There are thrilling royal hunts, roaring elephants, strapping heroes and dazzling heroines, complete with the Indian staple of song and dance. Set in the fictional kingdom of Mahismati, Bahubali 2 has two swashbuckling cousins in a dynastic war over the kingdom. Expensive special effects and high value production costs have turned the drama into a visual spectacle unseen in Indian films.
The difference is this is a Telugu language film from the south.
It has been released in many other languages and made more than $10m (£7.74m) in the US over the weekend, prompting Forbes magazine to call its success a "Holy crap! moment for the weekend".
Indian film distributors claim that it has made 5bn rupees (£60m; $66m), which would make it one of India's most successful movies ever.
