Baahubali: Rajamouli feared career’s biggest disaster on release day
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A Netflix docu-series titled “Baahubali: The Torchbearer” has revealed previously unknown details about the early release-day crisis surrounding the Baahubali franchise and the intense pressure faced by its makers.
The series highlights that director S.S. Rajamouli and the team initially feared the project could become a major failure on the day Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) was released. Despite the film later becoming a landmark success in Indian cinema, the first few hours after its theatrical release were marked by deep disappointment and uncertainty within the team due to poor early feedback.
Producer Shobu Yarlagadda of Arka Media Works explains that the film began production without a clearly defined budget framework, which eventually led to a significant financial burden. By the time of release, the project carried an estimated debt of around 70 crore rupees. Large-scale production elements, including war sequences, were extremely expensive, with some portions costing around 1 crore rupees per day of shooting.
Initial responses from key markets such as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were strongly negative, and social media criticism added to the pressure on the team. The documentary also references widespread online ridicule of key scenes and characters during this phase. While international markets such as the U.S. and Gulf regions, along with the Hindi version, received comparatively better responses, the domestic reaction in major revenue regions created serious concern.
The situation was so severe that members of the cast and crew believed their careers were at risk during the early hours after release. However, audience perception began to change later the same day as positive word-of-mouth emerged from general viewers, leading to increasing theatre occupancy and a rapid shift in momentum.
The film’s wider distribution strategy, including its Hindi market release through Karan Johar, also contributed to its turnaround and eventual success. Over the following days, the film went on to break box office records in the Telugu states.
The Baahubali franchise ultimately became the first Indian film series to cross 1,000 crore rupees globally. Its sequel, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), further expanded its scale, earning approximately 1,788 crore rupees worldwide and cementing the franchise’s historic position in Indian cinema.
The four-episode Netflix documentary compiles these behind-the-scenes challenges and the dramatic reversal from early uncertainty to global success.