Rajamouli faces daunting task casting for Baahubali

Hyderabad: SS Rajamouli is one of the most successful filmmakers in the southern film industry, but even he is having a tough time zeroing in on the cast for his upcoming Telugu period drama Baahubali. He has already finalised Rana Daggubati, Prabhas and Anushka Shetty for the lead roles. The pre-production work is underway in full swing, while the regular shooting is expected to begin later this month.

Much before Baahubali was launched, Rajamouli announced that he would need to cast a large number of new actors. He even requested people to send applications for the same. On Sunday, the director tweeted, "Over The last month, short listed about 2000 applicants and asked them to attend auditions. Surprisingly, half of them didn't turn up.. After auditions, I selected about 50 guys and started training. After 2 days half of them disappeared..."

SS Rajamouli continued, "Short listing 2000 ppl from 13000 was a daunting task.. We just couldn't handle more, so had to block.. Apologies there. Some resent saying they don't get opportunities even though they are talented and hard working. But you should understand that ‘suitability' is of paramount importance when it comes to casting. That doesn't mean talent and HW are less imp. We need all three to do justice2the film. (sic)"

Baahubali is going to be another 'big' project in the career of Rajamouli after Magadheera and Eega. The film will be produced by Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni. MM Keeravani will compose music for the film, which will also have cinematography by KK Senthil Kumar. It is expected to hit the floor very soon.