After a couple of days since I stepped into the “Kingdom of Maahishmati,” I continue thinking about the reason why Baahubali gained so much of popularity in Japan than anywhere else in the world.
We have significant cultural, philosophical and religious differences between India and Japan, which often trigger the troubles and misunderstanding in the business scenes. In fact, by the end of my career in a software company in Pune for eight years in 2012, I had almost given up and felt it was nearly impossible for Indians and Japanese to share the complete understanding.
The movie series Baahubali, in a way, is based on the references from Hindu mythologies of Mahabharata and Ramayana, which is the heart of ancient India. They still form an important part of Hindu people’s daily lives, who comprise the majority of the nation's population. On the other hand, most of the modern Japanese people seldom perform religious undertakings on a daily basis. We have less room for religions, prayers, and rituals to come in our busy lives. Therefore, I feel the cultural and religious factor might have looked exotic and attractive for most of Japanese.
At the same time, as an expert I found on Twitter pointed, the stories convey the essential quality of a strong human being. For example, respecting each other regardless of gender and status or the counterpart, hating sexual harassment (Twitter has #バーフバリ セクハラ [#Baahubali Sexual Harassment] tag where Japanese people cheerfully discuss Princess Devasena and Prince Amarendra's thrilling treatment of a groper,) speaking truth when you feel injustice even to the senior, eliminating the discriminations, forgiving your family and beloved, treating animals with respect, and so on. Also, it focuses on the weakness and vulnerability of a human through the eyes of Bhallaladeva. The final battle between evil and good is grand and magnificent as if it showed the mirror in self. These basic principles lying under the story could contain strong messages that could spread universally.
Lastly, some movie theatres in Japan have a special arrangement for so-called “Masala Screening.” In those theatres, people can feel free to cosplay in sarees and dhoti, shout out the names of heroes they prefer, sing along the songs of praising the King Baahubali, beat the tambourines and shake the rings while screening, otherwise, all these acts are strictly prohibited in any other conventional theatres! I think such moment is an excellent relief for highly-stressed Japanese working people.
These are so far the reasons I could think of with the help of my Twitter friends. I want to hear your opinions too.
Also Read about Baahubali -
Finally Stepped In "Maahishmati Kingdom": Why Baahubali Is Super-hit In Japan!?
ついに鑑賞「バーフバリ 伝説誕生／王の凱旋」、今の気持ちを記録
Once again, I want to pay respect to Japanese fans who worship our King Baahubali :)
