Baahubali to become India's most expensive film

Period film, which has drawn comparisons to 300, is being shot in the Tamil and Telugu languages hundreds of miles from the Bollywood capital of Mumbai

 Actors Anushka Shetty, Tamannaah Bhatia, Prabhas and Rana Daggubati pose with writer and director SS Rajamouli (centre) at the trailer launch for Baahubali. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

A non-Bollywood special effects-laden battle epic which features more than 1,000 armoured extras is to become India’s most expensive film of all time.

Baahubali, which has already drawn comparisons to Zack Snyder’s 300, is being shot in two parts in the city of Hyderabad, capital of the southern Telangana state. The Tollywood adventure tells the story of two warring brothers battling for control of an ancient Indian kingdom, according to director SS Rajamouli.

“It’s the simple story of a father who has been back-stabbed, a mother who has been enchained for no wrong of hers and the story of a son who takes revenge. The two parts span two generations,” the film-maker, best known for 2012’s Eega (Fly) and 2009’s Magadheera (Great Warrior), told AFP. “There are still over a hundred days of shooting left, followed by post-production for the second part,” he added. “The budget will definitely be over 250 crore rupees [£25m] for both parts.”

The previous most expensive film was 2010’s Enthiran (Robot), which cost £14m. Both movies are, surprisingly, Tamil language productions, though Baahubali will also be filmed in the Telugu language. India’s best known film industry is Hindi-language Bollywood, centred on the western city of Mumbai. But Baahubali has been produced for the Tollywood and Kollywood markets which centre on Hyderabad and the far south state of Tamil Nadu respectively.

Baahubali required an extensive cast of 2,000 extras for its battle scenes, with more than 1,000 dressed as soldiers in full costume. About 500-600 technicians, as well as horses and elephants, were also utilised, and 600 artists from 17 studios across India worked on CGI visual effects.

“We would not have been able to recover the cost even if it had been a single film because the storyline would not have allowed us to make it under three hours long,” said Rajamouli. “So we decided to increase the budget some more and make it in two parts and in two languages, Tamil and Telugu, which are our main markets, to make it more viable.”

The first part of the film, Baahubali – The Beginning, is due to debut in cinemas on July 10, with part two arriving next year. Producers are also expected to dub the film into Hindi and are also considering a cut down version for the international market.