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Saindhav, Salaar and Bhagavanth Kesari - The ‘Baasha’ template is hot property in Telugu cinema now

All three action films have opted to tell the story of men with a violent past who lead a normal life later

Srivathsan Nadadhur

Jan 03, 2024

Baasha is hot property again

Within the action genre, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Rajinikanth’s Baasha was a gamechanger in the 1990s, altering how filmmakers approached storytelling and the characterisation of star vehicles. The impact is more evident across South Indian industries—Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films, to be precise. Nearly two decades later, too, the Baasha template is hot property.

Some of the biggest hits in the 2000s and later decades—from Balakrishna’s Narasimha Naidu to Chiranjeevi’s Indra to Ugramm to Vijay’s recent Theri—have a similar grammar to Baasha. The protagonists pretend to lead an ordinary, happy-go-lucky existence—a life in disguise—until an imminent necessity forces them to switch to their old ways and their dark past catches up with them.

Though there may have been minor upgrades to the template over the years, its structure has largely remained unchanged. Another time-tested proof of its appeal among viewers is the success of recent films like Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Bhagavanth Kesari and Prabhas’ Salaar. If Balakrishna was a retired cop in the former, Prabhas was a friend-turned-foe to Prithviraj in Prashanth Neel’s drama.

Also read: Salaar Part 1 Ceasefire review - Prabhas returns to form with Prashanth Neel's delectable action drama

Nandamuri Balakrishna, the titular character in Bhagavanth Kesari, is put behind bars for a reason and staying true to his promise to a fellow cop, he gives up his profession to raise the latter’s child responsibly. In Salaar, too, the plot is dependent on the protagonist’s promise to his mother. Deva agrees to stay out of a war-torn Khansaar and forgets his violent ways, respecting his mother’s word.

In both cases, while the first half was sedate, the second hour was explosive and left the viewers with a great aftertaste. Going by Saindhav’s trailer today, Sailesh Kolanu too has stuck to a similar storytelling trajectory, where Venkatesh stays away from the world of drugs and gangsters to take care of his daughter. However, destiny forces him to confront his past when his daughter is in danger.

Also read: Venkatesh calls Saindhav one of his career-best films, promises a realistic, new-age action thriller

The early responses to Saindhav’s trailer prove that Baasha continues to be a great influence in portraying heroism and violence on screen. While Baasha was stuffed with several mass-pleasing elements relevant in the 1990s, the storytelling has become more realistic and rooted in recent years. With a good screenplay, Saindhav has all the ingredients to be a stylised actioner that’ll click at the box office.

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