A title card at the interval point of SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Epic cheekily declares that viewers don’t need to wait for two years to answer the WKKB question – Why Kattappa Killed Baahubali.

Kattappa thrust a sword into Baahubali’s back at the end of Baahubali: The Beginning in 2015. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, which came out in 2017, cleared the air about Kattappa’s treachery. Baahubali: The Epic combines The Beginning and The Conclusion, shrinking the gap between suspense and revelation, anticipation and gratification.

The release of The Epic marks a decade since the first film. Material that clocked close to 330 minutes has been hacked down to 225 minutes, or three hours and 45 minutes. The Epic certainly isn’t for anybody who feels that movies are getting far too long – bottom-numbing, thrombosis-inducing, waistline-expanding long.

Rajamouli and producer Arka Mediaworks could simply have brought back the previous films as a double bill. Instead, they have created a new excuse to revisit familiar thrills. The Epic has been remastered, with improved visuals and a sharper rendition of MM Keeravani’s rousing background score.

The re-edit is available in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam in regular and IMAX formats. Beyond fan service, The Epic is a reminder of why the films worked in the first place.

The two-part saga is a box office phenomenon as well as a cultural touchstone. It’s no...

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