Netflix just announced the details of its much-awaited series on SS Rajamouli's magnum opus Baahubali films. The Netflix series, which is set 50 years before the happenings of Baahubali: The Beginning and some 75 years before Baahubali: The Conclusion, is tilted Baahubali: Before The Beginning and stars actress Mrunal Thakur as the younger version of queen Sivagami, reported news agency IANS. The role was originally played by Ramya Krishnan in the Rajamouli-directed films. Talking about signing up for a role, which is already much appreciated, Mrunal said: "The process wasn't easy as well. It was a little difficult but somewhere down the line in my head, I knew I was going to be Sivagami because she is a strong character who rules the entire Mahishmati."
Mrunal Thakur, who was speaking at a session during Netflix's ongoing event See What's Next: Asia in Singapore, added that playing Sivagami in the Netflix series is like a dream-come-true experience for her: "She's got the sense of motherhood but at the same time she has got the sense of what is right and what is wrong. She treats everybody equal no matter who it is. Through this project I'm living my dream," IANS quoted her as saying.
The Love Sonia actress also shared what exactly got her hooked to playing Sivagami in the series: "It's a big treat to work with this team. When I got to know that it was a Netflix project, I was even more excited. I was really very fascinated with the dialogue 'Mera vachan, mera shasan' (My word is my governance). That really attracted me," she said. "For me, he (Rajamouli) is like the director to work with and start my career and to work with him was a delight," Mrunal added.
Netflix's Baahubali: Before The Beginning also stars actors such as Rahul Bose, Siddharth Arora, Atul Kulkarni, Anup Soni and Vaquar Shaikh. The series is co-directed by Praveen Sataru and Deva Katta, who explained how the series is different from the films: "The movie was single emotion and singular conflict... now we are exploring a lot deeper into the characters and with a more epic way of storytelling within the Mahishmati world".
Meanwhile, Praveen Sataru added that Netflix series will cater to audiences across India: "I get to shoot in the most exotic places from god's own country Kerala to the wettest place in the world that is Cherrapunji. Couple of sequences in Thailand as well. So, we are covering the length and breadth of India. This is not just a south or north series. It's a pan-India series and you have characters from all across India," IANS quoted him as saying.
Netflix's Baahubali: Before The Beginning is expected to hit Netflix sometime next year.
Last seen in Love Sonia, Mrunal Thakur also has Hrithik Roshan's Super 30 in the pipeline.
(With IANS inputs)
