THIS Netflix series, costing Rs 300 crore, reportedly became the most expensive Indian web series, but was cancelled without releasing a single episode.
Indian OTT platforms began with intimate, slice-of-life stories but evolved to produce high-budget shows rivaling films magnificence. One such ambitious project, made with a budget exceeding the cost of Pathaan, Bahubaali and ohers.
In 2018, streaming platform Netflix announced an ambitious show with a multi-season adaptation of Anand Neelakanthan's 2017 and 2020 novels The Rise of Sivagami, Chaturanga, and Queen of Mahishmathi.
The series was title Baahubali: Before the Beginning which was produced by SS Rajamouli. The series explored Sivagami’s early life her meeting with Katappa, and her marriage to Bijjaladeva. The series basically serving as a prequel to the Baahubali films.
Production of Baahubali: Before the Beginning started in September 2018. The high-budget series starred Mrunal Thakur as Sivagami, with Deva Katta and Praveen Sattaru direction. The initial budget of the series was Rs 100 crore.
However, the pandemic paused the production of the series, but in 2021, Netflix and the makers decided to scrap the original version, restarting with Wamiqa Gabbi as the new lead. The project received an additional Rs 200 crore budget, and Kunal Deshmukh took over as director.
Reportedly, By 2022, Netflix had growing doubts about the show's viability and started re-evaluating its future after years of direction struggles in the same year. Soon, Director Kunal Deshmukh exited the project, and by 2024, the show was reportedly shelved without completing the first season's filming, with no official announcement made.
Before being shelved, the show had seen two casts, three directors, and a budget that ballooned to Rs 300 crore, ironically surpassing the Rs 250 crore spent on the original film, Baahubali: The Beginning.
The Rs 300 crore budget exceeded that of blockbusters like Pathaan and Pushpa: The Rise which was made with a budget of Rs 220-250 crore. It’s tragic that despite such massive investment, the show was never released.
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