Baahubali: The Beginning is a 2015 Indian epic action film co-written and directed by S. S. Rajamouli, and produced by Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni under Arka Media Works. Produced in the Telugu film industry, the film was shot in both Telugu and Tamil languages. 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 princess of Kunthala who is now a prisoner under the tyrannical rule of king Bhallaladeva. The film is the first part of the duology. The story concludes in Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017).
The film's story was written by Rajamouli's father V. Vijayendra Prasad, who told him a story about Sivagami, a woman who carries a baby in her hand while crossing a river, and a few years later about Kattappa, which intrigued Rajamouli. His fascination with Mahabharata and the tales of Amar Chitra Katha and Chandamama further fueled his interest in the story. It took the writers three months to complete the final draft. The soundtrack and background score were composed by M. M. Keeravani, while cinematography, production design, and visual effects (VFX) were handled by K. K. Senthil Kumar, Sabu Cyril, and V. Srinivas Mohan.
The film was made on a budget of 170 crore ($26.4 million), making it the most expensive Indian film at its time of release. The film opened worldwide on 10 July 2015 along with the dubbed versions in Hindi and Malayalam. It received national and international acclaim for Rajamouli's direction, story, visual effects, cinematography, themes, action sequences, music, and performances, and became a record-breaking box office success. With a worldwide box office gross of 600–650 crore, it became the highest-grossing Telugu film and the second highest-grossing Indian film worldwide at the time of its release. It is currently the sixth highest-grossing Telugu film of all time. At the time of its release, it also became the highest-grossing Tamil film at the time of its release. Its Hindi dubbed version also broke several records by becoming the highest-grossing dubbed film in Hindi of all time. Both budget and box office records have since been surpassed by Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, the highest-grossing film in India of all time.
Baahubali: The Beginning along with its successor, is widely regarded as one of the most influential films of Indian cinema. It became the first Indian film to be nominated for Saturn Awards, receiving five nominations at the 42nd ceremony, including Best Fantasy Film and Best Supporting Actress. It received several accolades such as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, and the National Award for Best Special Effects. It won five awards from ten nominations, including Best Telugu Film, Best Director – Telugu for Rajamouli, and Best Supporting Actress – Telugu for Ramya Krishna respectively, at the 63rd Filmfare Awards South. A combined recut version of The Beginning and The Conclusion, titled Baahubali: The Epic, was theatrically released worldwide on 31 October 2025.
Plot An injured woman emerges from a hidden cave beneath a massive waterfall, carrying an infant. While attempting to cross a raging river, she is swept away by the current. Facing imminent death, she submerges beneath the water but holds the infant aloft, praying to Lord Shiva to preserve the child's life for the sake of his mother and the kingdom of Mahishmati. The child is rescued by the tribesmen of Amburi, and Sanga, the wife of the tribal chieftain, adopts him, naming him Sivudu.
Sivudu grows into an exceptionally strong and ambitious young man, obsessed with scaling the towering waterfall despite Sanga's strict objections. Demonstrating superhuman strength, he uproots a massive stone Shiva Lingam and places it directly beneath the waterfall to satisfy his foster mother's religious vows. Shortly after, Sivudu discovers a wooden mask that washed down the waterfall. Inspired by the artifact, he successfully scales the cliff face for the first time. At the summit, he encounters Avantika, a fierce warrior belonging to a subterranean rebel alliance. The group is dedicated to rescuing Devasena, a former queen who has been subjected to public imprisonment and psychological torture for 25 years by the despotic ruler of Mahishmati, Bhallaladeva.
Concurrently, Kattappa, the royal slave-commander of Mahishmati who is bound by a sacred oath of absolute fealty to the throne despite detesting Bhallaladeva's tyranny, regularly witnesses Devasena's suffering. Devasena consistently refuses to escape, firmly believing that her long-lost son will return to liberate her. Motivated by his love for Avantika, Sivudu vows to complete the rebels' mission and infiltrates the fortified capital of Mahishmati in disguise during Bhallaladeva's birthday celebrations. He single-handedly rescues a workforce of civilians from being crushed by a collapsing, colossal golden statue of the king. During the chaos, an elderly artisan recognizes Sivudu's face, prompting the entire crowd to chant the name "Baahubali," which profoundly infuriates Bhallaladeva.
That evening, Sivudu creates a tactical diversion, rescues Devasena from her outdoor cage, and flees the city. They are rapidly pursued by Bhallaladeva's son, Bhadra, and Kattappa's royal guard. In the ensuing confrontation, Sivudu overpowers the forces and decapitates Bhadra. As Kattappa prepares to strike back, he catches a clear glimpse of Sivudu's face under the moonlight. Recognizing his striking resemblance to the former king, Kattappa kneels in absolute submission, proclaiming Sivudu as Mahendra Baahubali, the rightful heir to the throne and the son of the legendary Amarendra Baahubali and Devasena. When the surrounding rebel forces and Amburi tribesmen demand answers, Kattappa narrates the history of Mahishmati.
Twenty-five years prior, following the sudden demise of Mahishmati's ruler, King Vikramadeva, his sister-in-law, Shivagami Devi, assumes supreme regency over the unstable kingdom. She raises both her biological son, Bhallaladeva, and Vikramadeva's orphaned son, Amarendra Baahubali, with equal affection, declaring that the throne will eventually be awarded to whichever prince proves more worthy. While Bhallaladeva grows into an arrogant and power-hungry warrior under the toxic influence of his physically disabled father, Bijjaladeva, Amarendra Baahubali wins the adoration of the populace through his deep compassion, humility, and natural leadership.
The rivalry between the princes reaches a critical turning point when Mahishmati faces an apocalyptic invasion by the savage, language-less Kalakeya tribe. Shivagami commands both princes to lead separate divisions of the royal army, promising the crown to the warrior who slays the Kalakeya chieftain, Inkoshi. Throughout the brutal warfare, Bhallaladeva uses a ruthless, mechanical chariot that massacres innocent civilian shields to clear his path, whereas Baahubali employs ingenious tactics and risks his life to protect his soldiers and the hostage populace. Although Bhallaladeva ultimately secures the physical kill of the Kalakeya chieftain, Shivagami officially names Amarendra Baahubali as the future Emperor of Mahishmati, citing his unmatched moral courage, humanity, and defense of the people.
In the present, deeply moved by the tale of Amarendra Baahubali's greatness, Sivudu and his foster parents eagerly ask to meet him. Tears streaming down his face, Kattappa delivers a shocking confession: Amarendra Baahubali was backstabbed and murdered years ago, and he was the one who killed him.
Cast
Production
Baahubali: The Beginning was produced in the Telugu film industry and filmed in both Telugu and Tamil languages simultaneously. Distant shots, however, were only shot in Telugu and dubbed in Tamil. , the film series was considered the most expensive in India.
Development Director S. S. Rajamouli revealed that Baahubali is inspired by the epic Mahabharata. V. Vijayendra Prasad, the screenwriter and Rajamouli's father who wrote stories for most of Rajamouli's films, once again penned the story for Baahubali. Vijayendra Prasad revealed that Sivagami has shades of both Kunti and Kaikeyi while Devasena is a warrior like Sita. He further added that he sees Baahubali as the story of Sivagami and Devasena. He was also inspired by tales of Chandamama and Amar Chitra Katha comics.
In February 2011, S. S. Rajamouli announced that Prabhas would star in his upcoming movie. In January 2013, he announced that the working title was Baahubali. Actual film production started at Rock Gardens in Kurnool on 6 July 2013. The waterfall scenes were shot at Athirappilly Falls in Kerala, huge sets for the Mahishmati kingdom were constructed at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, and the snow episodes in the film were shot in Bulgaria. The film boasts of one year pre-production work wherein 15,000 storyboard sketches for the film were created—the highest for any Indian Film as of this date. More than 90 percent of the film had visually enhanced shots and, according to the producer, more than 600 VFX artists worked for the film from 18 facilities around the world led by Makuta VFX and Firefly in Hyderabad, Prasad Studios in Hyderabad and Chennai, Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad, Tau Films, and Dancing Digital Animation and Macrograph in South Korea. Makuta VFX which had prior experience of working with S. S. Rajamouli was chosen as principal visual effects studio. The cinematography of the movie was done by KK Senthil Kumar for 380 days using Arri Alexa XT camera with Master Prime lens. This marked Rajamouli's first film using digital imagery.
Most of the film was shot in ArriRaw format in 4:3 aspect ratio while ArriRaw 16.9 was used for slow motion shots at 120 fps. Open Gate format, which can use the full 3.4K sensor in the camera to produce frames larger than the standard ArriRaw format, was tapped in to get the maximum image quality in VFX shots. Production designer Sabu Cyril created 10,000 different kinds of weaponry including swords, helmets and armour required for the soldiers. To make the swords lightweight, carbon-fibre was used instead of steel. 3D printing technology was used to create the head of the 100-foot Bhallaladeva statue in the movie. Flexi foam was used to make lightweight armour with the look of leather. V. Srinivas Mohan was chosen as visual effects supervisor, and Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao was the editor. P. M. Satheesh was the sound designer and Peter Hein was responsible for the action sequences. The costume designers were Rama Rajamouli and Prasanthi Tipirneni. The line producer was M. M. Srivalli.
Visual effects National Award winner V. Srinivas Mohan was roped in as Visual effects supervisor for Baahubali. 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. 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. Creating the waterfall took nearly two years as Makuta dealt with complexity in fluid dynamics and simulations. Manuka claimed each frame of the waterfall sequence was treated as creating a new set and employed a different set of methodology.