The 2015 epic Baahubali: The Beginning was the most expensive Indian film ever made, and boasted a list of spectacles to match: “topless men fight bulls, couples kiss amid orchids, hundreds of flogged extras erect a tower”, [according to The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/12/baahubali-the-beginning-review-fantastic-bang-for-your-buck-in-most-expensive-indian-movie-ever-made). “At each turn, the money’s right there on screen, yet what’s most striking is how these resources have been marshalled – to enhance, rather than clutter up, the narrative throughline.” Its sequel has surpassed the budget of the first and “is reinterpreting grandeur, scale and vision in Indian cinema”, [according to the Indian Express](http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/baahubali-2-ss-rajamouli-and-other-south-directors-have-reinterpreted-epics-why-bollywood-lags-behind-4630070/). The film draws on Indian mythology, starring the actor Prabhas as a superhero-like Shiva, Anushka Shetty as Maharani Devasena, Tamannaah as Avanthika and Rana Daggubati as the villain Bhallaladeva. Director SS Rajamouli has gained widespread success, despite working outside of Bollywood: shot in Telugu and Tamil as well as Hindi, his Baahubali two-parter has been praised for its universal appeal. “We believed we could transcend this barrier if we based our stories on basic human emotions without being pulled down by regionalities,” [Rajamouli said in an interview](http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/baahubali-2-ss-rajamouli-prabhas-bollywood-debut/1/939018.html). “I always believed that if you have a story like that, it will reach beyond.” Released 28 April in France, India and the US. (Credit: Arka Mediaworks)