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| “ | Even though I orchestrated your father's death, I couldn't kill him myself, and that thought has left me sleepless! But now you have returned, a spitting image of him, giving me the chance to tear his heart out! How can I thank you for this gift, Mahendra Baahubali?! | „ |
| ~ Bhallaladeva |
| “ | Oh Bhadra, I will make sure that everyone who had laughed at your death will pay. Your head will be placed on a grand pyre of the bodies of a thousand families. Their screams of pain and misery will be your music of welcome in the heavens! | „ |
| ~ Bhalla as he is holding Bhadra's severed head. |
| “ | He could not rule the kingdom, cause the people fear him! He could not deny his hate. For years I've realized I could not make that mistake, I had to hide my emotions behind this false mask. But now that I have told you who I am, you have seen under the mask and you know who I really am! | „ |
| ~ Bhalla while drowning Avinash. |
Bhallaladeva is a reoccurring antagonist in the Tollywood period epic franchise Baahubali, being a background antagonist in the animated series The Lost Legends and the main antagonist in the film series.
Bhallaladeva is the only child to queen mother Sivagami and Bijjaladeva, and cousin of Amarendra Baahubali, whom he would grow up to despise with dangerous jealousy. As Bijjaladeva believed that he was unjustly denied the throne of Mahishmati, he has brainwashed his son into believing that since he is of royalty, he is entitled to anything he wants and should do whatever it takes to rule the kingdom with power and greed.
He was portrayed by Rana Daggubati in the movies and was voiced by Manoj Pandey in the show Baahubali: The Lost Legends. Daggubati received praise and critical acclaim for the role.
Biography[]
Bhallaladeva, or Bhalla is the only son of queen Sivagami and Bijjaladeva of Mahishmati. Along with him, Sivagami also raises Amarendra Baahubali, Bhalla's cousin and Sivagami's newphew, as both of his parents have passed. Bijjaladeva's younger brother Vikramadeva was Baahubali's father, but he dies in battle and his queen dies giving birth to their son. Bijjaladeva has had a grudge against Vikramadeva for inheriting the throne, as it was denied to him for being deranged. As such he manipulates Bhalla from a young age into believing that he is entitled to whatever he wants as a royal, leading to him growing up arrogant and without care for his people or his family.
Despite being aware of morals and values, Bhalla neglects them particularly in regards to Baahubali. Baahubali has always strived to make Sivagami proud and has earned the respect of the people for being noble, dutiful, kind, and gentle, everything that Bhalla isn't. As they enter adulthood, Bhalla grows to despise Baahubali, and goes as far as to make multiple plots to kill him in order to seize the throne.
Baahubali: The Lost Legends[]
Bhalla has been shown to conspire with other villainous contacts, factions, and characters in order to humiliate or kill Baahubali. However such plots usually end up in failure with Baahubali finding creative methods around it. In particular he allies with Pradhan Guru, the treacherous combat teacher employed by Sivagami to teach the royal heirs of the kingdom. His jealousy has led to him killing close friends of his who were too close to the truth, including Avinash. He also develops feelings for Ingrid Eriksdottir, and attempts to kill Pradhan Guru to prevent him from talking about their alliance. In the third season, after Baahubali and him defeat Basudev, he steals the cursed mineral responsible for the zombie disease, hoping to weaponize it.
In the fourth season, Bhalla briefly falls in love with a maiden named Sunaina, who is revealed to be a gold digger having poisoned the prince with smoke. Baahubali finds this out and subdues him. Bhalla also later plays a role in helping Mahishmati ally with Paramhans, king of Amaram. He does this by murdering the warrior Aakanksh, who is a friend of Baahubali in order to complete the trial. However, he's forced to go into battle after Kalpana murders Paramhans. He confronts Kalpana on the field of battle, revealing his nature as a trickster and liar due to his alliance with Paramhans and contrast from Baahubali, motivating Kalpana to kill him further.
In the fifth season, he, Baahubali, and Kattappa travel to Japan to return the Hachiman katana, inadvertedly getting involved in the war between Torra and Ukami. Bhalla briefly joins Ukami hoping to use him to conquer Mahishmati, but in the ensuing battle Torra and Ukami kill each other. When the characters return to Mahishmati Bhalla gets blackmailed by two princesses who worked for Kalpana Devi, who manage to reveal to Baahubali that Bhalla killed Aakanksh, but Baahubali refuses to believe this and dismisses it as a lie. Afterwards, Bhalla tells Bijjaladeva that Baahubali is even more naive than he initially thought and that taking the throne from him will be all the more satisfying.
Movies[]
When the traitor Sakithan betrays the kingdom to the Kalakeyas, Bhalla is once again seen trying to deliberately kill Baahubali by dropping the rope he clings to while catching the traitor. Bijjaladeva's influence also allows him to get more weapons in the upcoming battle, and he manages to kill the Kalakeya chief Inkoshi, but since he had ruthlessly killed the village hostages in the war, Baahubali is promoted to the position of crown prince.
This makes Bhalla livid, though he doesn't show it. He tries to destroy Baahubali's happiness by stealing away his love interest, Princess Devasena of Kuntala. He tricks Sivagami into promising his hand of marriage with Devasena, leading to quarrel among the royals. Since Bhalla couldn't have Devasena, Sivagami promotes him to become king. Bhalla takes advantage of his position to set Devasena up for being trialed, since Bhalla's friend Sethupathi inappropriately gropes her. Baahubali beheads Sethupathi in retaliation, so Sivagami exiles Baahubali and Devasena (the latter for insulting Bhalla and Mahishmati's law).
Bhalla takes his jealousy to the peak by framing Baahubali for treason, which he does so by openly plotting to assassinate him. Devasena's cousin Kumara Varma, a close friend of Baahubali hears this and is convinced by Bijjaladeva to execute the king. It turns out to be a trap, and Kumara is killed, with the scene appearing as attempted assassination on Baahubali's command. A horrified Sivagami orders Baahubali's execution right away at the hands of slave general Kattappa, and by the time the truth is figured out, it's too late and Baahubali is stabbed dead. Bhalla completes the final stage of his plan by imprisoning Devasena, just to torture her for giving his cousin happiness. He also shoots Sivagami, and he and Bijjaladeva usurp the royals and sway the guards and ministers. Sivagami however manages to rescue Baahubali's newborn son Mahendra and take him to the Amburi tribe, where he is raised. Over the course of twenty-five years, Bhalla rules the kingdom and subjugates his people into following his every command. He also destroys and conquers many other kingdoms including Kuntala along with his adopted son Bhadra.
Twenty-five years later, Mahendra discovers his past and gathers an army of rebel warriors who have been fighting Bhalla's rule. Mahendra fights his uncle one on one and overpowers him using the chains from Devasena's cage. He stabs Bhalla by the knee with a sword and Devasena burns him alive, ending his reign of cruelty for good.
Personality[]
Bhallaladeva has all of the characteristics of a sociopathic megalomaniacal dictator. He has been taught since youth that he can do whatever he pleases by his father Bijjaladeva, who wished nothing more than for his son to take the throne he believed he deserved. Bhalla's strict and distant demeaner lead to Baahubali's kind and compassionate personality being a favorite with their mother. Bhalla spends the years of his life scheming on how to murder the brother he has grown excessively jealous of and how to make it look like an accident, all the while hiding his hatred behind a passive aggressive attitude. When Bhalla is not hiding his inner hate, he is headstrong, angry, and a force of limb ripping strength when he is trifled with. Bhalla knows how to channel his rage and uses his authority as well as his knowledge on his peer's personalities to manipulate them into doing his bidding. When things don't go his way, Bhalla will be determined to inflict brutal pain on anyone he thinks fails or defies him. It doesn't help that his physical strength surpasses many characters in the franchise. He has managed to kill many main characters including Avinash and Jaya Varma with his brute strength, forcing the latter to slit his own throat. Bhalla is a dangerous enemy to engage both strategically and physically, and this is when he's not concealing his true intentions behind a cloak of desires.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Cunning and manipulation- A prime characteristic of Bhalla's is his ability to hide feelings of disappointment and find ways to use his words and personalities of others to change circumstances, a trait clearly inherited from his father.
- Strategy and leadership- Just like Baahubali, Bhalla was also educated in science, engineering, battle strategies, and statecraft.
- Superhuman strength and combat- Bhalla has trained in combat for many weapons, including his signature being the mace. He is not only strong enough to shatter boulders but also uses the mace as a shield and a tool of agile and swift blows.
Trivia[]
- Bhalla was heavily inspired by villains form Hindu mythology, specifically the demon king Ravana and prince Duryodhana. He had a passion for abducting and tormenting Devasena, just like how Raavana did to Rama's bride Seetha, and how Duryodhana attempted to steal away Draupadi. Bhalla is also a spitting image of Duryodana and just like him is an evil prince, has superhuman strength, and wields a mace. Baahubali too has the traits of Duryodhana's rivals, the Pandavas.
- Bhalla has two signature chariots, both of which carry scythe blades to tear enemies apart which was built by the people of Jwalarajyam as Baahubali's idea. The second version also has an arrow launcher.
- Bhalla has tried to kill Baahubali four times on screen, first being when they were spying on the Struukal worshipers where he tried to kill him with a rock, the second when Baahubali was suffering hallucinations and fought Bhalla while they were investigating the underground cult, the third when they were in Japan and Bhalla worked as a swordsman for Ukami in which both were in disguise, and lastly when they were capturing Sakithan, in which he let go of the rope Baahubali held to. In all instances, Baahubali had no idea.
- Bhalla stated that he wanted to see Baahubali's reaction when he stole the throne, however since Baahubali died without ever knowing that Bhalla hated him for his entire life, this didn't happen. When Mahendra fights Bhalla, a cloud in the sky takes the shape of Baahubali, which may be symbolic as Baahubali's spirit seeing the truth.