'Baahubali 2' pre-release event: Highlights from the star-studded night

With the release of SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’ just around the corner, a grand pre-release event was held in Hyderabad recently. The audio album of the Baahubali installment was also unveiled at this mega event. Although the entire event was quite memorable, there were a few moments that really grabbed attention. Let’s take a look at few such moments…

MM Keeravani’s tribute to SS Rajamouli

Music composer MM Keeravani paid a mighty tribute to the visionary director SS Rajamouli without whom this project would have never come to pass. He took the famous song from the movie ‘Shivudu Aana’ and added his own spin to it and made it a tribute song for the ace director. Needless to say, Rajamouli was really moved by this gesture.

Karan Johar’s powerful speech on the franchise

Karan Johar has always had a way with words and the ‘Baahubali 2’ event was no exception. The famous director and producer took the stage and went into a lengthy monologue as he praised the franchise to high heavens. According to IANS, he was quoted as saying,” This is the biggest movie event in the history of Indian cinema and I have to say I'm amazed. This is pure dedication, pure strength and this is what I want to go back and teach. 'Baahubali', 67 years later, has beaten the magic created by 'Mughal-e-Azam' on screen. Rajamouli's cinema has soul, his personality has gumption and I don't think I even have ten percent of it.” A tribute video was also screened for Karan celebrating his success in his career so far.

Sathyaraj answers why Katappa killed Baahubali?

Veteran actor Sathyaraj, who plays the role of the slave warrior Katappa ensured not to reveal the most asked question about the film- why Katappa killed Baahubali? According to IANS, he was quoted as saying,"Producer Shobu paid me very well to kill Prabhas. My director Rajamouli asked me to kill Baahubali, and I obliged. Why would I kill Prabhas otherwise?" And so with this cryptic and humorous answer, Sathyaraj dodged the big question yet again.

SS Rajamouli’s gratitude speech

Rajamouli had a whole lot of people to thank for the success of the franchise so far. Right from the crew members, actors, technicians, producers to his family and friends, he thanked one and all for supporting him in his endeavour. He especially thanked his wife Rama for keeping him grounded and also for designing the splendid costumes for the franchise.

Major spoilers from the upcoming movie

While, introducing the characters of Baahubali on stage, the makers also released a few short clips which revealed a few crucial things about the upcoming sequel. One of clip showed the character of Bijjaladeva, played by Nasser enticing Bhalladeva to kill Sivagami. Another clip shows Katappa leading an army wearing Baahubali’s armour and it looks like the veteran warrior has changed sides and is now against his master Bhalladeva. In the end, it is a really exciting prospect to look forward to and the short teasers will pique the interest of the fans even further.

The famous picture

The epic night ended with a fabulous picture with the cast entire cast and crew of ‘Baahubali’. The picture has gone viral on social media and the fans can’t stop gushing over it. After all this, the event was finally brought to a close with a fantastic display of fireworks making the pre-release function a night to remember.