Prabhas’s magnum opus Baahubali: The Epic has hit the theatres once again on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Baahubali: The Beginning. The re-edited and remastered version combines Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali: The Conclusion into a single major cinematic experience. However, it did not take very long for fans to notice that several portions have been removed in the new cut, including Tamannaah Bhatia’s song and some key sequences.
Speaking about the changes, the director SS Rajamouli said the editing was done to keep the runtime of the movie under control. Recently, in a promotional interview, he shared that if both parts were kept intact without any trimming, the combined runtime would reach approximately 5 hours and 27 minutes. For the re-release, the final version was edited down to a length of 3 hours and 43 minutes to maintain the interest of viewers.
Rajamouli shared that the major cuts included Avanthika’s love track with Shivudu and the songs Pacha Bottesina, Kanna Nidurinchara, and Irrukupo, along with a few edited portions from the war sequences. Incidentally, a different version of Tamannaah’s song has been doing the rounds in the recent The Ba**ds of Bollywood series, while the original was only used for promotional content.
Baahubali: The Epic tells the story of Shivudu, alias Mahendra Baahubali, who sets out to rescue his loved one but eventually finds his mission-to avenge his father Amarendra Baahubali’s death. It stars Prabhas in a triple role, supported by Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Tamannaah Bhatia, Ramya Krishnan, Sathyaraj, and Nassar.
The makers have, thus, announced an animated forthcoming feature film, Baahubali: The Eternal War, as a continuation to build upon the universe of the franchise. Presently, Rajamouli has been busy with his next SSMB29, starring Mahesh Babu and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, an around-the-world jungle adventure expected to be titled this coming November 2025.
