A First Look Behind The Scenes Of SS Rajamouli's EEGA Follow-Up, BAHUBAALI

Last year's top Telugu film, Eega, has been tearing up the festival circuit over the last few months, and its creator, director SS Rajamouli, has finally released the first tiny bit of footage from his follow up feature, Bahubali. The new project, starring Telugu idol Prabhas, began shooting on July 6th, one year to the day after Eega hit cinema screens worldwide, and is currently deep in production. With an incredibly ambitious filmmaker like Rajamouli, one can only imagine where he'll go with this new feature, and the 2015 projected release date gives me the impression that they've penciled in a lot of post-production time, which actually bodes well for the film with this team involved.

Not a whole lot is known about the film, however, we do know that Bahubali is a period piece, far from the contemporary setting of Eega, but the time period is hardly foreign to SS Rajamouli. Before Eega, Rajamouli released the equally entertaining Magadheera, which gained mild Internet notoriety thanks to a clip that circulated featuring a jeep flying into a helicopter (linked below). Magadheera was a reincarnation themed epic featuring massive battle sequences, plenty of dismemberment and impalement, and lots of amazing, hip-shaking dances. Bahubali revisits those days, and I've been told by people inside the production that this is ambitious far beyond anything that Telugu cinema has ever seen.

The video below is probably the most genuine and respectful making-of clip I've ever seen. Rather than miles of b-roll and outtakes, the producers actually took the time to introduce some of the true behind-the-scenes forces that make films happen, and I find that incredibly refreshing. Don't fear, though, there are a few seconds of Prabhas at the end of the clip showing off some pretty mean swordplay. With the release date so far off, I can only imagine the heaps of BTS footage we'll see between now that then, and I welcome it.

Ladies and gentlemen, your first look at Bahubali.