''Baahubali: Before the Beginning'' is an upcoming Indian television series based on

Anand Neelakantan Anand Neelakantan is an Indian author, columnist, screenwriter, and public speaker. He is known for writing mythological fictions and has authored eleven books in English and one in Malayalam. He follows the style of telling stories based on the ...

's 2017 and 2020 novels ''

The Rise of Sivagami ''The Rise of Sivagami'' is an Indian historical fiction novel written by Anand Neelakantan. It acts as a prequel to the film '' Baahubali: The Beginning''. It was originally released in English on 7 March 2017, with Telugu, Malayalam, ...

'', '' Chaturanga'', and '' Queen of Mahishmathi.'' A

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

original and a part of the '' Bahubali franchise'', the series is produced by

S. S. Rajamouli Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli ( ; born 10 October 1973) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is the highest paid director in India, and is known for his action, fantasy, and epic genre films. T ...

and

Arka Media Works Arka Media Works is an Indian film production and trans-media company based out of Hyderabad, known for their works in Television and Telugu cinema. Founded in 2001 by Shobu Yarlagadda, and Prasad Devineni Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devin ...

. The first season consists of nine episodes and acts as a prequel to '' Baahubali: The Beginning'', following the journey of Sivagami's rise to power in the Mahishmati kingdom. ''Before the Beginning'' was officially announced by Netflix in August 2018. Production began in September 2018 with

Deva Katta Deva Katta is an Indian American film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. He directed cult classic Telugu movies such as ''Vennela'' (2005), ''Prasthanam'' (2010), ''Autonagar Surya'' (2014) and ''Republic (film)'' (2021). In ...

and

Praveen Sattaru Praveen Sattaru is an Indo-American film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema. He made his directorial debut with the 2011 film, '' LBW: Life Before Wedding''. In 2014, he directed the critically acclaimed an ...

as its directors.

Mrunal Thakur Mrunal Thakur (born 1 August 1992), is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Hindi, Marathi, and Telugu cinema. She began her acting career with the television soaps '' Mujhse Kuchh Kehti...Yeh Khamoshiyaan'' (2012) and '' Kumkum Bhagya'' ...

was cast as Sivagami, who was later replaced by

Wamiqa Gabbi Wamiqa Gabbi (born 29 September 1993) is an Indian actress, who works in Punjabi, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films. She made her screen debut in the Hindi film ''Jab We Met'' (2007) with a small role. But her major success came with '' ...

Rahul Bose Rahul Bose (born 27 July 1967) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, and social activist. Bose has appeared in Bengali films such as '' Mr. and Mrs. Iyer'', '' Kalpurush'', ''Anuranan'', ''Antaheen'', ''Laptop'' and ''The Japanese Wife''. ...

and

Atul Kulkarni Atul Kulkarni (born 10 September 1965) is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, English, Odia and Telugu language films. Kulkarni won the National Award for the Best Supporting A ...

play pivotal roles. In March 2021, it is reported that Netflix has revamped the project with a new creative team, scrapping the previously shot version. Made on the budget of ₹300 Crore, it is the most expensive part of the ''Baahubali'' franchise and one of the most expensive Indian TV series ever made.

Premise

The series follows Sivagami as she matures from a defiant and resentful girl into a wise queen, around the same time when the kingdom of Mahishmati rises from being a city-state to an influential empire.

Cast

as Sivagami *

as Skandadasa *

as Pattaraya *Smaran Sahu as Bijjaladeva (Telugu) / Pingalathevan (Tamil) *Malyaban Lahiri as Simuka *Sahib Verma as Shivappa *Sunil Palwal as

Kattappa This is a list of characters featured in the '' Baahubali franchise'' which consists of two films, a novel, a comic and an upcoming television series. They are all characters which have '' The Beginning'' (2015), '' The Conclusion'' (2017), '' ...

* Siddharth Arora as Mahadeva *

Tej Sapru Tej Sapru (born 5 January 1955) is an Indian actor. He is the son of D. K. Sapru and Hemvati, both of whom were actors in the Hindi film industry. He has appeared in a number of Bollywood films of between the 1980s and 2010s, including ''Gupt'', ...

as Malayappa *Vir Raj as Amarendra Baahubali *Siddharth Nagar as

Bhallaladeva Bhallaladeva is a fictional character and recurring antagonist of the '' Baahubali franchise'', and the main antagonist of the movie series. The character was created by V. Vijayendra Prasad and S. S. Rajamouli and was portrayed by Rana Daggu ...

Snigdha Akolkar,

Vaquar Shaikh Vaquar Shaikh (born 9 February) is an Indian television actor. He played Rashid Ahmed Khan in '' Qubool Hai'' and has appeared in serials like '' Justujoo'' and '' Pradhanmantri''. Career Vaquar had also acted in Akbar Khan's '' Taj Mahal: ...

Jameel Khan Jameel Khan is an Indian actor famously known for his tv series Gullak. Born in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, Khan was educated at Sherwood College, Nainital and Aligarh Muslim University. He moved to Mumbai to pursue his acting career, and has ac ...

Anup Soni Anup Soni (born 30 January 1975) is an Indian actor and anchor. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Soni began his career with roles in television serials such as '' Sea Hawks'' and '' Saaya''. He then took a break from television ...

and Sonali Khare have been cast in undisclosed roles.

Production

Development

In March 2017, after the release of ''

'' written by

, the director of the two-part ''Baahubali'' films, confirmed that a television series will be made on the novel, comprising 13 episodes. In November 2017, ''

The Hans India ''The Hans India'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well as in New Delhi. The newspaper was started on 15 July 2011 and belongs to Hyderabad Media House Ltd., which also own ...

'' reported that

would direct a web series based on the world of Mahishmati. In July 2018, Katta confirmed that he will co-direct a three-season

original series, tentatively titled ''Shivagami''. The series, titled ''Baahubali: Before the Beginning'', was announced in a public statement released by Netflix on 1 August 2018. It was to be directed by Katta and

; Rajamouli will serve as a producer alongside Prasad Devineni under the

banner. The announcement also revealed that the series was planned to have two seasons. ''Baahubali: Before the Beginning'' was the third Netflix original series announced from India after the crime thriller '' Sacred Games'' and horror miniseries ''

Ghoul A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cert ...

''. Erik Barmack, Vice-President of Netflix International Originals, felt that the theme of ''

Baahubali Bahubali Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture ('' ...

'' "resonates globally", one of the reasons for considering the series. On 2 August 2018, a teaser announcing the series was released online by Netflix both on their website and other social media platforms, including

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. Rajamouli expressed his enthusiasm for the series, saying, "With Netflix as our partner, we have the opportunity to create a rich and riveting series and take this quintessential Indian epic to the world, which is very gratifying to me as a story-teller". Neelakantan serves as the series' screenwriter. According to the author, it is "the biggest thing Netflix has done in India so far", and is made along the likes of '' Game of Thrones''. He reasoned adapting the novel as a series, stating, " ven the story's dark and violent tone, the current censorship rules won't allow for it to be made as a film". Neelakantan said that part of the series is shot in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and would feature something akin to the now obsolete

Mamankam festival Māmānkam or Māmāngam was a ''duodecennial'' medieval fair held on the bank, and on the dry river-bed, of Pērār (River Nil̥a, River Ponnani, or Bhārathappuzha) at Tirunāvāya, southern India. The temple associated with the festival wa ...

. Sattaru stated that unlike the two ''Baahubali'' films, the series would not be limited to "a south or north... It's a pan-India series ...

Filming

In September 2018, filming for the series began, with television actress

was confirmed to play the role of Sivagami in the series, with

and

in pivotal roles. Three sets were erected at locations where the two ''Baahubali'' films were filmed. Principal photography was completed in February 2019. In April 2021, Thakur walked out of the project due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by

. In March 2021, ''

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provide ...

'' reported that Netflix has scrapped the previously shot version after investing 100 crore, and new version with a budget of 200 crore is planned. ''

'' stated that the revamped version would have a new director and production team.

Kunal Deshmukh Kunal Deshmukh is an Indian film director and restaurateur. He grew up in Mumbai, India. Early life and education After finishing his schooling at Arya Vidya Mandir, Bandra, Mumbai and junior college at Jai Hind, Churchgate, he took up an a ...

was reportedly signed as a director but he later opted out. In January 2022, ''Variety'' reported that Netflix was reevaluating the series, and has been "struggling with the project for some time now."

Notes

References

External links

* {{S. S. Rajamouli Hindi-language television shows Netflix original programming Tamil-language television shows Indian action television series Indian drama television series Television shows based on Indian novels Indian period television series Indian television series distributed by Netflix Indian television shows based on films Family saga television series Television series about dysfunctional families Baahubali (franchise) Indian television spin-offs Upcoming Netflix original programming Telugu-language television shows Unaired television shows