Aug 25, 2026 4:19pm IST
‘Baahubali: Before The Beginning’ DoP Mukesh G On Netflix Shelving The Series: ‘Two Seasons Were Completely Shot’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Cinematographer Mukesh G, the cinematographer behind Lokesh Kanagaraj’s visually stunning “DC,” spent 18 months shooting Netflix’s “Baahubali: Before The Beginning,” completing two seasons and portions of a third before the ambitious series was ultimately shelved. With roughly 60 to 70 days of shooting still remaining, the project collapsed, leaving Mukesh to process the loss of months of work. “I went into depression for about six months,” he candidly admits to Variety India.
Mukesh was the principal Director of Photography (DoP) on the series, which Netflix announced in 2018 as a prequel to S.S. Rajamouli’s “Baahubali” films, centred on the rise of Sivagami. The project subsequently underwent major creative changes, including a change in the actor playing Sivagami and a new creative team, before being shelved. While Mrunal Thakur shot for months, it was said that she was to be replaced with Wamiqa Gabbi. Interestingly Mukesh G went on to collaborate with Gabbi in "DC".
According to Mukesh, the series was announced with a planned budget of ₹270 crore for three seasons. He says the team had already spent approximately ₹97 crore by the time production came to a halt.
“We shot for about 18 months and had already spent about ₹97 crores. We completely shot two seasons and had even shot portions of the third. We only needed about 60 or 70 more days to finish the whole project, and then everything collapsed.”
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For Mukesh, the cancellation was not a single decision that arrived at the end of production. It was a prolonged process that gradually dismantled a project the team had already invested heavily in. “It didn't get shelved overnight; it got shelved page by page, which I couldn't digest,” he says. “At that point, it was one of the most important projects in India.”
Netflix’s Leadership Change
Mukesh attributes the shift in the project’s direction to a change in Netflix leadership. According to him, the new leadership sought significant changes, including more action in the first season and a change to the lead performer.
“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 artist because they didn't like the actor's performance.”
Mukesh maintains that the production team’s concerns went beyond the financial cost of restarting the series. “Netflix offered an extra ₹70 crore to reshoot with a new cast, but for our producers—who are the producers of ‘Baahubali’ and our directors (Deva Katta and Praveen Sattaru), it wasn't just about money. It was our time spent on it.”
S.S. Rajamouli was supervising the project, according to Mukesh. “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 says.
When the Cast Moved On
The prolonged uncertainty also made a fresh start increasingly difficult. Mukesh notes, “During the months spent figuring out what to do, Mrunal [Thakur], who played Sivagami, became a massive star,” he says. “Replacing lead actors meant throwing away 18 months of footage, which practically went out of hand.”
The production also involved long-term physical commitments from the cast, adds Mukesh, including that contracts required some actors to shave their heads or grow beards for extended periods. “Everyone has moved on now. You can't bring that back,” he says.
He says he continued to hope the series might return for a few years, but no longer believes that is possible. “I had hope even a couple of years back, but now I don't think so. A few veteran actors from Maharashtra who played key roles are no longer with us.”
The project remains a difficult chapter in Mukesh’s career, particularly because of how close it was to completion. “It remains a very unfortunate episode in my career,” he says.
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