Baahubali prequel shelved by makers after an investment of a whopping amount of Rs 150 crore

Following the immense success of Bahubali: The Beginning and Bahubali: The Conclusion, SS Rajamouli had announced a prequel to the hit franchise along with Netflix. The prequel Bahubali: Before The Beginning was being planned and shot to tell the story of Bahubali’s mother, Shivagami, and her rise to power. Mrunal Thakur was finalised to play the lead in the film, being directed by Deva Katta, along with Rahul Bose and Atul Kulkarni in pivotal roles.

The film was shot for over six months in Hyderabad. The shoot included massive sets that were reportedly constructed in the city with a budget of over Rs 100 crore. The film was undergoing a post-production process and the makers had invested some money for that too. 

But unfortunately, after working on the film and its post-production for a year, the makers have decided to shelve the project, being helmed by Deva Katta. They are, however, planning to revamp it with a new cast. “The entire amount invested in Bahubali: Before The Beginning was put in the cans as the team decided to revamp the series with a new director. Kunal Deshmukh and Ribhu Dasgupta had replaced Deva Katta and the prep work also began in the month of July 2021,” revealed a source to Pinkvilla.

But it all came to a standstill at the end of 2021 again. The source told the portal that the pre-production work was not exactly in sync with Netflix's vision. Hence, they decided to shelve the period drama after a series of discussions. "Some extra money which was invested in the prep work too has been considered bad-dates for now. The approximate figure invested in Bahubali: Before The Beginning was Rs 150 crore,” said the source adding that the team felt it to be better to discontinue the project at the moment, instead of investing another Rs 200 crore on a product that’s 'substandard'.

“Bahubali is a cult in today’s time and they didn’t want to take the risk of meddling with something that has an iconic status. They may revisit it again, but this time around, only when the material on paper is strong enough to justify the legacy,” the source said. The reworked version was being supervised by Bombay Fables. Earlier, it was Swastik Productions. Mrunal Thakur too had has walked out of the project after it signed Wamiqa Gabbi to play Shivagami. There are also rumours that Nayanthara too was approached to play an important role but it is not yet confirmed. The Bahubali film series was led by Prabhas with Rana Daggubati playing the antagonist.