Baahubali: The Beginning stormed into cinemas and rewrote the rules of Indian filmmaking a decade ago, on July 10, 2015.

Directed by SS Rajamouli and co-written by his father V Vijayendra Prasad, the film introduced audiences to the mythical kingdom of Mahishmati, earning over Rs 600 crore at the global box office and transforming its stars into household names.

From Prabhas’s portrayal of Amarendra and Mahendra Baahubali to Rana Daggubati’s menacing Bhallaladeva, the film’s sweeping narrative and cutting-edge visuals captivated audiences across the world.

But long before Baahubali became a cultural phenomenon, its roots began with a single character.

In a 2015 interview with Forbes, Rajamouli revealed, “It all started with the character of Sivagami. One day about 9 or 10 years back my father told me about this character. The first scene of the film is what he [Rajamouli's father V Vijayendra Prasad] narrated to me, where Sivagami saves the child and she dies, that was very emotional.”

“But he just told me about that character, there was no story or anything. But the character was there, then a few years later he told me about the character Kattappa, the loyal slave. And later he told me about the character of Bhallala Deva.”

So then about 4 or 5 years back we said why don’t we bring all these characters together to make a story. And then things started falling into place, he added.

Rajamouli said, “Most of the time the creator doesn’t know where he gets his inspiration from. It just gets into your mind, gets churned up with a hundred other stories, and when the output comes you don’t know where the actual source is from.”

The film’s legacy only grew with Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, solidifying the saga as one of Indian cinema’s greatest triumphs.