revealed why he killed Baahubali.
“Producer Shobu paid me very well to kill Prabhas. My director Rajamouli asked me to kill Baahubali, and I obliged. Why would I kill Prabhas otherwise'” he asked, with laughter.
Sathyaraj also said that though he has starred in over 250 films, the world knows him as Kattappa.
Tamannaah Bhatia, who plays princess Avantika in the film, said it’s once in a lifetime experience to be part of “Baahubali”.
She thanked Rajamouli for giving her the opportunity.
“Though it’s been two years since the release of first part, people are still excited as though it released last week,” she said.
At the event, the film’s audio was also launched. Composer M.M Keeravani explained the music behind the trailer of “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion”, which has clocked over 100 million views.
Actress Anushka Shetty said that each and every one of them got to learn something from each other while working on the project.
“While all of us put in so much of effort in the film, Prabhas dedicated five years of his life. All of us are proud of him,” she said.
Actor Rana Daggubati, who plays Bhallala Deva in the film, said every minute of the last five years was close to his heart.
He said that he will miss working on the project.
When Rajamouli finally arrived on stage, he had a lot of people to thank. From policemen who helped the conduct the event smoothly to his crew members, he extended heartfelt gratitude.
On a concluding note, Rajamouli thanked his wife Rama for being his support and keeping his grounded.
