As the titles for Baahubali: The Beginning showed up on screen, a decidedly juvenile thought crossed my mind. “It’ll be hilarious if they write ‹Baahubali: The Intermission’ during the mid-way mark and “Baahubali: The Conclusion’’ at the end of the movie,” I thought, chuckling to myself and not daring to share that thought with the person sitting next to me. And, well, that’s exactly what happens. Only, by the time that final slate appeared on screen, I wasn’t chuckling anymore.

Baahubali: The Beginning is a grand and largely impressive epic by Telugu film director S. S. Rajamouli. With budget estimates swinging wildly between Rs 170 crore and Rs 220 crore, it is rightly being touted as the most expensive Indian movie ever made. It is one of the first Indian films to make use of the costly ArriAlexa XT camera, now a staple in big-budget Hollywood productions, and utilised elaborate sets constructed....