Movies becoming TV shows and TV shows becoming movies are nothing new today. But it never ceases to be a big deal when that happens, especially when the movie has extremely large production value, iconic characters and is one of the highest grossing movie franchises of all time. India’s highest grossing film franchise, the Baahubali series, will now be getting the Netflix treatment and will have a prequel series, titled Baahubali: Before the Beginning.
In an official statement released by the streaming service, Netflix announced the series and talked about the overall impact of Baahubali as a franchise. “Baahubali: the Conclusion grossed US$ 270 million at the global gross box office (including US$ 20 million at the US box office), and is the highest grossing film franchise from India.”
Two seasons have been ordered for the show so far. “Season one of the series will comprise nine episodes and is based on Anand Neelakantan’s book, The Rise of Sivagami. This (prequel) series captures Queen Sivagami’s journey from a rebellious and vengeful girl to a wise and unequalled queen. Power, politics and intrigue find themselves juxtaposed against the rise of Mahishmati - from being a city-state to an empire...The series promises to build on the incredible narrative style of the franchise - including its high production values, spectacular visuals and connective-epic story-telling.”
The team from the original Baahubali movies will be returning to work on the series as well, including SS Rajamouli and Arka Media Works. Talking about the series, SS Rajamouli said, “The films Baahubali -The Beginning and The Conclusion, are from one story set in this world and more dramatic stories were broadly conceived while building the Universe... I am very excited that this is being adapted as a Netflix Original Series. With Netflix as our partner, we have the opportunity to create a rich and riveting series and take this quintessential Indian epic to the world, which is very gratifying to me as a story-teller.”
Arka Media Works producer, Prasad Devineni said, “We have been working for over a year now in developing this story, a prequel to the films as a Netflix original series. We are happy to be partnering with Netflix to produce this amazing story.”
Netflix even released a teaser for the new show. Watch it here:
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Erik Barmack, Netflix VP of International Originals, talked about the series, saying, “We are excited to work with some of the world's most talented writers and producers on one of India’s most beloved stories. The series is a tremendous opportunity for us to give audiences more of the universe that they have come to love, and welcome millions more into the global Baahubali fandom.”
