The “Baahubali” universe is one which has been continually transformative for mainstream Indian cinema and the latest entry, the animated feature “Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1,” might be on the verge of doing it again.
A co-production between India’s Arka Mediaworks and France’s Alcyde, as well as Zaratan and Aniventure in the U.K., with animation led by Mumbai’s 88 Pictures, its heavily stylized take on the expansive world of the films by S.S. Rajamouli (“RRR”) presents for the filmmakers an opportunity for Indian animation.
Ahead of a work in progress unveil at France’s Annecy Animation Festival, Arka Mediaworks co-founder and producer Shobu Yarlagadda (the “Baahubali” franchise) reflected with director Ishan Shukla (“Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust,” “Star Wars: Visions – The Bandits of Golak”) on the chance that animation represented for this fictional world to expand in a meaningful way.
“In India, animation is still something which hasn’t really caught people’s attention,” Shukla says. “They’re really rare, and something like ‘Baahubali,’ where we already have a fanbase in India, hopefully will create more animation aficionados in India.”
Producer Yarlagadda also hopes that “a new generation and new fans will start looking not just [into] ‘Baahubali,’ but into Indian stories and Indian movies as well,” he says.
