I finished the sad parts, yay! And then celebrated by taking 2 days off. And writing yet another fanfic (by the way, almost nobody reads the fanfics, but the few who do, really really enjoy them. And I really really enjoy writing them!) Anyway, now I am back. Time for the thrilling conclusion! Or at least, the first part of it. (part 20 here, you can crawl back through the archives from there)
Previously: Everything happened! Noble Queen Mother Ramya was maneuvered into banishing innocent Prabhas 1 and Anushka. They were happy in their banishment, but evil Rana, Prabhas 1’s brother and the new king, was jealous. So he arranged for it to appear that Prabhas 1 organized an assasination attempt on himself. Ramya was forced to order a secret execution as punishment, noble Kattappa, the faithful slave, had to carry it out. But after Prabhas 1 died, Rana appeared to glout and reveal his evil plan, which Kattappa then reported to Ramya, who begged the forgiveness of Anushka and took the baby to safety (although they both appeared to die), while Anushka was left as a captive of Rana.
And then we fast-forward 25 years! But not too fast. Let’s take a moment to appreciate how neatly everything we have seen fits with this ending to the flashback. Ramya was shot in the back, while carrying the baby, and fell into a waterway that ran through the palace grounds. We had previously seen that this waterway connected to the moat outside the city, which formed part of the river that travels through all of Mahishmati. We had also previously learned that the palace was riddled with secret passageways known only to the royal family.
I think we can put it together that Ramya managed to shield the bay from drowning while they fell into the river. And that underneath the water was another secret passageway. Which lead to a tunnel that ran along the water in a slow slope, until coming out at the foot of the waterfall. And somewhere along the way, some traveling guards happened to see her, and start to give chase. But, so far from the city, they had no way of alerting anyone else to what they had seen. Ramya, with an arrow in her back shot by her own son, managed to fight them off and kill them, so they could never return and give word. And then with her final breath, called on Shiva to save the baby so that it could return to save the kingdom, knowing she herself would not be strong enough to do so, and that the baby’s mother, who had been so wronged by her, was left in captivity. Ramya is able to walk under water, holding the baby up, until they are both spotted by a forest tribe, baby is rescued, Ramya mysteriously floats away. Baby grows up, 25 years later, baby is Prabhas 2. And obsessed with the waterfall that leads back up to the kingdom he should inherit.
Meanwhile, back in Mahishmati, Rana’s last words to Anushka were “you have no one but me now” (as I was reminded by many commentators, because I had blocked this part out). After much much much much much discussion and analysis in the comments, I think we have all agreed that while Rana had a strong reaction to seeing Anushka’s picture for the first time, that reaction was not necessarily “love”. At least not in any form that we could recognize. Perhaps it was “finally a weakness I can exploit”. Perhaps it was “something tells me this woman will be my nemesis”.
And certainly, since then, his obsession has clearly been with defeating Prabhas, not with gaining Anushka. If she had not crawled her way to the palace in search of her husband, there is a fair chance Rana might have even forgotten about her (ooo! New fanfic idea! But that would be a sad one, I don’t know if it’s worth it to write about noble widow Anushka raising Prabhas 2 alone. Although we could have cute scenes with Tamannah and Prabhas 2 being foster siblings). He might not, but he also didn’t seem to have a plan for her, he took the time to gloat over Prabhas 1’s body, but he didn’t bother to go searching for his wife, or even send someone to do so. Perhaps another reason that Prabhas 1’s dying words were to his mother, not his wife? He know that Rana’s obsession would extend more to her than Anushka?
Anyway, she’s here now. Rana says “you have no one but me”, but he could just as easily have said “I have no one but you”. Enemy No. 1 was always Prabhas 1, enemy No. 2 was Ramya, enemy No. 3 probably would have become Prabhas 2 if he’d taken the time to get to know him. But they are all gone and out of his reach now, so he is left with enemy No. 4, Anushka. The only living representation of everything he fears and hates and feels the need to control. And that is why, in this moment, he turns to her.
But while at that first moment she might have been simply the only one left standing, over 25 years she became more than that. I think we can do some extrapolating, right? Anushka was in baaaaaaad shape when last we saw her, chewed up from giving birth, not even able to stand. She couldn’t have been thrown in that cage right away, she must have been patched up a bit. Rana says, in B1 in the present day, something about her rejecting him. He could have meant that initial rejection, in the courtroom, but I could also believe that at some point he kept her in the palace and asked her to be his queen, and she turned him down. And only then did he throw her in the cage in the courtyard.
That would also pick up on the Sita themes, if I am remembering correctly Sita was offered luxuries and comforts, and a semi-honorable place with Raavan’s household, and she refused it all, choosing instead to sit in a tree in the courtyard. Like Sita, Anushka is finding her strength in sacrifice, no matter what Rana can do to her, so long as it is at least partially what she has chosen, it does not hurt her in the same way. And Rana knows it, he can keep her chained and caged, but he can not break her.
Taking a brief journey into supposition, I think if Prabhas 2 hadn’t been taken away by Ramya, there is a 50-50 chance that Rana wouldn’t have killed him. That was the plan for sure, he made some comment about “taking care of the baby”. But I could believe that he would have a moment of hesitation at the thought of this ultimate power, raising and controlling Prabhas 1’s son, in a way controlling Prabhas 1 himself from childhood onward. That would be the darkest version, Prabhas 2 raised in misery, in sight of by kept away from Kattappa and Anushka who love him, and Rana constantly battering at him and trying to change him. In that case, I think he might have killed Anushka, as she was not as amusing as this young baby. Or else kept her as a servant or in a similar menial but less horrifying life, while his focus stayed on the baby. It’s not about sex or even personalities with him, it’s about control, who he can control.
But, phew! Prabhas 2 did not fall into his clutches! Prabhas 2 was raised in the freest life possible, in the forest, among nature. We only get small glimpses of his life, enough to see that he did not obey even his beloved mother. While Prabhas 1 was taught obedience and duty above all, Prabhas 2 was taught softer lessons of love and finding the best and least harmful solution. If you look at his introduction in B1, he moves the Shiva Lingaa in order to save his mother a burden. The priest won’t stop her, Prabhas 2 can’t stop her without disrespecting her, his adoptive father is useless, and so the only solution is to change the situation itself. In its own way, it is the equivalent of the moment when his father literally sliced through all the laws and tedium of the Mahishmati court. But, while Prabhas 1’s actions gained shock and censor and banishment, Prabhas 2’s actions are joyfully celebrated. Everyone, from the priest to his parents, believes he has done right and honors him for his deed.
Slightly before that is Prabhas 2’s real intro, trying and failing and falling from the waterfall. But before we see him do that, we hear about it from some fellow tribesman in the water below. Partly this is just to set up his hero’s entrance, the kind of carnival pitchmen of characters. But it is also to establish that while Prabhas is liked by the forest people, he is not revered, he is not scene as on a level above them. They know that he is accomplishing something none of them could do in reaching even that far up the waterfall, but they are still kind of matter of factly talking bets on how high he may get today before he falls again. Prabhas 1 was always raised remote from the common people, from anyone besides Rana and Ramya and Kattappa. And he craved that common connection, we saw how he blossomed in Kuntala, and even more in his “Dandaalayyaa” exile. But Prabhas 2 was able to grow up surrounded by it. Even right before “Dhivara”, a friend comes to call him to join them, and Prabhas is casually standing to go with when he pushes the mask into the ground revealing Tamannah’s face.
Okay, I could go on and on, but just to shorthand it, Prabhas 2 is Krishna and Prabhas 1 is Ram. Krishna has an idyllic perfect childhood, away from the courts. And it carries throughout his life, teaching him to be the trickster, to place more value on happiness and humanity than on the rules of the courts. In the same way, Prabhas 2 has shown over and over again that he makes decisions quickly and carries them out without considering the consequences. Or I guess without worrying about the longterm consequences? He has never done anything wrong, never compromised his own sense of ethics. But when Tamannah says she has a duty to perform, he immediately accepts it and commits to carrying it out, without worrying that he may not be able to perform it, or that this duty may not be a correct one. He has faith in himself, he has faith in Tamannah, why not?
Prabhas 1, in his greatest moments, acted in the same way. Saving the POWs during the battle in B1, fighting off the Pindaris and then vowing his allegiance to Anushka, defending Anushka in both courtroom scenes, and rushing off to save Kattappa in the end. They were all split second decisions. I don’t want to say that his longer decisions were wrong, but they didn’t reach that pitch of correctness that his spontaneous ones did.
Which brings me to the present! Mostly the way this scene plays out is because Rajamouli had to cut a lot of stuff (PLEASE put deleted scenes on the DVD! Please please please please please! I will pay dozens of dollars!). But Prabhas 2’s reaction at least is in rhythm which what we have seen from him before, both sudden and correct. He immediately declares a battle, and asks for word to be sent to all the villagers and peasants and anyone else who followed his father to join them.
A different hero would have waited, would have tried to find allies and come up with a battle plan. But that may not have worked. Let Rana prepare, lose your momentum, let people suffer for one more day needlessly, why? Prabhas 2 takes a sudden assessment of their strengths and weaknesses and declares that it is time. And his surety carries them along with him, if he had allowed one moment of doubt, he would not have succeeded.
Prabhas 1, I’m not sure exactly what he might have done in this moment. It’s similar to what he faced in the Pindari battle, but in that case he had no choice. They were attacking, he had to defend. In this case, he might have taken weeks to consider, to prepare, to try diplomacy or consider other options, most of all to look at what Dharma and the law required from him (ha! I read that sentence over and saw it as “what Karan Johar’s Hindi distribution deal required of the plot”). And he probably still would have succeeded, but in his way, which is not the way of Prabhas 2. They may look the same, but they are different people (kudos to Prabhas-the-actor for making that so clear to us!).
(Also kudos to Prabhas the actor for looking really really good in a white shirt)
Prabhas 2 also calls for the villagers and others to join them. This is taking his father’s actions in the Pindari battle to the extreme. In that case, it was necessity and a particular plan. In this case, Prabhas 2 just immediately leaps to the idea of using villagers, with no special idea in mind as to how to use them. He sees no division besides that of basic skill between the villagers and the trained fighters.
The battle does not take place until the next day, and there is some preparation we see through traps and so on. But it is a rough and ready kind of preparation, there aren’t exactly “plans within plans”. It’s more “here’s 3 really good ideas, and after that, we will improvise”. But I will get into that tomorrow! Because I have now successfully finished my first post into the finale segment! Woot! Happy ending on the horizon!
dontcallitbollywood 
Krishna had an idyllic childhood? Yeah, if you don’t count the series of rakshasas and others sent out for the express purpose of killing him throughout his childhood. (The fact that he killed them all may have made you forget this little detail. 🙂 ) But otherwise, I think it’s a good distinction to make between the two Prabhas avatars.
LikeLike
Speaking of Prabhas the actor, he has said in several interviews that he preferred Amarendra to Mahendra as a character (and now that we have the Conclusion, I really feel that poor Shivudu was shortchanged). But his reason was not only that Amarendra was a much more noble and layered character, he also said that with Shivudu, there are no restrictions, so he could do anything he wanted and it would be all right, while with Amarendra, there are so many factors to consider about him that for every action, he had to think about twenty different things in deciding how to portray that particular action or emotion.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s really interesting. With Prabhas 2, it is similar to playing a child, just a matter of showing fear, hate, love, anger. Because Prabhas 2 has no other layer, to feel something is to show it and use it. But with Prabhas 1, he would have to feel that emotion and then consider how Prabhas 1 would have or would not have expressed it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Prabhas 2 is sort of depicted like Lord Krishna – carefree, playful, strong and loved by all. There is definitely a parallel between how Prabhas 2 was saved by Ramya and Lord Krishna by Vasudeva – carrying the baby in the night, wading through water.
LikeLike
I go into this a little more in my B1 reviews, but I am fascinated by how consistent the baby-rescued-from-danger-over-water imagery is across cultures. Moses in the old testament, Perseus in Greek myths, etc.
I am sure that the initial reference here was Krishna, but it is also one that resonates across cultures in a really powerful way.
On Mon, Jun 5, 2017 at 12:45 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Now that you mentioned I can think of it again. Once again thanks.
Based on what rana mentioned in B1, he might definitely have asked anuska to wed him. I also think he might have killed the infant anyway. I suspect he might ever let the baby, who looks just like his father, remind him continuously of his arch enemy.
When Anuska rejects the proposal, she might have had the same arrogance (pride) that she once had only more emotional and justified by her loss. So, angered by continuous pleading /ordering he might have perpetrated lies about her committing adultery ( we see Rana’s son insulting her with this dialogue ” you were so lonely, you just ran away as soon as you see a man” which BTW angers any man not necessarily a son when spoken to an old woman) . As we know when a royal family commits adultery they are subjected to worst kind of humiliation and sentencing. So, on that pretense he , as always, might have convicted her in the court for things she didn’t do. Kattappa is as helpless as he is now. I guess Rana might even have framed her for Ramya’s death because she was an Archer and very much believable that she might have been angry with Ramya for killing her husband at which point Ramya might have stolen the baby since he is the heir and protect him from this raging mother. The people who heard her declare the will of Ramya to crown baby will make them think baby is a harm in mother’s lap while she is angry on mahishmati. So, it can be explained easily and proven that she might have shot Ramya for we know how well she is trained in archery.
That is a class 1 crime for which she can be subjected to life imprisonment without nobles objecting or people revolting. Kattappa , as usual is the only person knowing truth and not speaking with guilt still in his brain.
Kuntala might have revolted to this disrespect and for which its palpable that kuntala was burned down. People supporting kuntala termed as rebels.
(BTW Margaret, you missed this episode completely).
In opening credits we see that Ramya approaches waterfall and just one shot of kuntala burning down is shown. As kuntala is at the edge of the waterfall. I guess that Ramya anticipated kuntala burn down and kept crawling down the waterfall. This leaves to the present day.
Rana might have created big conspiracy theory with no way to verify facts, given his brains and spotted weakness in prabahs – Anuska. So, suddenly when baahubali shows up in the middle of nowhere and a few people get a glimpse of him ( I highly suspect only one person seeing him. He is so reckless and not a master of disguise like his dad) and all of a sudden conspiracy theories are broken. People know truth.
Since truth regales like a wild fire all those who attended that statue establishment came to the war when he called. AND Rana is shocked and scared that prabahs2 is not dead.
So, as a master of spies Nazar clearly suspects that prabahs2 might really have attended that ceremony. That’s his first dialogue after that while scene. Please, Margaret take a notice here and mention how things are circling back to the same point again.
I am waiting for others to join in here.
LikeLike
Interesting thought that Rana must have come up with a crime to justify Anushka’s imprisonment. Certainly present day Rana wouldn’t have cared, he would have just done anything he wanted and not cared what the people thought. But 25 years ago, he had Ramya go out and talk to the people, he had an elaborate plan for Prabhas 1 to be killed without him being blamed, I could see him coming up with a reason that Anushka needed to be punished. Which would also explain why it was the Kuntala rebels who most wanted to free her, because they would know it to be false.
On Mon, May 22, 2017 at 10:37 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
You see Margaret we are missing one big plot point here. The whole point behind Ramya’s illogical decisions were to avoid war within or civil war. Watch the trailer again. She knows prabhas1 is crowd favourite so more risk of war. Also when he is banished from palace he says ” I am always in service of mahishmati and will always be”. Even at end of death his last dialogue is “jai mahishmati”. His promise despite banishment kept nobles and people clam from going into rebellion. She is so involved into stopping another coup and division in kingdom and nobles like it happened when her children were infants. That’s also why Rana had all these elaborate plans : to frame everybody so great and complicated that nobody rebels or questions him, and if there is anybody who does it it will be his mother. The main reason Ramya plans kattappa killing prabhas1 is to prevent this civil war or open rebellion.
It provides a strong evidence as to why Rana might definitely have gone for a convincing plan to frame anushka than his personal revenge. I think I already explained how this whole thing nicely fits into that whole statue establishment scene we see and the various extreme reactions from everybody.
LikeLike
I just assume that they went with the “Kalakeya killed Prabhas 1” plan that was originally set up. Partly because, if Anushka was blamed, I feel like the people of Mahishmati would have reacted to it in some way. Hate her or love her or something. Instead of just seeming to forget about her.
To me, the way she was forgotten by all but Kattappa and Rana makes me think that the common people never really knew her or connected with her. If we think about the big crowd scenes, Anushka wasn’t up on the dais, she was down in the audience. Maybe our Extra Who is In Every Scene knew her, because she saw her at the temple and was in the village with her in “Dandaalayyaa”, but for the majority of the people, she would just be the random woman that Prabhas 1 married. Only the upper class courtiers who saw her in her two throne room scenes would have had any sense of her as an individual, and even for them, it would just be those two scenes. So for the majority of the Mahishmati citizens, she is just that woman in a cage that the king hates.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 9:00 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
A very plausible idea indeed. In a way with what happened at court I don’t suspect other nobles respecting her or even acknowledging her though she is a noble herself in the empire.
This also puts into perspective how small kuntala kingdom really is. More like city state and few agricultural fields surrounding it, which prabhas1 kattappa duo would’ve happily skipped if not for Anuska’s dynamic entry.
LikeLike
Yes! We saw at the coronation scene that Anushka and her brother were seated among many other nobles. Presumably they were just one of many liege kingdoms belonging to Mahishmati.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 10:16 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
What Bhadra (Bhallaladeva’s son) accuses Devasena of when he catches up to her is “fornication”, not adultery. It’s also really impossible for Bhallaladeva to marry the widow of his brother, so sorry, that scenario has to be abandoned even in speculation.
LikeLike
Perhaps adultery might have been a strong word. But, in the language it is made director definitely intended bhadra to treat her like a scum, a w*** in worthy of her life. So when kattappa starts pursuing prabahs2, bhadra slips his tongue and says ” I want him alive. I want him alone alive”. Then suddenly he finds himself astonished. Finally when he catches her he says something like ” Don’t you have shame you b***. Were you so sexually starved that as soon as you a man you just…” And he just doesn’t proceed and eats his words with actions. We don’t get to see the complete insults because rajamouli choose not to show them and so we hear what prabahs2 hears as soon as he recovers from his knock out.
This implies bhadra was brought up by the words like ” she is a criminal, for sexual crimes and also killed Ramya”. The guy takes his father’s evil to a whole new level.
Probably marriage might not have been on cards, but I don’t sense scenario where it is impossible.
LikeLike
Yes, I already said that Bhadra was merely letting off a string of abuses at Devasena.
LikeLike
Really? Maybe it’s a north Indian thing, but I know sometimes the thinking is “marry the widow to the brother so the family can continue to take care of her.”
The Internet tells me it is called “levirate marriage” and is common in a whole variety of cultures, including some areas of north India, for inheritance reasons and generally sort of tidiness of family relations.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 8:23 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Funnily enough I just saw a Hallmark movie called Loving Leah and this is the theme! Apparently it is a custom amongst the Jews.
LikeLike
Also, Silsila. And the British royal family (Henry the 8th, George the Vth)
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 9:40 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Yes, I understand it is done in some north Indian communities, but not in South India. Even in the north it is not all that common or approved.
LikeLike
Of course I’m talking about Hindu practices here. Other religions have different practices.
LikeLike
Marrying your brother-in-law is a very common theme for widows in Indian mythology and in real life. Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother’s widow, and the widow is obliged to marry her deceased husband’s brother.
[Tara is described as the daughter of the monkey physician Sushena in the Ramayana, and in later sources, as an apsara (celestial nymph) who rises from the churning of the milky ocean. She marries Vali and bears him a son named Angada. After Vali is presumed dead in a battle with a demon, his brother Sugriva becomes king and appropriates Tara.]
When Bhallal runs those Devasena’s chains down his face, he absolutely has some obsession with her. But, I don’t believe for one second he was ever in love with her. Just a pawn in his scheme for the crown.
LikeLike
It’s interesting to see how both Prabhas 1 and 2 are all about Anushka, but in a way that is still sane. It’s not a battle of opposite obsession where whoever gets her “wins”. Prabhas 1 and 2 just want Anushka to be free and happy again, they care about her. Whereas Rana wants to possess her. So while the battle is explicitly over Anushka, she is being treated as a “prize” by Rana, but as a person by the Prabhases.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 10:16 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Absolutely! Definitely the Ram/Sita/Krishna angle here. Well done from a larger picture. Rana/Bhallal was an evil creep. Though the only thing I felt missing was how he hatred wasn’t set up as well as I’d like. Aside from assuming he’d get the crown, the reason for his hatred wasn’t explored deeply.
LikeLike
Rana-the-actor did a great job with the little moments he was given to let his anger off the leash a little and show his resentment and hatred towards both his mother and brother. But it was all on his face, there wasn’t much in the script to support it.
LikeLike
Rana’s dialog can’t possibly be interpreted as a proposal after Amarendra is dead, because what he says is, “You said no to me, and wanted only him…” , so this is referring to her rejection of his original proposal, which was misinterpreted to be about her marrying Amarendra.
LikeLike
In fact, the complete quote from Bhallaladeva is, “You said no to me, and wanted only him. Well, what did you get out of marrying him? Where is he now? Does anyone even remember his name today? …” etc. about how Bahubali has been completely erased from the public memory. So it is clear that he is only talking about the original proposal, not any subsequent one he might have made.
LikeLike
Also, going by Bhalla’s nature, he doesn’t seem like the sort to go back and propose again. Once is enough for him to take great offense and make the offender pay greatly.
LikeLike
Yes. I could see even if it wasn’t a marriage proposal, him suggesting that Anushka help prop up his rule, in the same way he tried to order Ramya to go out and talk to the people for him. But once she refused, he would be done with her and hold it against her for eternity.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 9:55 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
English subtitles in the version from youtube are: “To love ore hate in this world, only I remain Davasena”, so for me it’s kind of proposal, but not of marriage, in my opinion, more to be his mistress. And in the first movie, when Katappa gets to talk with Davasena, he says that she doesn’t have to suffer like this. She should say yest to Rana,and not behave like crazy.
LikeLike
That’s where we get into the concept that Anushka is Sita in this, meaning her firmness and refusal in captivity is what weakened Rana long before Prabhas 2 arrived. I could believe that, and that Anushka knew it all along. Or at least knew that her refusal was the only way she could hurt Rana and, as the years went by, could see how it was working away at him.
LikeLike
I will definitely, definitely read all your fanfics! I am just waiting to finish the actual story first – its a personal thing, sorry.🙂🙂 But I am so going to read them.
That was Kunthala shown to be burning just after Ramya kills the guards right at the beginning of part 1?! Wow, I did not notice that!
LikeLike
Is it you mentioned seeing animated baahubali on prime?
I just saw episode 2 after you mentioned it and it’s awesome how complicated story mahishmati is.
Did you like it? What are your take aways from it?
LikeLike
Yes, I did watch it and thought it was cool. Sivagami is all about politics. I love the scene where she teaches Baahubali the lesson about responsibility. Going by this, he was very much involved with the common people of the kingdom from the begining. Bhalla’s cunning nature is also quite evident. I am curious about the princess and am eager to know more about Baahubali as a young adult.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought, as I mentioned earlier somewhere, we are completely overshadowed by the mother Ramya over political Ramya. We don’t see enough of political Ramya like we are seeing in the animated series. I never thought animated series would be so exciting.
LikeLike
You are almost making me want to watch it! Only I think the scene by scene and fanfic I am already doing are taking up enough of my time 🙂
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 9:37 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Guess what, the dialogues are in English too for the animation series. It is named baahubali : the lost legend.
LikeLike
Yes, that’s true. Sivagami is so regal and all about the kingdom in the series. We rarely see the motherly side of her. I love how the drawings are so accurate! I can see Ramya and Nasser and Katappa so clearly! I am just not all that happy with how the boys look! I miss Baahubali’s beard. 😦 Then again, it might be to represent him in his younger years.
LikeLike
Lol.
I thought I was the only one who felt that both the patragonists are not at all shown like how they really look. But, hey it’s cartoon.
LikeLike
Yay, fanfic readers! I am already tempted to write a 3rd one. I just want everyone to be happy forever and ever!
On Mon, May 22, 2017 at 11:03 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I’m with you on that one! Write away! 🙂
LikeLike
This part (secret passageways) is little bit difficult for me to understand. It took so many days for Prabhas 2 to reach Mahishmati kingdom. But Ramya could walk overnight from Mahishmati kingdom to the bottom of waterfall. Are those secret passageways that short?
LikeLike
I think based on evidences like kuntala burn down and stuff like that, I guess she took several days to get to the bottom of waterfall and also used all her skills to hide the baby to protect herself and the baby. Then finally where she thinks baby can be safe, she realizes it really isn’t until she is gone. So, she sacrifices herself.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It didn’t really take that many days for Prabhas 2. One day and night up the waterfall, then he was just hanging out watching Tamannah, once he started to follow her it was another days journey or so to the kingdom. Although that was with the sledding shortcut through the mountains.
And the forest people took the passageway at the end of B1 as well, and ended up in the plain outside the city, where Prabhas 2 reached after one very fast carriage ride. So maybe Ramya got outside the city, then took another tunnel through the waterfall, and the whole thing only took like a day and a half. Still remarkable that the newborn baby survived without food that long, but maybe she found a cow along the way.
On Mon, May 22, 2017 at 11:13 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Baby Prabhas2 is superbaby. He (she) didn’t need any physical sustenance, you see.😏
Jokes aside, I am totally confused by this travel thing now. Ramya doesn’t seem wet or bedraggeld when she comes out of the cave (after falling into the moat/river when Rana shoots the arrow into her) so I’m presuming that she walked long enough to get dry. And its still dark. So it is either the same night or another night. So it doesn’t take more than a couple of hours to get from Mahismathi to the opening of the cave (going by the theory that its the same night).
LikeLike
Which means that its faster to travel underground than it is to travel above. So, do the caves only link Mahismathi and the bottom of the waterfall? None of the other areas seem accesible by the caves.
Also, the rock where Prabhas1 dies regally after the Tragedy (thank you, Avani), is that the same one where Prabhas2 is held down before he sees Anushka being manhandled by Bhadra? So, is that the same place where everything happens?!
LikeLike
Good point about The Tragedy location recurring! There were some distinctive landmarks, a ridge, a dead tree. It’s possible it can be confirmed to be the same place.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 9:22 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
What if the majority of the travel is vertical, not horizontal? That is, it takes a long time to reach Kuntala/the waterfall, if you go all the way up the mountains and then all the way down them again. In that case, taking the tunnel short cut that lets you go straight horizontal could save loads of time. It would also totally trigger my claustrophobia, but lets assume that isn’t a problem for Ramya.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 9:18 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
According to wikipedia Kuntala is about 7.5 yojana north of Mahishmathi. 1 yojana=15 kms. So it must be about 112 kms. Which shouldn’t really take more than half a day for Prabhas 2 to cross
LikeLike
In that case, Mahishmati is a really really tiny kingdom! At least by today’s standards.
LikeLike
It could be that the distance between the two kingdoms were measured border to border. They do show a map of the wholething at the beginning of B1. It shows Mahishmathi to the far south. And then there is Kunthala up north(112 kms) , further up north is the Singapuram conclave of thieves where Prabhas and Rana come to locate the betrayer Saketha and then the farthest up north is the Kunthala hideout where the rebel army has settled. and then theres the waterfall. When the betrayer makes away with the war secrets Prabhas and Rana are shown travelling through many kingdoms before they reach the dance-bar area. Surely Ramya , as a injured woman, couldn’t have made past all those kingdoms on feet in such a short time. Judging by the distance between mahishmathi and the top of waterfall, it couldve easily been 200-300 kms.
LikeLike
After reading all these fascinating geometry posts by everyone, I understood two things. Thanks to everyone here
1. Nobody really cared about any kind of shit that happened in the low lands I.e. below waterfalls, not even kingdoms closer to waterfall.
2. I overlook and took for granted so many things in the first movie B1, that are now slowly becoming visible.
LikeLike
Ooh, interesting! The hardest part for me to reconcile is how despite sharing a border, the Kuntala Royal Family and the Mahishmati Royal Family have never ever met before. Maybe Kuntala went out of their way to avoid Mahishmati – but even then, the years of absolutely no contact, to the point there’s not even an ambassador or dignitary who thinks Prabhas 1 or Kattappa look a tad familiar, makes very little sense to me.
LikeLike
I would say that maybe they had never happened to see a portrait of Prabhas 1, since he was only recently named heir. But then I remembered that Prabhas 0 looked exactly like him, and wouldn’t you think someone would go “Hey! that simpleton looks just like the old King!” Or maybe Prabhas 0 had a reputation, and they all thought Prabhas 1 was his illegitimate son but didn’t like to say it.
On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 7:04 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I suppose, it’s the difference in ‘energy’ between the two kingdoms. While Kuntala seems like a serene, peaceful loving kingdom with predominantly farming as their source of income, highlighted by the colors they use to portray this region-greans, whites and spring-time flowers, Mahishmathi looks a lot more serious, like its always ready for war, with forts and battlement areas. Like its contained within itself and is only interested in protecting the territory and showing dominance. With that, I think, Mahishmathi just had no reason to try to keep a watch on Kunthala or extend some kind of cordiality. Like the most popular kid might not bother to remember the name of a nerdy kid? 🙂
LikeLike
I wonder if Kuntala was also a sub-kingdom in some way? Like, it sent all its trade and crafts and so on to a larger neighbor who did all the interacting with Mahishmati on their behalf? I don’t see anyone in Anushka’s family being really into visiting the city and spending time in court. So maybe they made a different kingdom their proxy for all major events, and Mahishmati got used to dealing with the proxy and forgot that Kuntala was technically it’s own thing.
On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 7:33 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
That is an interesting alternative. Subkingdoms usually pay taxes/have trade sanctions with a more powerful kingdom in exchange for protection/martial support. In this case though, Anushka leads her own (somewhat small) army in a guerilla attack against the Pindaris in her entry scene. and also the farmers do come complaining to her about the wild boar problem. All that points to it being a sovereign Kindom in its own right, albeit a small one I think the access to Mahishmathi isn’t easy, with the kingdom seeming to be located in kind of a valley surrounded by mountains. Their low interaction with Mahishmathi could just be problem of easy access.
LikeLike
And once again, I realize how things that seemed stupid in B1 were actually smart. Prabhas 2 and Tamannah were only able to get quickly and easily from the ruins of Kuntala to Mahishmati because they sledded through that avalanche. Normally, it would have been travel through difficult terrain.
On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 12:28 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
I have been so fascinated by this movie and all the insightful comments made by all of you. I know I am jumping the gun a bit but I am very curious as to Rana and Anushka’s relationship here. As we all saw towards the end that his obsession with Anushka has reached gigantic proportions. When he literally bashes his head with the chains that bind Anushka as he finds that he has eacaped his clutches. He tells his father that all this fame and glory means nothing to him if he can’t have her back in those chains. I also notice the look on Bijjaladevas face and he seems to understand his son’s obsession. I feel that there is no proper back story to what actually happened in Rana and Anushka ‘s relationship for him to act out as the way he did. He barely shows any interest in her while he is plotting Prabhas1 ‘s death
LikeLike
I’m sticking with the “she was all he had left to hate” theory. And that it was the past 25 years of her remaining untouched by his hatred which drove him to obsession. But I am open to other ideas!
LikeLike
Now that you bring it up, I too am nozzles by what kind of relationship they really had. They never confront each other or even see each other in the eye. We always see, especially during baby shower scene, rana addressing devasena but devasena addressing Ramya.
It is really mysterious.
LikeLike
I’ve rewatched Bahubali 1 a couple of times now, and really paid attention to the map they show at the beginning, and, all I have to say “NOT TO SCALE!” 🙂 Another way of putting it is that, now that we have the entire story, it is clear that Rajamouli/ his father have completely ignored the geography that they themselves provided us with in BB1. From the map, all these places (Mahishmati, Kunthala, the thieves’ den in BB1 where Manohari takes place, the rebel headquaters, and the waterfall, as well as the snowy mountains) are at least several days of travel apart, and likely more, if we take into account the kind of transportation they had then (horses).
In BB1, after Shivudu goes up the waterfall, and we come back to the forest people, Sanga (his adoptive mother) says, “It’s been ten days since he climbed up the mountain, and we haven’t heard anything from him,, nor has he come back.” So during that time presumably he was learning about the band of rebels and painting tattoos on Avanthika. Then, toward the end, he goes off to Mahishmati. The rebel leader tells Avanthika, when he gives her the mission, that she has to leave in two days’ time. She spends the first day getting wooed by Shivudu, and the second day she’s caught by the army as soon as she sets off. But, we also have a scene, after Shivudu has left for Mahishmati, and released Devasena, where we get back to the rebels, and Avanthika tells her leader (her leg is fine now) to trust her when she says Shivudu can be depended on to execute their mission, and that they should go in support of him. This is followed by the scene of the forest tribe, where they decide to open up the cave at the bottom of the mountain, and discover that it goes all the way to the top, and decide to go in search of Shivudu by that route.
But the point is that Shivudu has only been in Mahishmati for one day before he rescues Devasena that night, and, as he comes out of the city to the country side, both the rebel band and his tribal family come to the same place and see him as he beheads Bhadra, and Kattappa recognizes him as Bahubali. So really, the distance between the respective places from which all these people came is not all that great, since they could cover that distance overnight merely by walking.
LikeLike
I think it is not about distance, it’s about terrain. But I noticed this flaw in geography too.
Perhaps they didn’t want to show too much of the map in perspective.
Also, if we note here prabhas1 travels a long way before he reached his final leg of journey where he meets anushka and fall in love. He meets pindaris much before they attack kuntala.
I think we need to pay attention to detail here. Dhivara song clearly shows that waterfall is really broad and occurs in steps , I.e.combination of several short waterfalls in steps. So when prabhas scales it it is more horizontal journey than a vertical one.
Supposing one centre reference point on the waterfall and going anti clockwise the clock. The tribal kingdom is more like 7 and mahishmati is 10 or 11 and kuntala is 4 while thieves den is 9 only farther but kalakeya are far far beyond at I think 3. Also river is shown as with huge banks and width which means river is really huge and mighty like everything else in mahishmati.
I totally agree with you that they didn’t pay attention to the scaling of map. It was not true to what we see. Some areas are stretched out and some are shortened.
LikeLike
Also added to take note of the terrain where prabhas1 and rana catch the traitor who stole mahishmati secrets. There is some patchy CGi work here but we will get a picture here.
LikeLike
There’s also the possibility that river travel greatly decreases distances. So going by land, Prabhas 1 and Kattappa took weeks to reach Kuntala and went through a whole variety of other kingdoms. But going by boat, Ramya’s minister and Prabhas 1 and Anushka were able to cover that distance in quick time.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 9:21 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Moimeme, could you translate the ending of Oka Pranam please? Does it say something about the Tragedy and Prabhas2 finding his destiny at the same place or something?
LikeLike
Can you tell me what you mean by “the ending”? I mean, just give me the starting word of the line from which you want the translation. Anyway, I’ve just gone through the song lyrics, and there’s nothing about Prabhas 2/Shivudu finding his destiny. It’s actually quite confusing in terms of what characters are being referenced. I find the lyrics of most of the songs in BB2 to be pretty poor, with words just being thrown together for their sound value and to fit the music, and grammar a very last consideration. This also makes it hard to understand/translate.
LikeLike
Okay, so this is what I understood from the lyrics with a lot of help from my awesome friend:
Oka Praanam, Oka Tyagam – refers to Sivagami sacrificing her life for Prabahs2 (one life, one sacrifice), depicted by her arm holding up baby Prabhas2.
Telipindhaa…..Thana Gamyam- refers to Prabhas2 finding his destiny (its a follow on from the previous lines – like his grandmother’s sacrifice led to him finding his destiny) depicted by him trying to get over the waterfall by shooting the arrow into the tree at the top
Oka Paasham…Thana Nishtayyi…Ragilindha – refers to the idea that the moment Anushka is made captive (depicted by her in chains) is when her burning desire for revenge arises and, her single minded focus towards achieving it is depicted by her setting the scene for Rana’s death (the pyre).
Ranathantram – refers to the extent of Rana’s deviousness and cunning shown by his inhuman ability in taming even a wild bull (this word literally means statecraft, I think?)
Hananamthone Modalayyinda Havanamlo Jwalanam…Sebaasane Nabham – refers to the blood of Bhadra being given as sacrifice which has fated the fall of Bhalla and, nature blessing this decree by pouring rain (the rain starts falling just after Prabhas2 chops off Bhadra’s head)
Rara Rammani Rara Rammani Pilichinda Raajyam. Varinchaga Jayam Saantham – refers to the revelation of Prabhas2 (when the dirt on his face is washed away) which has destined the victory and peace for the kingdom of Mahismathi (which has been his true calling all along – the kingdom calling out to him). This is depicted by Katappa recognizing the true ruler of Mahismathi by kneeling before him and hailing him as Baahubali
Balithaanai….Ulithaanai….Malichenaa – refers to Katappa being just a tool in the whole story and how he has been used to shape the destiny of everyone involved. He is referred to as the ‘scapegoat’ and ‘chisel’. This is depicted by him balancing Prabhas2’s foot on his forehead – like his life is not his own in any way.
Bhavitavyam…Rudhiramlo…Runabandham…Prathi Bottuu…Shaivam…Shivam! – refers to the idea that when Katappa stabs Prabahs1, every drop of blood that falls from the wound has led to the creation of the bond between father and son. Since Prabhas1’s blood is significant because of who he is, every drop that falls only strengthens the virtues he passes on to his son. It says something like the blood bond goes back to the Divine (Shaivam) due to Prabhas1’s virtuousness and this is also what is passed on to his son, Prabhas2 (Shivam)
I am just not sure about the last few lines (from Bhavitavyam). The actual link to the descriptions is this http://chaibisket.com/oka-praanam-lyrics-explained/
LikeLike
Let me rephrase the last bit – it says that every drop of blood that falls from the wound links back to Shiva, as He is the epitome of virtuosness and Prabhas1 stand for the same. This is the same link that extends to Prabhas2, through his father, because of the blood bond.
LikeLike
Thanks for the link and the detailed descriptions, Apu. I actually don’t know what more you need explaining. So let me just say that “bhavityam” is actually the end of the previous line. If you notice the structure of the song, each stanza starts by setting up a couple of situations via a short phrase (e.g., “oka pranam, oka tyagam”) and ends with the result of the actions/situations set up by the introductory phrases (“telipindaa tana gamyam”). So, the sacrifice of this life (Sivagami’s) led to Shivudu finding his goal. That’s the meaning of the first stanza. Also note that every stanza ends with a word ending in –am.
So “bhavityam” is the last word of the stanza, which begins “bali taanai uli taanai malichenaa bhavitavyam” — i.e., sacrificing himself, and himself acting as the chisel (that a sculptor uses on stone), did he mould out the future? From the link you provided, which gives the visuals that went along with the song, you can see this refers to Kattappa, but even without the visuals, you can deduce from the lyrics themselves that they are about Kattappa, who is the only other one besides Sivagami who made a huge sacrifice.
So now the last stanza is “rudhiramlo runabandham prati bottu shaivam shivam” — meaning every drop of blood is the repayment of a debt (runabangham), and, as explained in the link you gave, this repayment is a dharmic action, consistent with what Shiva (the god) represents. The keyword here is “runabandham”. I translated it as “payment of a debt” which is its most basic and surface meaning. But in Hindu philosophy, this word actually refers to the “debts” that all human beings accrue through their karmic actions, and the relationships between people are explained by these kinds of ties (bandham means tie). So, for instance, someone might be born as a child of a set of parents to “pay off” the debts accumulated to them in a past life, by taking care of them in their old age. So this last stanza is saying that every drop of blood is going toward paying off that karmic debt, according to dharma. So who is being referred to here? Again, from the story, logic dictates that this is referring to Shivudu/Mahendra, “paying off” his debt to his parents by avenging the wrongs done to them.
I feel like I’ve blathered a lot without adding anything to what that link already said, but I hope this answers your question. The last stanza doesn’t specifically refer to any particular geographical location, or any particular destiny for Shivudu/Mahendra, just saying that, like every child, he has an obligation to his parents, which he is fulfilling with all his heart (that’s what “rudhiramlo” refers to here — every drop of his blood is fired up to repay his debt; it’s not referring to any physical wound).
I hope that helps.
(Aside to Margaret — you see what the poor subtitle writers have to contend with now? I wrote all the above to explain seven words. 🙂 )
LikeLike
Thank you so much, Moimeme. I don’t understand anything of what’s written in the link actually – just the few (very,very few) words that I recognise. This helps a lot actually as my interpretation is just extrapolating with what little I’ve understood from the scenes depicted – not the actual meaning like how you have explained it.
LikeLike
Oh, I’m glad you found it useful. If you want the actual meanings of the rest of the lyrics, I can do that for you, too.
LikeLike
Yes please, thar would be awesome. Thanks so much.
LikeLike
A standing ovation to you both. I too understood lyrics, but as in one of the interviews kala bhairava , the singer, said it pretty much sums up character and state of mind of people at the end of B1 and their fate.
Another notice is to differentiate between shaivam and shivam. Shaivam stands more for the good gracious God’s destiny, like it is all his working. Shivam stands for ultimate goodness.
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLike
@Apu — Here are the meanings for the lyrics at the beginning of the song. I’ve just translated the words, without explaining much about the symbolism. I hope that will server your purpose. BTW, do you understand Telugu? If you do, then Chai Bisket’s blog does go into all the detailed explanations (it’s in Telugu, but written in English script). If you don’t, I think you can still figure out what these lyrics are referring to.
oka pranam oka tyaagam telipindaa tana gamyam
One life, one sacrifice – did they point out the goal?
(referring to how Mahendra/Shivudu’s life began and how he was drawn up the waterfall)
oka paasam tana nishTai ragilindaa ranatantram
One rope (or a tie used to imprison) – did it become the focus to ignite the battle plan?
(referring to how the shackles which bound Devasena made her determined to defeat Bhallaladeva in battle)
hananamthone modalayyindaa havanamlo jwalanam…sebaasane nabham
Did the first spark of a yajnam start with a murder? The sky applauds
(referring to how the murder of Amarendra set in action the forces leading to the ultimate destruction of Bhallaladeva; his destruction is compared to a “yajnam”, i.e., a massive spiritual undertaking to defeat the forces of evil)
raara rammani raara rammani pilichindaa raajyam varinchagaa jayam saantham
Did the kingdom call out saying “Come, come”, assuring the victory? Peace
(referring to how the kingdom of Mahishmati is calling out for a saviour to come and rescue it from oppression, and how the kingdom (its people) will support and assure victory when such a saviour comes. And after that victory, peace will reign)
Then you have the last two stanzas, starting with “bali taanai” and “rudhiramlo” which I have explained above.
@sheshankjoshi — thank you for explaining the difference between Shaivam and Shivam, which I was having trouble with.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! This sets my mind at peace😀 I can’t understand Telugu beyond the few words that I have picked up, unfortunately.
LikeLike
My friend Dina came up with the phrase “emotional chronology” to discuss Yash Chopra movies. How if you tried to lay out the timeline of Silsila, for instance, it doesn’t work at all. Rekha and Amitabh meet again before Jaya’s pregnancy is even showing. Which means Shashi’s death, Amitabh’s marriage, Rekha’s marriage, and everyone getting settled into these new roles took like 5 months at the most. But it feels like it makes sense, if you just let the movie flow over you, enough screen time and enough scenes are spent to build up the emotions and relationships that everything seems right until you start thinking about it too much.
Anyway, I think Bahubali uses emotional geography. The forest tribe and Kuntala feel completely separate from Mahishmati, but the actual distances between them condense and expand based on how close people feel to them at any given moment, how much they are being drawn into the Mahishmati area of influence.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 8:33 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmm, this works for me. Also, it depends on who’s doing the traveling, methinks. Sanga (the amazing foster mother) had a sense of urgency to reach the other end which might have shortened the trip for her. Ramya might have stumbled upon the exit by accident after losing her way somewhere inside. etc etc.
LikeLike
I could see Ramya losing her way. Or just blindly keeping going with no particular goal in sight. Or maybe starting by heading for Kuntala, and then going and going once she saw that it was already burning.
Follow-up question: how they heck did Rana attack Kuntala so fast? Never mind, that actually makes sense, the assassination was carefully planned, he could have already secretly sent soldiers there in advance with orders to attack the same night as Prabhas was killed.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 9:53 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Yes, makes sense. Maybe he set plans for the attack in motion once Subbaraju was out of the way.
LikeLike
– About Rana v. Anushka, I have to say, I’m also on the “she is the last link to/surviving person who loved Prabhas 1” (well, Kattappa’s around, but Rana “conquered”/got him back on his side easily enough. Plus Anushka is the only person in Prabhas’ life who never betrayed him and was always on his side 100%). That said, I don’t see Anushka talking to Rana ever, even to refuse a proposal of marriage (She is in the same clothes she gave birth in when she gets put in chains, and in that scene and even in the scenes we see of them interacting later, she doesn’t say a word to him where he talks to her, then gets bored, and wanders off.) and I wonder if that didn’t change their relationship too- back in the day, Anushka was the one who spoke impulsively, while Rana was the silent one who was really pulling the strings. I speculate that he recognizes her silent simmering anger as the more powerful than his present-day evil monologuing : subconsciously she has become a threat to him where she never was before.
– Definitely agree that Prabhas 1 would have reacted definitely, if say, it had turned out that Nasser had poisoned Prabhas 0 and now he had to go to war to avenge him or whatever. Prabhas 1 likes clever strategies, and uses brute strength to stall until he can come up with an idea, where Prabhas 2 tends to hit first, make plans later. I think with Prabhas 1, we would have seen the return of the strategy tent and even more traps and other ways to minimize bloodshed. (The more I think about it, the more Prabhas 2 is Anushka’s son in personality, and would have always been a little more impulsive and hotheaded even if his biological parents had raised him. That’s why I kind of like that he gets to move to Kuntala in your second fanfic, I see him as always more in line with their attitude than that of Mahishmati if Tragedy hasn’t occurred.)
– And final note, I’m probably going to bore you all with this theory, but I really do see the final battle as really being Rana v. Anushka, with Prabhas 2 as the weapon she’s chosen to carry out her vengeance. Even when Prabhas 2 falls to his knees before her, part of that is him recognizing her as his mother but I think it also echoes a warrior swearing his fealty to his overlord.
LikeLike
-I’m still stuck on her going straight from a difficult childbirth to chains in a cell and surviving, I’m just not seeing it happening. I’m also not seeing Rana go 25 years without attempting to “possess” her in a different way. But I could believe her being patched up in the palace, possibly proposed to at some point there, then thrown in the cell in the same clothes she arrived in, Rana taunting her everyday, alternating proposing and threatening death and pulling the wings off birds in front of her, anything to get a reaction, and Anushka never once speaking or reacting in all that time. I love your point about how they have changed positions, Anushka who always spoke out never speaking, and Rana filling the silence. Total power move, like you would learn in a business seminar.
-I could see Prabhas 1 and 2 disagreeing at some point, in a healthy loving way, if Prabhas 1 had been able to raise him. They weren’t as different as Ramya and Prabhas 1, but they were still different. I think Prabhas 2’s upbringing had a big part of that, but then I also think Anushka would have raised her son very differently from how Ramya raised hers. We saw in the proposal scene in Kuntala, how Anushka’s brother let her make her own decision and speak her mind in a way that was unusual, not just because she was a woman, but because she was not the ruler/oldest in the family. Whereas Prabhas 1 was raised in a household where you always waited for your elders to make decisions and listened to them before doing anything yourself.
-Definitely agree. Nassar even says that (the one reason it is useful to keep him alive), that if Anushka completes the rounds, they will lose the battle.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 8:59 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
– I could even see Rana keeping her alive as a trophy, and specifically having her healed because staying alive was the worse punishment when compared to dying. And her silence is pretty terrifying – heck, I don’t even think she even deigns to look at Rana in the first movie before she smirks during the interval scene!
– Everyone brought up the destruction of Kuntala and how quickly it happened but that was the one thing that made sense to me! After all, Rana was just almost assasinated by a prince (if not the future king) of Kuntala, that is nothing if not grounds for war! So retaliation on Mahishmati’s part was always inevitable, I think. And you guys will never be able to talk me out of the fact that Rana declaring war on Kuntala instead of having Prabhas killed would have been the absolute cruelest thing he could do.
– yeah, I agree Prabhas 1 and Prabhas 2 might clash slightly, but Prabhas 2 would have also grown up seeing his parents disagree with each other without it being the end of the world (as opposed to Ramya and her Bug Eyes of Rage) and would have still grown up in a more emotionally healthy household.
– Nasser living would fill me with rage (how is he the one person in this whole family who makes it out not exiled, imprisoned, or killed? Especially when it’s largely his fault to start with!) except the thought of his misery watching Prabhas’ line take over is probably more painful for him than any death. So there.
LikeLike
-Yes, I am blanking at the moment on the reference, but I know I have seen that in plenty of narratives before, the idea that the ultimate evil is too heal, rather than letting the person die in piece. I could even see this being a recurring thing, any time Anushka crosses the line from being just in a lot of pain and weak to actually seriously ill, Rana arranges for a doctor to see her and get her patched up enough to keep living.
-Agree, although I think in that case it would have ended with Anushka being angry but not being able to say anything since she is also bonded to Mahishmati/Prabhas 1 and not Kuntala at this point, and Subbaraju letting Prabhas 1 kill him without a fight. I could also see Prabhas 1, if he was given any military control/involvement using that to keep the wartime attrocities against Kuntala and other regions at a minimum and generally setting up military rule that is more benevolent than the real-rule back in Mahishmati proper.
-I see it more as healthy teenage rebellion coming down the line, kind of like M-E-A, but with a less whiny prince. And a king less obsessed with controlling his love life. But Prabhas 1 could have easily ordered Prabhas 2 to go off and follow Kattappa’s orders for a while, or go adventuring with the army or something, and then come back when he had grown up a little. And during that traveling time, while pretending to be just a lowly soldier under the command of Kattappa, he would naturally have fallen in love with Tamannah who was similarly traveling pretending to be just a lowly warrior-protector of Kuntala despite really being a princess, and they would have fought and then slowly fallen in love against their wills, returned home both wracked with guilt over how their heart is against their duty to marry as promised, gone through with the marriage, after much mutual heartache and wise advice from Anushka 2 (sister to one, best friend to the other), and then at the wedding discovered each others “real” identities and all would be well. I just can’t stop writing fanfic! This world is so rich!
-If they were really petty, they would throw him back in the Anushka-cage. But unfortunately I don’t see them being that petty. Well, maybe Prabhas 2. He is kind of nasty.
LikeLike
Margaret – fanfic on the whole Prabhas1 with Prabahs2 episode, please!!!!! 🙂
LikeLike
Well, I already fell completely in love with my illegitimate-Rana 2-burning-with-hatred-and-revenge falls for Anushka-defender-of-the-Kingdom-and-his-sworn-enemy-although-he-doesn’t-know-it fanfic. This may be a 3 fanfic week.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 11:51 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good interpretation that “She is all he has to hate.” It nicely fits with Rana’s gradually growing madness, their relationship (or lack of it) as presented in the movie and it leaves room for speculation. I can’t stress how much I like that his obsession wasn’t sexual. That goes with the asexual Rana theory.
Nice catch about how Prabhas 1 would handle attacking Mahishmati. It reminds me of the peace talks between the Pandavas and Kauravas in Mahabharata. Yudhishthir, the ever noble oldest Pandava, would not attack without having fair negotiations, in spite of every one including him knowing that Kauravas wouldn’t budge and the war is inevitable. Draupadi is outraged at the idea of not having a chance to avenge her humiliation (Present day Anushka would suit this role). Krishna is with her on this, but is willing to give one last chance at peace.
LikeLike
I was also thinking of the peace talks between Mahishmati and the Kalakeyas in the first film. Even when they have been told this is an implacable ravenous horde, they still go out for talks and agree to terms of battle, as it were. Whereas Prabhas 2 sees no need for this, and would rather just push his advantage while he has it and take them by surprise.
On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 10:11 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
>
LikeLike
Pingback: Bahubali 2 Scene By Scene Part 22: Does Anyone Remember Whose Head This Even Is? – dontcallitbollywood
Pingback: Bahubali Posts Index – dontcallitbollywood
I watched the movie like 10 times now and I have noticed that Rana ordered Shivagami to kill the child and even after Shivagami declared Prabhas 2 as the heir, he orders the guards to kill Shivagami and the baby. NOT DEVASENA.
Isnt that weird?
I mean doesnt this imply that he wanted Devasena all along?
LikeLike
That is weird! I can see it either being because he over-valued her (wanted her), or under-valued her. It doesn’t seem like anyone in Mahishmati really knew what to do with Devasena, besides Prabhas 1. I can see that Rana would fear his mother, he knew how strong she was, and how intelligent. And he would fear Prabhas 2 because the people might rally behind him, and he might grow up to be similar to Prabhas 1. But Anushka he wouldn’t understand, see as a safe “trophy” to keep, thinking he could control her and live off of her misery as a reminder of his triumph.
Of course, what he would come to see is that Anushka is the strongest of them all.
LikeLike
Hello! His Rana’s exact words to anushka in that scene are ” whether it is for you to love or hate – I alone will remain for you ” which isn’t as simple as” I’m the only one u have” and this gives a whole new perspective. A previous comment said that an accusation could be made to wrongfully convict Devasena. That theory uis totally believable but I don’t think bed take all that effort because he’s supremely powerful and doesn’t need to prove lawfulness to anyone coz ramya is dead and the ministers fear him anyway. There’s also an other theory that bhadra may be born of Devasena – just that he was raised away from her by his dad alone.
LikeLike
Thanks for commenting! The Bhadra-Anushka theory is interesting, for one thing it means that Prabhas 2 killed his own younger brother. And if plays once again into the theme of nurture over nature, the person raising you is more important than who your biological parents are.
LikeLike