Baahubali: The Beginning is a 2015 Indian epic period action film co-written and directed by S. S. Rajamouli, and produced by Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni under Arka Media Works.

[17][18] It features Prabhas in a dual role alongside Rana Daggubati, Anushka, Tamannaah Bhatia, Ramya Krishnan, Sathyaraj, and Nassar.

The first of a duology of films, it follows Sivudu, an adventurous young man who helps his love Avantika rescue Devasena, the former queen of Mahishmati who is now a prisoner under the tyrannical rule of king Bhallaladeva.

The soundtrack and background score were composed by M. M. Keeravani, while the cinematography, production design, and VFX were handled by K. K. Senthil Kumar, Sabu Cyril and V. Srinivas Mohan respectively.

It received national and international acclaim for Rajamouli's direction, story, visual effects, cinematography, themes, action sequences, music, and performances,[20] and became a record-breaking box office success.

He learns that she is a member of a resistance group dedicated to overthrowing the tyrannical King Bhallaladeva of Mahishmati, and rescuing the captive princess Devasena.

The cinematography of the movie was done by KK Senthil Kumar for 380 days using Arri Alexa XT camera with Master Prime lens.

[49] Production designer Sabu Cyril created 10,000 different kinds of weaponry including swords, helmets and armour required for the soldiers.

Makuta VFX which is based out of Hyderabad was chosen as principal visual effects studio and was responsible for more than 50% of the computer-generated imagery in the film.

[53][better source needed] The majority of work done by Makuta involved bringing the 1500 foot waterfall to life, creating mountains and landscapes including the kingdom of Mahishmati, with its massive temples and courtyards.

[53][better source needed] Firefly Creative Studio of Hyderabad worked primarily on the avalanche and the war sequences, which account for nearly 25 minutes of the film.

For the first time in Indian movies, Academy Color Encoding System workflows were implemented along with Infinitely Scalable Information Storage keeping in mind the scale of digitally enhanced shots in the film.

[58] In an interview with Quartz, the co-founder of Makuta VFX stated, "Most of Baahubali was developed in Hyderabad, home to Tollywood, and used local talent.

"[59] The fictional language Kiliki (also referred to as Kilikili) spoken by the Kalakeyas, a ferocious warrior tribe, was created by Madhan Karky for the film.

"[62] Rajamouli's cousin M. M. Keeravani composed the music and background score for this film and the sound supervision was done by Kalyani Malik.

[73] The producer, Shobu Yarlagadda, revealed his plans to release the movie in Latin America, Germany and European countries.

[89] The international version of the film was released in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and some European and Latin American countries.

[99] In early July 2014, for the first part of the film, the region distribution rights for Karnataka and Ceded (Rayalaseema) were sold to a distributor[which?]

[102] MVP Entertainment is set to release[needs update] the movie in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste countries.

On 22 July 2015, activists of Dalit group Puratchi Pulikal Iyakkam hurled petrol bombs outside the 'Tamil, Jaya' multiplex in Madurai screening the Tamil version of the film.

[106] Deepanjana Pal of Firstpost called it "Rajamouli's tour de force", terming it as "elaborate, well-choreographed and [having] some breathtaking moments."

To that extent, Baahubali, driven by the titular superhero who pulls off mind-boggling feats both in love and in war, throws up many a surprise that isn't altogether meaningless.

"[108] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express praised the film: "Right from its opening frames, Baahubali holds out many promises: of adventure and romance, love and betrayal, valour and weakness.

"[109] In her review for The Hindu, Sangeetha Devi Dundoo wrote, "The war formations that form a chunk of the latter portions of the film are the best we've seen in Indian cinema so far.

"[112] Suparna Sharma of Deccan Chronicle praised the second half of the film, writing, "Rajamouli has reserved all the grander and grandstanding for later, after interval.

"[114] Critical reception penned by Shubha Shetty Saha for Mid-Day rates the film with four stars out of five, exclaiming, "While watching Baahubali, you might have to periodically pick up your jaw off the floor.

Lisa Tsering based on The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "The story has been told many times before – a child is born destined for greatness and as a man vanquishes the forces of evil – but in the confident hands of accomplished South Indian director S.S. Rajamouli the tale gets potent new life in Baahubali: The Beginning.

There's rarely a dull moment in Baahubali: The Beginning, part one of a gung-ho, crowd-pleasing Telugu-language epic that has been shattering box-office records throughout India.

What Rajamouli has pulled off here, despite its flaws, is nothing short of a miracle, especially when you take into account India's notoriously risk-averse filmmaking environment and when the film ends on a tantalizing cliffhanger (paving the way for Baahubali: The Conclusion, due to release next year), one can't help but applaud his singularly brave vision.

Both the Tamil and Telugu versions won several awards in their respective categories, including Best Film, Best Director for Rajamouli, and Best Supporting Actress for Ramya Krishna at the 1st IIFA Utsavam.