Netflix’s long-abandoned Baahubali prequel has resurfaced in a dramatic new light, and the scale of what was lost is staggering. Baahubali: Before The Beginning, conceived as an ambitious expansion of SS Rajamouli’s blockbuster universe, had already filmed two full seasons and portions of a third before it was scrapped. Cinematographer Mukesh G has now revealed that nearly Rs 97 crore had been spent, and the series was still just 60 to 70 shooting days away from completion when the plug was pulled.
The Latest Revelation On The Shelved Series
Mukesh, who worked as principal director of photography on the project for 18 months, described the cancellation as one of the most painful setbacks of his career. Speaking about the fallout, he said, “I went into depression for about six months. It didn’t get shelved overnight; it got shelved page by page, which I couldn’t digest. At that point, it was one of the most important projects in India. It remains a very unfortunate episode in my career.”
The series was first announced by Netflix in August 2018 as a large-scale period drama anchored in the Baahubali universe. Mounted as one of the streamer’s most expensive Indian originals at the time, it was designed as a prestige title that could translate a massive theatrical franchise into long-form streaming storytelling.
What Went Wrong Behind The Scenes
According to Mukesh, the project’s fate shifted after a leadership change at Netflix. He said, “What happened was the leadership changed at Netflix. And the new boss wanted a lot of changes. They wanted to add a lot of action in the first season, and she wanted to change the main artiste because they didn’t like the actor’s performance.”
That actor was Mrunal Thakur, who had been cast as Sivagami and had already filmed for months. Mukesh added that Rajamouli had been monitoring the series and was satisfied with the material. “Rajamouli was supervising our project and even he was happy with the output. So any red flags should have been raised before approvals were given,” he said.
Netflix later offered an additional Rs 70 crore for a reshoot with a new cast, but the team did not move ahead. “For our producers, Deva Katta and Praveen Sattaru, it wasn’t just about money. It was our time spent on it,” Mukesh said. He also underlined how impossible a restart had become once actors moved on. “Replacing lead actors meant throwing away 18 months of footage, which practically went out of hand.” On the larger disruption, he said, “Everyone has moved on now. You can’t bring that back.”
The Scale Of What Was Planned
The show was intended as a multi-season epic built for the streaming format rather than a one-off spin-off. Its canvas centered on palace politics, dynastic power struggles and the making of Sivagami, one of the franchise’s most commanding figures. With elaborate sets, extended schedules and a budget that was meant to touch roughly Rs 270 crore, the series represented an unusually ambitious attempt to build premium franchise television at an Indian scale.
Why The Cancellation Still Stands Out
Even years later, the collapse of Baahubali: Before The Beginning remains one of the starkest examples of how fragile giant streaming bets can be. This was not a stalled pilot or a half-developed idea. It was a heavily mounted franchise series with massive footage already in the can, major creative manpower invested over months and a budget outlay that had already crossed Rs 97 crore. Its cancellation left behind one of the costliest abandoned projects in India’s OTT space and closed the door on what was supposed to be Netflix’s biggest attempt to turn a homegrown blockbuster universe into a long-running original series.
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