3 years of sheer hard-work of many people who have worked their hearts out for this Visual Wonder has paid off well? Not exactly though, since the answer is simple and straight, you just have to wait for the 'Conclusion' till 2016 and that would decide the fate of this franchise on a whole. The story is paced slowly in the first half giving way and screen space to our Mother Nature's beauty and CGI's magic and one might find it a little too draggy if one considers 'Baahubali' to solely be a hero and since that's not possible, Shivudu has a love life and heroic nature and scenes of his own.Abrupt cuts and unconvincing CGI at certain places in first half are the only flaws with the whole film. Coming to the second half, one is told what he'd expect to be told, as the trailer tells the same. War sequences are really well shot and makes it hard to believe that they were actually made by Indians! One has to just bow down to Srinivas Mohan and his team for excellent CGI and Senthil Kumar for superb visuals. Our captain gives us a bang, as his trademark style known as 'Interval Bang' only at the end this time because technically this movies' end is the interval for the 2 parts taken as a whole. Art work in this Epic is just out of the world, kudos to Sabu Cyril sir and thousands of technicians who worked on this aspect.BGM is soothing for the first half which is apt for what we get on screen and the second half war episodes get the best of the lot BGMs to elevate the scenes. Songs are places really well except for 'Manohari' song.Dolby Atmos effect is an added attraction and I highly recommend people to watch this flick in theatres with this specific sound system, it will surely remain as a great experience for you. The sound effects are haunting, pleasing and give you goosebumps at the same time. Anushka had an extended cameo but did perform commendably well, special applause to her expressions. Special mention to Ramya Krishna madame, she was at her best! Katappa will blow your mind with his characteristics and Sathya Raj Sir does 100% justice to it. Though Prabhas and Rana Daggubati did well only their attitude in their respective roles stands out as the best because more of them is yet to come in the sequel. All you need to do is to watch the movie as it comes because expectations lead to disappointment. If you miss this movie, you've just lost a once in life-time 'Indian' movie experience on a big screen.

The buzz forced me to watch it. And boy, was I enthralled.

Atheists must skedaddle, for this epic war drama takes references from Indian mythological history, which means some sequences will be specious for those thinking minds to bear.

A queen who is on her way to embrace death uses her supernatural powers to hand over an infant to a tribe habituating under a gigantic waterfall's catchment. This child whose destiny has some relation with what lies beyond the waterfall is the protagonist of the story whose crux lies in that beautiful thing majority of the filmmakers around the world love and majority of the audience around the world hate: cliché. So to speak, the plot where this kid grows to become a hunky man (Prabhas) who explores his background history and gets absorbed into a period world of power, war, and betrayal is purely basic on a pH scale. Of course, the God-like story makes only half sense. And it is up to the viewers to carry out the process of making the other half sensible.

It is apparent that telling a new story was never the intention of the makers. They use a tried-and-tested theory to showcase what they can do with the technical aspects. From the entrancing score to the monumental designs to the artsy CGI - everything works greatly in the film, entertaining its audience who feel feeble in front of the lively yet beastly characters. Although, there are instances where there was no blend between the CGI and the setup.

The mammoth setup and its design is the highlight of the film which demands total attention. Even though the film is long enough for the naysayers to rant about, there won't be any instance when one will feel bored with the events. The score itself is enough to hold you captive. The battle sequences and warfare are so good that anyone who has watched the TV series Game of Thrones (2011) will definitely be able to relate. So much for the epicness, I could even sense few sequences inspired from the series. Performances are better if you compare the actors' previous performances in other films. The blink-and-you-miss love story adds romance to the otherwise tense plot.

BOTTOM LINE: The first part of Bahubali is an extravagant feast for the dim Indian eyes which sets the bar high for future epic war dramas, if one is ready to ignore the loads of scenes that defy logic or science or both, ironically on a massive scale.

VERDICT: 6 stars out of 10. Watch it for the goosebumps.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Wow, what an incredible film! This looks amazing on screen! The film boasts stunning photography. The visual effects are for the most part fantastic (some scenes are clearly blue screen). The action sequences are jaw-dropping, and the stunts amazing. (I enjoyed the fact the score wasn't so annoyingly overbearing as in the Hollywood movies).

For a film almost 3 hours long, lit's astonishing that there never is a boring moment. This is intrigue, action and adventure from beginning to end. The final act is nothing short of spectacular, with a sensational 40-minute long battle sequence! The camerawork and visual effects during this particular scene is mind-boggling. This is probably as much of a spectacle today as 'Ben-Hur' or 'Cleopatra' was back in the day.