The making of Baahubali was nothing short of a battle behind the scenes. In the documentary Baahubali: The Torchbearer (streaming on Netflix), Prabhas described the gruelling five-year production journey by saying, “It was a war.” He was not referring to the massive on-screen action sequences but to the immense physical, mental, and emotional toll that the relentless shooting schedule took on the entire cast and crew.

Baahubali’s lasting legacy

That intense dedication created a legacy that continued to influence the careers of those involved. Prabhas openly credited the opening-day collections of the Hindi version of Saaho to the goodwill generated by Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. The actor revealed that Saaho collected ₹25 crore (nett) in North India on its opening day. He admitted that the “shocking” figure happened solely because of Baahubali and nothing else. However, the immense pressure also took a personal toll. He revealed that the first two films he did after Baahubali were among the most stressful years of his life.

Anushka didn’t expect such an epic role

Anushka Shetty also shared surprising insights about her journey. The actress said she never expected her character to become so crucial to the story. This was her second collaboration with director SS Rajamouli after Vikramarkudu, where she had a largely glamorous role with limited scope. Baahubali turned out to be a completely different experience. The expansive world, grand visual design, and larger-than-life characters helped her fully visualise the scale of Rajamouli’s vision from the very first narration.

Baahubali 3 on the cards?

Interestingly, Prabhas, Anushka Shetty, and Rana Daggubati all hinted at the possibility of Baahubali 3. While none of them mentioned the title directly, the implication was difficult to miss. The project may still seem far-fetched at this stage, but if it eventually materialises, it could become one of the biggest cinematic sequels ever made.

Also Read: Baahubali: The Epic Review: Rajamouli’s Grand Vision Revisited

Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s latest film Maa Inti Bangaaram is turning out to be a resounding commercial success at the box office. Released in theatres on June 19, the family-friendly action entertainer is wrapping up its first week on a phenomenal note for a female-led movie.

Maa Inti Bangaram struck a chord

The film collected a gross of Rs 41.43 crore at the Indian box office within its opening week. It also struck gold in the overseas market, grossing $1.4 million in North America. Samantha Ruth Prabhu husband Raj Nidijmoru and the entire unit celebrated the spectacular run by calling it a blockbuster ‘Sambhavam.’

The movie maintained exceptional hold during the weekdays as well. On Thursday alone, on a popular ticketing portal, recorded 75.7K ticket bookings. Director BV Nandini Reddy delivered a crowd pleaser. Creator Raj Nidimoru recently shared that pooling resources from multiple sources was quite challenging in bankrolling the movie.

Samantha confirms pregnancy

Following this major success, lead actor Samantha has announced a maternity gap at the film’s success meet. “I would soon take a maternity leave before I start my next film,” she asserted amid thunderous applause, officially confirming her personal milestone. The actress further added that she would like to do films two films every year.

Samantha also acknowledged that many have written her off because she hadn’t had a film release for over three years. “A pause calls for self-introspection,” she shares. “Suddenly, I experienced sickness, health issues and no films. It’s a moment of weakness where you start to question everything, what works for you, etc. So it’s a choice you make – whether to choose to live in that lull or move on.”

Continuing in the same vein, Samantha shared her opinion about relationship. She insists on women having self-confidence to make them complete. “But if you look for someone else to fill in that vacuum to make you complete, then mistakes happen. So be complete first, and then get into a relationship.”

Also Read: Raj Nidimoru Calls Wife Samantha Ruth Prabhu ‘incredible’ at Maa Inti Bangaaram Pre-release Event

Kunal Kemmu has revealed that he is moving forward with the sequel to his 2024 directorial debut, Madgaon Express. After the buddy comedy, which starred Pratik Gandhi, Divyenndu, and Avinash Tiwary, received positive reviews, fans have been eager for news about a sequel. Speaking to News18, he confirmed that the script for the sequel is already complete.

Kunal said, “Yes, it’s in the works. But my next film is Vibe. It’s due for release on September 18. So, all my energy is focused on that. But I’ve finished writing Madgaon Express 2.” While the script is ready, he mentioned that filming will only start after his upcoming action-comedy, Vibe, which also stars Preity Zinta, is released.

Interestingly, Kunal revealed that the concept for the sequel was not a recent development. In fact, he had the idea mapped out while working on the original film. He explained, “You always plan. You’ll only make a sequel if a film works. When I wrote the first film, there were some loose ends. There was an idea of where it’s going to go. I told Excel also when the first film happened that I’m going to write a sequel if it organically flows and if I feel that there’s a film there.”

Kunal shared that he wanted the story to develop naturally rather than rushing into a project just to capitalize on the first film’s success. He said, “I don’t want to do a sequel with any and every story just because the first one has worked. So, they also didn’t know about till the time I finished it. Only when I finished it, I told them that I’ve written it. They said, let’s hear it. But most of the people haven’t even heard it. Divyenndu knows that this is in the works and that’s how the news came out.”

He credited his writing discipline to his experience with Go Goa Gone, which allowed him to document the various stories he had envisioned over the years, including Madgaon Express, which he originally wrote in 2014.

Also Read: Kunal Kemmu and Preity Zinta’s VIBE to Release on THIS Date