Baahubali 2 trailer: India's answer to Hollywood comes with stunning action scenes and VFX wonders

Indian movie fans have given the thumbs up to the freshly released trailer of the fantasy film Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion. The astounding special effects and impeccable cast ensemble of the sequel to Baahubali: The Beginning is being compared to Hollywood's epic saga Lord Of The Rings.

While Baahubali 2 is the second in the series, the film actually goes back to a time before the first film Baahubali: The Beginning, which has Prabhas playing the son of King Amarendra. As a baby, Prabhas's character — Mahendra Baahubali — is smuggled deep down the realm by his grandmother Shivagami in order to protect him from the fury of Bhallala Deva. As he grows up, he develops a great urge to go atop the mountain range and see the mystery world flourishing there. After multiple twists and turns, he learns about his lineage and why he is called "Baahubali", the man with strong and powerful arms.

Directed by SS Rajamouli, the franchise narrates the story of a warrior prince Amarendra Baahubali (also played by Prabhas), who becomes the ruler of the ancient fictional city of Mahishmati. The mighty king is kind-hearted and loved by his people. But his popularity does not go down well with his cousin Bhallala Deva (Rana Daggubati). Driven by jealousy he comes up with an evil plot to destroy Amarendra's empire.

The upcoming film will focus on Mahendra Baahubali and how he will destroy the cruel king Bhallala Deva's empire and bring justice to his mother Devasena.

The trailer is loaded with majestic views of Mahishmati and its surroundings and then shifts its focus to the war with breathtaking visuals. The VFX related to the action sequences in the film is being compared to those of Hollywood.

The highly anticipated film will focus on the war between good and evil and is touted to earn millions for the producers. The first part of the magnum opus earned over £80m ($91m) worldwide and trade pundits are predicting a much higher return this time.

India's film industry relies on Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan for massive movie successes but this time experts believe that Baahubali, which is originally made in regional language Telugu and dubbed in other languages, will break all box office records.

"Even if it has a half decent film coming up in the next two weeks, if a Salman Khan film like Bajrangi Bhaijaan couldn't put a stop on it, I don't think any other film can," trade expert, Amul Mohan told Bollywood Life.

"Obviously because the first one was a big hit, everybody talks about that film. It's a sequel where the anticipation and the monetary gains are on the higher side. Also, it's been a hit on TV as well. People are really looking forward to what part 2's going to be. It's one of those movies which comes once in a lifetime."

The film will hit theatres on 28 April and will release in four regional Indian languages — Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam.