Kerala a filmmaker's paradise: Rajamouli

Terming Kerala a filmmaker's paradise, celebrated film director S.S. Rajamouli said the best thing about the state is that one does not need to wander more for locations.

"It is a filmmaker's paradise," Rajamouli, whose blockbuster "Baahubali" had become one of the biggest grossers in India's film industry, told reporters here Friday at an event organised by Kerala Tourism to promote wedding and film tourism in the state.

"When the story of 'Baahubali' came to my mind, I wanted to capture the ferocity and hugeness of Athirapally as against the placidity and calmness that is exploited most in the movies shot here," he said.

Rajamouli reminisced that his stint with Kerala dates back to the 1980s when he came to Sabarimala from Chennai.

He had fallen in love with the greenery since then. It is this love for the green pastures that made him shoot his three films "Simhadri", "Sai" and "Baahubali" in Thiruvananthapuram, Munnar and Athirapally respectively.

Asked about his reaction on the nomination of the Telugu version of "Baahubali" for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, he said he was not interested in awards. "I don't see any value for them," he quipped.

"I do not attend any award functions. However, I will be extremely happy if my technicians or people associated with the film win an award. It will be a motivation for them," he said.

Rajamouli was in Kerala to attend the wedding of the daughter of his friend, an orthopaedician based in Hyderabad, who had shortlisted Kerala and Rajasthan for his daughter's destination wedding.

Kerala Tourism Secretary Kamala Vardhana Rao said the alluring spots in Kerala like Munnar, Kochi and Kovalam are increasingly becoming locations for destination weddings, which would help in the development of tourism sector in the state.

"I had used clippings from 'Baahubali' to showcase Kerala's beauty for promoting the state's film tourism among the Chinese film producers in Beijing," said Rao.