#team kuntala

[heyifinallyhaveablog]

For @ratnas-musings​ : Hope you like the GIF-s! :D

For the @teambaahubali​ Summertime Challenge

Fortnight Two (Bhumi): Meta 2: Naadaswaram Scene.(Baahubali: The Conclusion)

Amidst a plethora of scenes (read: the entire movie), this is yet another scene that stands out, both script-wise, and cinematography-wise. Script-wise, because, this sequence of celebration heralding a new life, actually precedes a tragedy that marks the end of one taken as a father figure in the land of Maahishmati. 

And cinematography-wise, well... here’s another hair-splitting.

1. The tone of the scene: The sequence marks a celebration, where Amarendra and Devasena eagerly anticipate their soon-to-arrive baby. Set designer Sabu Cyril accordingly sets the ambience with a lot of warm tones, mainly red and gold, yet again, as both the colours mark a celebration as well. It is also noteworthy that in such scenes, the gold is given greater preference over the warm-red, since this is supposed to be a very bright scene, as opposed to the previous meta I’d done which was supposed to be a grim scene, emphasising the antagonist’s anger. Now, I know this is supposed to be based on cinematographic factors, but in such period films, like Baahubali, Devdas, etc, there’s seldom a point in cinematography, that doesn’t contribute to the furtherance of the script. The movies that leave it to cinematography to do the heavy lifting, actually do not leave significant cinematic impression, examples of which abound. 

The hues, and tones used here, are bright and mild, as opposed to scalding, and scorching, to actually denote a celebration.

2. The lighting: Bright, warm lights, coupled with a simplistic, but majestic decor do the trick here. The viewer might as well note that the sequence takes place in an open area, as opposed to a grand palace, where nature plays the most part in decoration. The supplements come in the form of a blazing fire, bursting out in the background, as Amarendra, (a delight-to-behold Prabhaas), begins playing the instrument, the flowers showered aplenty at the end, et al. These, in turn further accentuate the mood of the sequence, making it resonate with the viewers here.

3. The camera angles: As opposed to many other sequences, the camera here has a wider scope of focus. This time, -again, in furtherance of the script- the camera takes into account the crowd, in keeping with the theme of inclusion intended to be magnified here. While it does focus on AmarSena (an ethereally beautiful Anushka as Devasena), it does so in conjunction with the crowd that loves and adores them both on and off camera.

[avani008]

Sivagami knows her duty to the Order; would even without a prophecy hanging over her head, but--there you have it. She has lived and worked and bled for the Jedi since she was barely three years old, her memories of Mahishmati--that far off home--now almost entirely faded. She knows, as do all the other Masters, that one day she will be the mother of the Chosen One, and it will be her responsibility to see him safely raised to his destiny. 

Sivagami knows her duty. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t glad to see the last of Senator Bijjaladeva, who the Council reckons has a bloodline equal to her own and fitting to father the future of the Jedi.

*

Bare months after she recovers from Bhalla’s birth, Sivagami is sent back to the half-forgotten planet of her birth to find it ravaged by war. In all the rubble, she finds a baby boy, orphaned all too soon, who clings to her fingers so, and--

Later, she claims to the Council the Force bid her save him. 

She lies.

*

She takes them both as her Padawans--unusual, but not unheard of--and the next ten years that follow are the happiest of her life. Sivagami requests mission after mission, each more dangerous than the last, intended to train the future Chosen One; and the Council is helpless to argue. So she has her starship, and her students, and all of space open before her; free from the petty politics that populate Coruscant. 

She takes them to Iego, to marvel at its angels; to Tatooine, to stare at twin suns; to Mustafar, to remind them of the fire from which they come. She holds their hands in her own, and she wants for nothing.

*

“It’s Baahu, isn’t it?” she asks, staring out the windows of the Temple without seeing. If so--if so--then, all she has believed was wrong, was for nothing....

“More ways than one there are,” replies Master Yoda. “To be a mother.”

Not for nothing, she reminds herself. Not so long as she has both her sons. She glows with pride in them, and in herself. 

*

And then.

And then Baahu disappoints her--disappoints them all--by quietly and implacably announcing his inability to keep the vows of the Order, all for some insignificant princess of an insignificant planet with no particular talents outside insolence! What is that, Sivagami pleads furiously, to the will of the Force, to the well-being of the galaxy?

But her so--her student has made up his mind.  

When she tells Bhalla the secret of his birth, she intends it as balm for his brother’s betrayal, a reminder that not all need be lost from the supposed Chosen One’s defection. She does not expect him to recoil from her touch, to demand angrily why she had never told him before, to ask his father’s name...

So little he asked of her. How could she refuse?

When Senator Bijjaladeva --now Chancellor Bijjaladeva--requests Bhalla as his personal guard, Sivagami wonders What harm could it do? and agrees. Better Bhalla suffer the man’s company than her after all; and besides, her dreams, since Baahu left, have been full of such dreadful foreboding.

It’s not until she sees the Temple aflame that she realizes what she’s done. 

[bleedinknight]

[teambaahubali]

Sivagami, Gryffindor aesthetic (1/2)

By @worddiva179 for all of @teamkuntala!

[worddiva179]

Baahubali Summertime Challenge 4 :

VITARKA

~Parallels we see in Kanna Nidurinchara~

• Water-Wind-Fire •

@teambaahubali

Special thanks to @heyifinallyhaveablog and @mayavanavihariniharini for helping me with my indecisiveness. :P

[foolgobi65]

“While I was waiting eagerly for him saying to myself ‘If I see you anywhere I’ll gather you and eat you up,’ he beat me to it and devoured me entire, my lord dark as a raincloud, my lord self-seeking and unfair.”

    Nammalvar, 1st century Tamil bhakti poet. trans. AK Ramanujan     @teammahishmati

[ambidextrousarcher]

For @teambaahubali‘s Summer Challenge- Challenge 4

Art Entry: Foils between Kuntala and Mahishmati.

Kuntala is light, spacious, dynamic in its grace. White and sparkling, Kuntala dazzles, but does not intimidate. Rather, it is welcoming.

Mahishmati, on the other hand, is huge, grand, but there is a feeling of static grandeur. Golden and glinting, Mahishmati dazzles the eye, but the stupendous grandeur is not welcoming. Rather, it is impressive, imposing.

I tried to convey this in this photoset. 

For @medhasree, @carminavulcana @chaanv @queenofmahishmati @iwearplaids @parlegee. I can’t ask for a finer team! @teammahishmati

Special mention to @ambitiousandcunning. Arjun bhaiyya, thank you so much for being there and being so specially you!

[chaanv]

Vallabhi Aesthetic

For @teambaahubali Event Five:  Daan, @teammahishmati

Thank you to my Team Kuntala friends for the lovely prompt!

[teammahishmati]

Congratulations, Team Kuntala

A huge round of applause and standing ovation to @teamkuntala 's terrific performance over the past three months! You ladies are awesome!

- Medha is Awed

[queenofmahishmati]

The send me a character meme: The Baahubali crew (i.e., Baahu, Devasena, Mahendra, Sivagami, and oh-all-right Bhalla ;)

Hai. I will try to be as less critical as possible. If you wanna send more characters→

AMARENDRA BAAHUBALI

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | EH ((only sometimes)) | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them!! | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff ((a gryffinpuff where he’s more the puff))best quality: The way he sees everyone as equal, including himself, even the Lord. And when he loves, he loves with all of his heart, he loves everyone equally. He is perfect and too good to be true!! I said it.worst quality: Those rose tinted glasses he wears while seeing everyone as equals. Like, would you remove it for one bloody second and look only at your brother who is not your brother at all man?? And honestly, you could have at least mentioned your wife if not your son with your dying breath, but of course you sentimentally say ‘amma jakardha.’ It wasn’t your mum who suffered but your wife, through 25 years of torture. I’m so salty about that okay??ship them with: He is the other half of Devasena. There can be no one, absolutely no one… ((well maybe that blue lady among those three dancing ladies from that one song??))brotp them with: Bhalla. If not for all the hatred from his brother, I see a Thorki kinda relationship between them. And also, Kattappa of course. needs to stay away from: Mahishmati’s people. He could have at least lived without earning Bhalla’s ire. ((I still think Bhalla wouldn’t have killed him if Baahu hadn’t played the people’s king role *smh*))misc. thoughts: He is so honorable, sincere in his love, way too heroic, extremely kind, exceedingly intelligent and did I mention, he is boring?? He is such a simple and plain character that we have seen lit in every other story ((look at lord Ram)). His sense of humour is the only thing that kept him interesting.Sorry but not sorry, Baahu wouldn’t have made the best king of Mahishmati because he couldn’t even see the plot against him from three feet away. How would he see it if it comes from countries that are thirty leagues away?? He is unbelievably naive. But I still love him with all my heart because he is a big innocent baby that needed to be protected. 

the rest are under the cut and it gets progressively worse ↓

DEVASENA

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love love super love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | 1001% gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor ((now this woman is a true gryffindor)) | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffbest quality: The way she is unapologetically herself. She is such an inspiration especially for the women of today. She stands up for herself not caring about how powerful the people she’s standing against are. She stands up for the right things and not righteousness like her naive husband, and that’s one heck of an admirable trait. worst quality: Impatient. She lacks patience when she’s angry and thus speaks things she won’t utter if she was a cool cucumber and thought twice about it. I’d relate her goal driven attitude to her impatience as well, like when she was determined to shoot two arrows together but didn’t stop to think on how exactly to do it. If she had, trust me, she’s smart enough to figure it out all by herself. Or during the scene were they hunt for boars in the field, if she had given up her goal of shooting even one boar down and turned to look at how Kumara Varma was being victorious, she’d have cracked the truth about Baahu. She needed a lot of patience and guess Bhalla gave it to her eh?? ship them with: She can live without Amarendra but he can’t. AmarSena it will always be!!brotp them with: Bhalla. If he wasn’t a psycho and she wasn’t so stubborn, they’d make an awesome team against clueless Baahu. ((as proved by all the fanfics))needs to stay away from: Sivagami maybe?? So many things would have been different. And distance could have made the heart grow fonder…misc. thoughts: Because of what I listed as her worst qualities, I don’t think she could have made any better Queen than Sivagami, the only other queen stand-in I could compare her to within the story verse. But she was more aware of what would be the right thing for the welfare of the people unlike Sivagami who was all about her word being the only law, so she would have definitely made a better Queen-mother I suppose. But yeah, she was kind of awful at politics erk!!

MAHENDRA BAAHUBALI

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess ((only because he sports his papa’s face)) | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor ((he takes after his kinda-crazy mum)) | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffbest quality: His thirst for adventure. He is a risk taker and the ultimate risk he took landed him where he should have been right from the beginning. And he seeks out new things fearlessly, like that come what may attitude, he knows he will figure out a way to deal with it.worst quality: His obsession. He was obsessed with climbing that waterfall. And then he was obsessed with that mask. When he saw the face behind the mask, he got obsessed with that girl. His obsession bordered on stalking and he went as far as drawing tattoos on the said girl’s body without her permission. And then, when the girl rightfully kicks his ass ((or tries to)) for everything he did to her, he is more intent upon showing her, her own beauty that he got obsessed with in the first place and then– honestly, I could keep on going until we realize Mahendra is no better than Bhalla…ship them with: None. Maybe with Avanthika in a better explained universe, I mean the girl did have the gall to fly kick him. I didn’t bat an eye when she drove that sword through his chest after he spoke those cheesy dialogues. brotp them with: Kattappa. Now Kattappa would have kept him in line if he had grown up under his tutelage right from the start. needs to stay away from: Avanthika duh. But also anything climbable, I was surprised when he didn't climb Bhalla's statue.misc. thoughts: I’m actually worried about the state of Mahishmati under this boy-king. Like yeah, there won’t be any of the cruetly or dictatorship that it underwent during Bhalla’s rule. But is he really fit enough to be the King without Kattappa going think-like-Baahubali every five seconds?? What happens when the too-old Kattappa and weather-beaten Devasena pass away??

SIVAGAMI

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them I LOVE HER OKAY | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | super gorgeous!!! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor ((hear her roar)) | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffbest quality: Her knowledge of politics and righteousness ((but what use eh??)). She was pretty much fair in bringing up Baahu and Bhalla as equals. And of course, until they were ready, she managed an entire Kingdom without a King all by herself. That too after dramatically thwarting an assassination attempt with a baby in her hand. ((I’m sure there must have been plenty other attempts at her and princes lives too))worst quality: Her Ego– the thought that she was always in the right. There’s a thin line between righteousness and being right, and Sivagami unfortunately, was too blind to see it despite her lovely big eyes. Also, I don’t think this is an unpopular opinion, but she was a good mother, just not a very good nurturer. She believed she could never be wrong and in that way, justified the partial love she was giving her sons to herself. Now don’t you dare come to fight me about this, she always always tenderly caresses Baahu’s head every time they’re shown in the same screen ((like ever since he was a baby)), and when we get a glimpse of Bhalla and her in the same screen at long last, she doesn’t even look in his eyes properly while speaking. If you don’t believe me, go watch the scene where she gifts him things to make up for refusing him the throne. Grrrr.ship them with: No one deserves her, especially Bijju. In fanon though, I love all these lady loves that @puppyloveblog24 & @avani008 gave her!!brotp them with: Kattappa. They made a kickass team alright!! I love how she dramatically yells Kattappa every time. needs to stay away from: Amarendra and Devasena. She should have sent them to Kuntala but of course her love for Baahu doesn’t let her…misc. thoughts: Seriously, from where do you think Bhalla got it into his head that power was everything one ever needed?? He literally grew up watching Sivagami overlord his own father. He kept on hearing that her word was the only law, to which Baahu too conforms when he remembers how she said righteousness alone must prevail. And only because of that does he conclude he can stand against his mother’s own words. She had a flare for dramatics but was also the most powerful person that held the fate of the entire kingdom in her hands. Now think again and tell me why her sons turned out to be the way they did??

BHALLALADEVA ((I admit I couldn’t wait to get to this part teheheheee))

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love only them | actual love of my life ((not really but yes also))hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | unbelievably gorgeous!!!! | 10/10 would bang ((this hot mess…totally))hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin ((perfect slyth)) | ravenclaw | hufflepuffbest quality: His ruthlessness. Trust me, being ruthless will get you so far in your life. But you need compassion along with it to be human, which he very obviously lacks. But still, he is strong, clever and confident. Along with these traits, his heartlessness got him the throne he so coveted, it made him the most powerful character in the story. He’d have truly been a formidable King in his years of rein, a nightmare to any enemy of Mahishmati.worst quality: His discontent. He kept desiring for more and more, greed is not the right word for it though. He was jealous of his brother and wanted everything that Baahu had. He got the throne but lost the girl. He stripped Baahu off all his powers to make him pay for it. But still, even after banishment, Baahu had the love of the people, something he had always wanted as seen in the scene where he converses with the crown. So, he sought to destroy Baahu completely, and in that one moment, we see his absolute descent into darkness and insanity. He goes on to kill his mother, who never gave him enough love. He chains the woman who refused to choose him. He tortures the kingdom that preferred his brother over him. And maybe, for a minute there, we were led to believe he was finally satisfied with what he had. But no, he then rattles Devasena’s chains and tells her how he craves to slaughter his brother one more time with his bare hands. He was never truly satisfied. Not even in his deathbed, where he urges Devasena to join him. He is the most powerful character of them all, but also the lowest form of a being to ever exist. ship them with: Bhalla probably ships him with himself in canon because he deserves none. In fanon though, I would kill for IndiraBhalla. brotp them with: His Ghada in canon and maybe that one second witty banter he and Baahu has in Singapuram made me brotp them. In fanon, Devasena and sometimes with Mahendra. They are the fun lot amongst all the boring ones. needs to stay away from: Everyone. Pfft.misc. thoughts: Maybe Bhalla was influenced by his father’s greed and foul thoughts while he was young, but I’m pretty sure he soon figured it out that he was useless and only kept Bijjala around cause he alone had made him feel important while his mother tended more to his brother. And feel free to fight me, but I’m pretty sure he would have made a decent King if those silly people had let him and just like that, Baahu might have lived. But then we wouldn’t have our epic story. What I’m trying to tell is, hate him all you want, but without him this story would get nowhere just like Bijjala. Bhalla is a deranged psycho that wants to be God, yes. But he is a boon to this story like the writer KVV sir said. Bhalla's words are measured unlike his father’s. He knows whatever he does is right or wrong unlike his mother who believes everything she does is right. He considers love and compassion as weakness unlike his brother. His temper is controlled and flames only at critical points unlike Devasena who keeps raging at every spark. He thinks before he acts unlike his hasty nephew Mahendra. There was also this one time where Kattappa unnecessarily jumps in to save his life from the bull because of his sense of duty and Bhallaladeva appreciates it by offering him a boon like any King would, any boon that he might ask for despite knowing Kattappa wishes to kill him in the deepest of his heart, and he even grants that wish with a twist of his own— that single defining moment, that is when I started stanning this character as hard as I do now and will forever. He is the most interesting of them all!!

[heyifinallyhaveablog]

For @teambaahubali​ Summertime Challenge: 

Meta: Parichay (Bhallaladeva’s entry)

This is, in fact, one of the scenes which as far as I can remember was one of the most talked-about scenes in Baahubali: The Beginning. The viewers are given the first glimpse of the one who shall be the well-deserved object of their spite throughout the first and the second instalment of the magnum opus that the film is supposed to be.

At first, let’s take a little while to let this sink in: (I’m not talking about Rana’s breathtaking abs here),  Rajamouli has always made a widely-known and amply proved statement about Baahubali being heavily inspired by the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata. Though, for me, as an individual, it has more of the Mahabharata influence than Ramayana. However, with respect to this scene/sequence in particular, there are a few things that the director ensures that the audience gets ingrained in themselves.

1. An impression of strength: 

Sinewy physique: Check.

An impeccable, flawless body of the antagonist to shamelessly ogle at.: Double check

An impossible fight sequence evidencing the impression: Check

Apart from the above, it is also clear that the villain in question has a distinct ruthlessness about him, which further cements his villainy.

2. Power-hungry:

Yes, Bhallaladeva overpowers and subdues a bull with his thews. and there’s no questioning his physical strength. One also familiarises oneself with the fact that he has this urge to dominate the ones who stand beneath him, except a select few.

Also, noteworthy here is the fact that Bhalla loves a good fight, when he turns back with a menacing smile to face his opponent (the bull), who he had beaten far too easily at first. Therefore, all he does here, by defeating the bull is simple: He shows his power, and his ability to subdue the ones who might question him.

3. No arc of redemption:

Bhalla here has a very set, cruel face, further accentuated with his twisted smile, which also has an arrogant air. While the whole sequence that follows is awe-evoking, yes, but we also know that there’s nothing in this character that we might try rooting for. We know that this villain is crafted for some solid villainy, and we’re in for a ride.

Despite everything and a solid cinematic experience that ensues, I might have just one tiny, little misgiving here. Call it my penchant to play Devil’s Advocate, but Bhalla would have rocked if he had a pinch of conscience, and hence, a bit of redemption somewhere. 

But of course, he wouldn’t really be Bhalla if he did, and the movie as such promises just that.

[avani008]

Meta: Devasena’s Entry

It’s one of the most iconic senes of the entire franchise--and so of course you all must suffer through Avani’s Deep Thoughts on the subject, specifically about the parallels we see with other scenes throughout the films.  

As a hopeless shipper, certainly I must start with the way the reveal of her features explicitly parallels the introduction of adult! Amarendra: in both circumstances, the shot begins with a focus on their respective swords, then their eyes, followed by the rest of their faces and the fact that they are taking down multiple opponents simultaneously. On the other hand, while Amarendra is just showing off his skill against his own soldiers, Devasena is actively in a battle--for that matter, this is something that holds true for all the male vs female entries of the series. The men (Amarendra, Kattappa, even Bhalla) are all either in friendly fights/displays of their strength--or, in Shivu’s case, falling off a waterfall for the thousandth time; the women, on the other hand, are all introduced facing down multiple people who want to kill them and defeating them all (Avantika, in her first real scene; Sivagami, in her first chronological scene, where she defeats three Mahishmati soldiers at once, and--ignoring the scene of Baahu’s birth--in the famous courtroom coup). 

More interestingly, though, Devasena’s introduction scene in Baahubali 2 serves as a dark mirror/parallel to her introduction scene in Baahubali 1. In both, we see her initially confined into a cramped, rectangular area (the cage/her palanquin) and assumed to pose little if any threat. As both scenes progress, though, that becomes less likely; while in B1, we see her revealed with unkempt hair hiding her face, then mouth as she speaks later with Kattappa, and finally her angry and alert eyes as the Big Reveal, this is reversed in B2, to the point where her hair flipping over her face is the last thing we see. (And it all comes back again, reversed, in Amarendra’s flashback to seeing her five seconds ago during his mini-fight, just in case we missed that these were the three big things.) Quite possibly I’m reading far too much into this, but possibly the echo is to remind us of what we already know from the first film--that Devasena is most dangerous when underestimated, and that this is a trick she has long used to protect herself.  

[bleedinknight]

Meta: Mahendra Bahubali Vs  Amarendra Baahubali

[My first attempt at writing a Meta, so please forgive any mistake.]

Being the titular characters, they are given amazing intros with awesome bgm, cute costumes, appropriate props, and adoring fans.

yep, am talking about those scenes; namely, 

And

.. wow, look at those muscles.

but no, i am not gonna compare these scenes. Nope. Not at all....

I understand these are their big intro scenes. 

So, on to the real intros..

Mahendra Bahubali

The movie begins with SIvagami Devi holding a newborn Mahendra and escaping from her assassins. He is an infant, whose father died early that day, and is separated from his mother. He is born into the chaos of murders, and coups.

Baby Mahendra is hungry, cold, uncomfortable and separated from the one person he knew. Still he doesn’t cry when in an unfamiliar situation with an unfamiliar person. 

He only cries when he is a bit jostled when Sivagami kills the soldiers, and then gets wet in the waters. 

It is only at that moment that he is introduced to us.

The heir to a mother waiting for him! 

The heir to the throne of Mahishmati!

And that is what he becomes. His path leads him to his waiting mother, and a desolate throne. To be the heir for both.

In comparison-

Amarendra Baahubali

His introduction as a baby is similar to that of Mahendra in two aspects. His father died long ago, his mother at childbirth. He is essentially as orphaned as Mahendra. And he is born into the similar chaos of death and civil unrest. But he is held safely and comfortably in the arms of a maid. When Sivagami Devi touches him, he holds onto her. That is when his face is shown for the first time. And that is his introduction- BAAHUBALI, as she named him. He is as calm as Mahendra in that cave.

And he cries only when he is hungry. And settles down soon enough. He is not obligated to a dead mother, nor is he promised a throne.  But he is given the mandate to fight for the affections of a kingdom. 

And he wins their affections.And that was his destiny, to be the strong shoulders that others could rely on. Not to rule, but to serve.

And the best thing is that their introductions are both given by Sivagami Devi.

That is my take on the Intros of the two Baahubalis.!!

Entry for summer time challenge @teambaahubali

[teambaahubali]

Announcing the winners of the 2019 Baahubali fandom summer challenge: Team Kuntala!

(But in truth, we are all the true winners, regardless of team or participation. Look around at our fandom, full of new creations, that still collect comments and discussion days later; look at all the amazing new things we have learned to do; rest assured that our fandom is alive and well, no matter what!)

Thank you for participating, everyone, and I hope you all had fun!

[uniboss]

Prabhas’ latest pic from Baahubali 2 makes us impatient for the magnum opus

Prabhas’ latest pic from Baahubali 2 makes us impatient for the magnum opus

Right until the grand release which is two days away, the Baahubali 2team has been sharing some splendid posters to pique our excitement. Only today, they shared a pristine still of Anushka Shetty as Devasena, the princess of Kuntala kingdom. She looked absolutely regal in her royal avatar, not to mention gorgeous! Now the team has shared another still from the movie and it’s blowing our minds!…

[ambidextrousarcher]

Meta: Director’s cut on Vaani

Meta entry for Team Baahubali’s Summer challenge, Week 4 on behalf of @teammahishmati.

For @carminavulcana, as thanks for your brilliant ideas, Ankur di!

Since Vaani is a work made of short but interconnected letters, I’m writing a meta for the entire work. Ankur di’s headcanons about the Kalakeya cultures was the post that inspired this work. It is also observed in real life that materially ‘richer’ cultures, especially those with a history of imperialism, tend to assume that their culture alone is ‘human’ culture, and the rest of the world is barbaric. The entire portrayal of the Kalakeyas in the movie seems extremely riven with tropes to me, the way white Western movies (this is a generalization, not meant to offend anyone) portray tribal people. (Which is why my headcanons of the Kalakeyas are based on rainforest Mesoamerican tribes, the same tribes Western conquerors derided as “uncivilized”, but actually had very advanced civilizations like I imagine the Kalakeyas would.) Actually, there’s a word that inspired this work: “Cultural appropriation”. As far as Mahishmati is concerned, I got the impression that they believe that the Sun rises and sets on them alone, that the other inhabitants of Jambudwipa (ancient India, because there is a Kingdom named Mahishmati mentioned in the Mahabharata, so I like to believe that this Mahishmati is the same) just follow them. I wanted to present Mahishmati from the eyes of people belonging to other cultures, and that was the brainchild behind Vaani. The Kalakeyas are depicted as almost sub-human in the movie, which is why all the chapter titles in Vaani are related to the words “humanity” or “identity”, because the writers of the letters are asserting in some way that they are human, too. Let’s come to the letters themselves. The first letter is written following the thought- What if a Kalakeya man had disguised himself and gone into Mahishmati, like Baahu had into Kuntala? What would he have thought? Would the Kalakeyas actually be friendly with other cultures? If so, how would they write to each other? I also wanted, for some reason, to write a letter that depicts the relief of homecoming, and hence, that particular letter was written so. The Malwas are given just a perfunctory mention in the Coronation Ceremony of Bhalla, and there is this impression that the Malwas are under Mahishmati’s rule (I can’t exactly remember if it is canon or fanon I got that particular impression from, but oh, well.) and I can’t imagine that the people of Malwa themselves particularly like Mahishmati’s rule. As for the third letter (the last as of now), since I headcanon that the Kalakeyas have a very open, almost democratic culture, the only way I could reconcile that with the animalistic chief they had in the movies was by a gory coup. And because I wanted at least a smidgeon of hope for them (and to introduce Udayagiri), I depicted our young letter-writer as the focal point of people who left their homeland because of the hostilities and are trying to go back to the world they knew. I really had a lot of fun writing about the imaginary cultures of the Kalakeyas, the Malwas and the Udayagiris. These cultures are heavily inspired by real cultures; the Kalakeyas by the Mayas, the Malwas by Maldives, the Udayagiris by the Incas. I also used the cultural symbols, such as the Pink Rose (the national flower of the Maldives) as a symbol for the Malwas, the council and the ball courts of the Mayas for the Kalakeyas, and hopefully I’ll add more! Oh, and I kinda had an inside Indian mythology nod, especially for the Arjun fangirl that I am. Maya, who belongs to Malwa, mentions the Uttaraa Phalguni star as a symbol of good luck.  That’s the star Arjun is named after (he’s called Phalguni/Phalguna). Yeah, I have a really huge crush on the guy… Since both the Kalakeyas and the Udayagiris were inspired by Mesoamerican cultures, Ankur di had the idea to distantly relate both of them, and that’s what I did. Taking inspiration from ASOIAF (the breaking of the Arm of Dorne) as well as the Lemuria/Dwarka thing from mythology, I had Malwa and Kalakeya being separated because of the sea. That’s it for this meta.