SS Rajamouli has taken the Indian film industry by storm with his high-budget, multi-lingual movie, Bahubali — the Beginning . As he gets ready to shoot the sequel, Baahubali — the Conclusion , he discusses with BusinessLine the dearth of second-rung technical and artistic talent, poor entertainment ecosystem, and offers from the Bollywood and Hollywood.

You have raised the bar in film-making in terms of visualisation and grandeur. How difficult was it for you to make this film and what were the challenges you faced?

Imagining a film like this is one thing but executing it is another. It took about a year to visualise the film and write the script. I have a fantastic team of technicians that could execute the plan very well. You need to hire hundreds of artists who can churn out thousands of sketches for pre-visualisation of certain scenes. The producer and principal cast are the two most important things on which success hinges.

Had you ever doubted about the end product at any point of time during the two-year-long shooting?

It’s human to get disappointed or have doubts. It’s common during that long, laboured effort, you might feel the exhaustion. But that’s when you require the right support. I did get it from my principal cast and the producer.

What part of the movie is indigenised and what part of it made abroad?

About 99.9 per cent of the entire movie was made here by Indian technicians. 

Are you getting offers from Bollywood and Hollywood after the release of Bahubali ? Are you going to take them up?

Yes, a lot from Bollywood and a couple from Hollywood. But a big ‘no’ to Hollywood as things work very differently there. Corporates have started dictating terms. Not always, but most of the time.

One must be very big to put across his vision there. Here, in India, it’s still a director’s world.

What are the challenges you see in the film production ecosystem in the country?

There is a severe dearth of talent in the second layer of technicians.

If ‘x’ is a top technician with 100 marks, a technician in his team is just about 20-30 per cent of that.

In Hollywood, it is a different picture. The second rung technicians are 70-80 per cent of the top technicians. This makes it easier for the director to present his vision and get it done. Here, it is quite tough.

What should we do to improve this?

Frankly, I don’t have an answer for that. But I feel that it helps if we do things which we are good at. It will help create and strengthen an ecosystem.

If a doctor gives his 100 per cent, it will help create a good ecosystem, comprising a good pharmacy, a diagnostic centre and other support centres.

What are the projects on hand and when are you going back to the sets for Bahubali II ?

There are several ideas but I haven’t zeroed in on any. I wish I could do all of them but I know my limitations.

We are resuming shooting for Bahubali-II in December and that will keep me busy for a year.

We are planning to release it by the end of next year. I’m not thinking of any other project.

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