Baahubali: The Epic- Tamannaah Bhatia’s love story with Prabhas axed! Check details on deleted scenes

Baahubali: The Epic is all set to roar back into theatres on October 31, 2025, bringing together both installments of SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus - Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017). The much-awaited combined version, confirmed by the makers earlier this year, promises a fresh cinematic experience for fans across India and beyond.

Related Story: Tamannaah Bhatia reflects on playing Avanthika in Baahubali, a role that changed her forever

Ahead of the release, Rajamouli, along with lead stars Prabhas and Rana Daggubati, appeared in a candid interview to discuss what’s new - and more intriguingly, what’s missing - in this re-edited version.

Tamannaah’s Romantic Track with Prabhas and Their Love Story Removed!

During the conversation, SS Rajamouli made a revelation that surprised many fans. Tamannaah Bhatia and Prabhas' loclve story including the popular romantic number Pacha Bottesina, featuring the duo, haven't made it to the final cut.

He explained, "By merging both parts and removing the rolling titles, the total duration would have been around five hours and 27 minutes. The current version, however, runs for three hours and 43 minutes. Major portions that were removed include Avanthika's love story with Shivudu, the songs Pacha Bottesina, Kanna Nidurinchara, and Irrukupo. Several sequences from the war episodes have also been trimmed."

This means that fans will no longer see Avanthika and Shivudu’s romantic journey as originally portrayed, as Rajamouli aims to keep the narrative more focused on the central conflict and kingdom politics.

Why the Epic Had to Be Trimmed?

Rajamouli went on to justify the decision to cut down the runtime significantly.

"Every scene in Baahubali carries emotional weight and narrative importance, but we wanted the new version to be purely story-driven. The first cut was about four hours and ten minutes long. We held a special screening for both cinema and non-cinema audiences from different backgrounds, took their feedback, and then reduced it to three hours and 43 minutes," said the filmmaker.

The filmmaker emphasized that the re-edited version is not about shortening the film, but about ensuring smoother storytelling for today’s audiences.

Five-year Vision Behind Baahubali: The Epic

Sharing insights into how this unified version came to life, Rajamouli recalled, "We came up with this idea five years ago - to see if the story could be told as a single film. We tried a linear narration; it didn't work. Then we shortened scene lengths, which didn't work either. Finally, we decided on removing episodes."

This long and meticulous process reflects the team’s dedication to creating an emotionally cohesive experience rather than merely stitching two films together.

Fans React: The Kichcha Sudeep Connection

Meanwhile, fans of Kannada superstar Kichcha Sudeep have taken to social media with warnings for the director.

They’ve urged Rajamouli not to remove the beloved actor’s cameo scene with Kattappa, threatening to “boycott” the film and other upcoming movies of the director and Prabhas, in Karnataka if the scene is excluded.

Only after the theatrical release will audiences discover which scenes survived the final cut and which didn’t.

Must Read: Baahubali prequel on cards! SS Rajamouli and Vijayendra Prasad planning movie on Mahishmati and Kattappa's past?

Star-studded Legacy Continues

Directed by SS Rajamouli, Baahubali: The Epic stars Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Tamannaah Bhatia, Sathyaraj, and Nasser in key roles. The reimagined version promises to reignite the grandeur of Mahishmati on the big screen once again on October 31, 2025.