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As far as we were concerned,
it was the end of our careers.

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But sometimes, the courage your friends
give you means everything.

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He said, "Can you manage
with 50 to 60 crore?"

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"I know some people in Mumbai.
I'll talk to them and get the funding."

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"We'll get through this. No problem."

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I didn't know whether
it would actually happen,

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but the confidence
he gave us really helped.

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It gave me hope that
we could get out of this situation.

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It's very important
to have friends like that in life.

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Friends who stand by you
during tough times

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and offer a word of encouragement
or a pat on the back

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are incredibly important.

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By evening, things started to change.

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Even between the matinee shows

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and the evening shows,
you could see the shift.

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By Saturday and Sunday,
it was a completely different story.

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By Saturday, everyone
realized this was a

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mind-boggling, phenomenal,
unheard-of blockbuster.

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But after all the fear
and anxiety of the first day,

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it took me a while just to feel relieved,

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let alone process
the scale of its success.

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I couldn't get my nerves
under control until Sunday.

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That Sunday,

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I went to Prabhas's house.

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In the evening, there
was a small get-together.

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As I was entering,

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Ram Gopal Varma sir was
also sitting there with Prabhas.

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I remember that as one
of my favorite moments.

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He said, "Shobu, until yesterday,
you were considered a big fool.

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Everybody thought you
were doing something crazy…

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and you didn't know
what you were doing.

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Today, you're considered
a genius. So, welcome."

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He gave me a big hug.

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I still remember how
perceptions changed overnight.

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You can be thought of
as doing something crazy…

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that will be the biggest mistake.

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And then, like a flip of a coin,

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it's seen as a stroke of genius.

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From the following week onwards,

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the numbers in Telugu
states picked up.

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It was doing phenomenally,
record-breaking numbers…

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in the southern states.

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The traction was very
good in Hindi as well.

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Then we knew we
were in safe territory.

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I saw the audience's reaction in
Mumbai when Baahubali was released.

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The first time I tried
to go to the theater,

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I couldn't get a
ticket for my own film.

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That was a great feeling. I was
like, "Okay, now we're talking."

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"I can't get the
tickets to my own film."

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For a long time, after
Baahubali released,

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there were kilometers of
queues outside cinema theaters.

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So many people who stopped
going to theaters started coming back.

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That was a really welcoming
change for Indian Cinema.

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Theatrically, it created a
huge impact when it released.

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It was the most number of
people ever watching a movie,

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probably 10 crore people
went to the theaters.

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When I finally got a ticket

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I watched the film and
the audience's reactions.

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It was a crazy experience
to look at the screen,

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then the audience,
and see their reactions.

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People were in awe.

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When I watched that movie
on the big IMAX screen,

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the titles had just started,

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and I had tears
rolling down my eyes.

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I was sitting right there

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along with the audience…

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and I've never seen such
a reaction in my career.

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When people really love a movie,

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they watch it over and over again.

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They take their friends too.

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They say, "How could you miss this?
Come, let's watch it!"

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That is what reflects in
the box office numbers.

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Obviously, the movie made a lot of
money and created many records.

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That makes me happy and proud.

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But the love people
showed for Baahubali…

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definitely ranks
higher than money.

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After Baahubali Part 1 was released,

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what made me the happiest
was one particular incident.

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The Godavari Pushkaralu had just begun.

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I went to my hometown, Kovvuru,
to take a dip in the holy river.

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Early in the morning, as I
was coming out of the water,

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I saw a group of people sitting there.

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They weren't talking about
God or the rituals.

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They were talking about Baahubali.

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"What was he thinking?"

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"How could he end the film so abruptly
after Kattappa kills Baahubali?"

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They just couldn't
get over that cliff-hanger.

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They had never seen anything
like it in Indian cinema before.

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"Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?"
became a sensation.

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The initial reaction was mixed.

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People didn't quite know
how to respond to it.

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We were a little nervous
about the first show as well.

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But from the second show onward,

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it became a phenomenal success.

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"Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?"

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was a completely unplanned
and unexpected phenomenon.

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The idea of waiting two years for the
answer to a cliff-hanger was unheard of.

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Whether it was the Prime Minister
or any other politician,

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everyone was asking,
"Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?"

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Hats off to the audience
for holding on for two years.

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Shivagami clearly says to
Kattappa, "Go and kill Baahubali."

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Despite having so
many people on set,

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I'm surprised no
one leaked the twist.

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We didn't make them take

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any oaths, that's for sure.

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It's a miracle it stayed hidden.

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They might have told me
if I had asked, as a Producer.

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But I didn't.

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Hats off to the entire unit.
No one said a word.

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None of us anticipated
that it would go viral…

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and become the
most asked question.

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That "WKKB" went on to define
the marketing for Baahubali 2.

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DO YOU KNOW WHAT "WKKB" MEANS
IN THE BAAHUBALI POSTER?

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#WKKB
BAAHUBALI STARTS A NEW TREND

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The two-part thing… its
genesis was Baahubali.

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When we decided
to do Part 1 and 2,

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there were many doubts
like, "Why? Who will watch it?"

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There were so many
questions and doubts about…

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why the audience would
bother to watch the second part.

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We heard them express many
such questions and doubts.

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Now, nobody even worries
about making it in parts.

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Part 1 and Part 2 has become
a very common phenomenon.

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During the release
of Part 1 in Mumbai,

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we had to meet
some big people there.

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I won't take names, but
they were top tier people.

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I asked them, "How much
money will the movie make?"

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They said, "The last biggest dubbing
film made 20-something and so,

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maybe we can achieve 30 crores."

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I was furious.

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I went back to the room
with Shobu and said,

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"We can't be making 30.
We'll make 140, 150 crores!"

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It was very innocent
of us because…

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it's not easy to gauge
Baahubali's collections in Mumbai.

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This was the highest a
Telugu film had ever collected.

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These guys spent
twice as much…

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and often did impossible math
saying the movie would fail.

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But dreamers will
always be dreamers and…

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they just go forward
and achieve things.

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It changed the perspective.

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Now, you know a lot
more people dream.

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It gave them license

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We were waiting for the
next big moment to happen.

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I wanted the film to do
good because of the budget.

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So I said it would
make 100, 150 crores.

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It did 165 crores, no less.

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I said it again after 10 years, "See,
I told you it would make 150 crores."

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It was innocent talk.

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Like a kid talking, who just
wants the movie to do well.

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So, Baahubali 1 turned
out to be a blockbuster.

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Six months into the
shoot of Part 2 at RFC,

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Puri Jagannadh called me.

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He was in Bangkok and said
Baahubali was a craze there.

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I asked what happened.

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He had a small
infection and was…

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waiting at a
hospital for an hour.

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The nurse asked,
"India?" and he said yes.

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Then she said, "Baahubali!"

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Puri was shocked.
"You saw the film?"

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She said, "Yes, everyone
saw it! The doctor loves it."

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He said, "I'm his friend," and
showed her a photo of us together.

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She immediately took the
photo to the doctor and said,

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"He's Baahubali's friend!" In Bangkok!

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They skipped his wait time
and treated him immediately.

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He sent me a voice message.

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Rajamouli and Rama
were also on set.

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We knew about
the impact in Japan,

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but this was the first time I
heard it reached Bangkok.

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Just being "Baahubali's friend"
got him special treatment.

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That was a masterstroke I
remember from the shoot.

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The second part was also a breeze
when it came to raising money,

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even though we had to spend another
220 to 230 crore.

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Just as Mr. Ramoji Rao
had supported us on the first film,

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Matrix Prasad had a lot of goodwill
toward Shobu, me, Arka Media,

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and, of course, Rajamouli.

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He said, "I'd like to be part
of the Baahubali journey."

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"If you need any funding,
please let me know."

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It felt like a godsend when we were
figuring out how to raise the money.

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Thanks to Mr. Matrix Prasad.

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When a wild animal

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like a lion or a tiger pounces
on its prey,

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it lets out a roar.

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And that roar lands like a single punch.

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The sound "Why" is just like that roar.

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-It's in the trailer, right?
-Yes, in the trailer, sir.

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We recorded that in Madurai.

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There weren't many
singers with me. I was alone.

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I roared for 24 layers all by myself.

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-Yes, that was my voice.
-Okay.

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A single layer would sound weak.

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So, I created that
intensity across 24 tracks.

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I am sitting with Mr. M.M. Kreem.

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I consider myself very lucky because

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he is a music director who
has embraced every style.

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In Baahubali, there is a
song called "Dandalayya".

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We recorded that in a
farmhouse caravan, not in a studio.

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We were initially just
intending to compose,

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but a pattern emerged.

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Bhairava was there and said he would sing.

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He sang it along with the chorus singers.

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We just recorded the song in the caravan.

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It's a song recorded in
a car, not even a studio.

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You can't tell the difference in quality.

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No one would know unless told.

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So, there are many myths in movie making.

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The joy of breaking them is far greater…

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than the joy of a movie becoming a hit.

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I broke the rule that a song
should only be recorded in a studio.

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Luckily, during the
re-recording of Part 1,

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I got to be inside the studio.

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It was the scene where
Seshu's head is cut off.

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I was watching, and there was no sound.

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The visuals were extraordinary
but, there was no sound.

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Then, from the mother's point of view,

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the sound was added.

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I was like, "Keeravani sir,
that's what he did! Silence!"

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That's the magic.

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In such a heavily dramatic, violent scene,

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he stopped the music.

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He added it from the
mother's point of view,

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her looking at her son.
They added RR at that point.

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I was clapping.

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He knew what he was doing.

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That is why he's the great Keeravani.

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That will be good.

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We started Arka in 2001 and
were primarily into television.

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As producers, we decided that
I would grow the TV business…

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and Shobu would handle movies.

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In 2011, I briefly shifted to Mumbai…

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to grow the TV business.

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For six months, I was
trying to set up meetings,

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but I couldn't get a single appointment.

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None of the decision-makers
would see me to hear my pitch.

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"I'm a producer from Hyderabad,
we do great stuff in TV." No one cared.

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We were looking at the
Hindi market, but no luck.

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After a year, I shifted back
because it was pointless.

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After Baahubali--
I don't want to boast, but

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the same people who wouldn't
even give me an appointment

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were coming to our office,

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asking if they could work with us.

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It felt nice.

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That was the success of Baahubali.

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We built on that from there.

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The film has a mix of unbelievable
yet entertaining action scenes.

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Baahubali 2: The Conclusion
has become the biggest

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Indian blockbuster ever,
cutting across languages.

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The National Award for Best Feature Film
goes to Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.

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Presented to Shri Prasad Devineni.
He is awarded the Swarna Kamal.

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Baahubali was released in 2015.

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By then, Telugu cinema had been around
for nearly 85 years.

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In those 80 years of
Indian Cinema history,

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the first Pan-Indian film was Baahubali.

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In the ten years since,

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you know how many
Pan-Indian movies have come.

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It gave us the push to show

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our stories to the whole of India.

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Baahubali stands as a solid foundation

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for many Pan-Indian films.

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Usually, a project creates
a certain impact on your life.

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But Baahubali didn't just impact my life.

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It changed the entire industry.

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It redefined what "Indian Cinema" means.

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We had the word "Indian Cinema", but…

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didn't know what it really
meant until Baahubali.

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Directors used to tell me that…

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Baahubali changed everything for them.

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We can make a great film from
anywhere in the country now.

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It's beautiful that people say
Baahubali changed their lives.

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An Assamese film can now
be dubbed across languages.

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That became possible
only because of Baahubali.

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For this generation, this is
probably the largest impact that…

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any cinema could have.

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An actor rooted in Telugu
would be seen differently,

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as would a director from here.

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That cross-pollination of talent…

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is a very exciting thing
that has happened.

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I grew up watching
Indian Cinema,

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but I saw the evolution after Baahubali.

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Our pictures are more popular in
the North than their own movies.

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What else do we need?

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That is only because of Baahubali.

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Baahubali has really set a
benchmark for period cinema.

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I'm happy so many people are
making their own "Baahubalis" now.

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We set a trend in period films.

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People started finding new ways

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to tell the stories of our country
and its culture.

20:29.625 --> 20:32.125
I saw this happen consistently
after Baahubali.

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People consciously wanted
to tell stories rooted in our land.

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I feel incredibly proud

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to have been part of a film
that promoted that.

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Whenever I met international VFX teams,

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they'd say, "Oh, India is like this."

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They always seemed
to view India as a poor country.

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But is that really true,

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or is that just how you imagined it?

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That's the way we used to live.

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I'm glad they didn't ask me
about the visual effects.

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They only asked about the culture,
which blended really well.

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I'm so happy that Baahubali
redefined Indian cinema

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and that I got to be a part of it.

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Might, majesty, and Maahishmathi.

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What Rome is to history,

21:22.458 --> 21:26.791
Maahishmathi and Baahubali
are to Indian cinema.

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This is what Indians can do.

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This is what…

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Telugu cinema
and Indian cinema can do.

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It gave us a sense of pride.

21:37.916 --> 21:43.208
Everyone has to evolve with time.

21:43.625 --> 21:49.375
In that journey of evolving cinema,

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I feel Baahubali became a torchbearer.

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It took cinema to another level.

21:56.166 --> 21:57.333
It definitely had an impact.

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Our breath is a storm!

22:04.000 --> 22:05.833
Our blood is a mighty army!

22:06.333 --> 22:07.833
Hail, Maahishmathi!

22:07.916 --> 22:09.458
Hail, Maahishmathi!