Wamiqa Gabbi replaces Mrunal Thakur as Sivagami in Netflix’s Baahubali: Before The Beginning

By: Mohnish Singh

Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017) changed the way the world looked at Indian cinema. Its riotous success catapulted Prabhas and Rana Daggubati to global fame and established SS Rajamouli as one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the world.

Apart from Prabhas and Rana Daggubati, one actor we cannot imagine the world of Baahubali without is Ramya Krishnan, who played the iconic character of Sivagami and received widespread acclaim for her power-packed performance in the franchise.

Right after the grand success of Baahubali: The Conclusion in 2017, leading streaming media giant Netflix announced its plans to bankroll a prequel to Baahubali: The Beginning, tracing the life and unprecedented rise of Sivagami as the royal queen of Mahishmati. Mrunal Thakur of Super 30 (2019) fame came onboard to play the young Sivagami in the high-profile project.

Shooting for the Netflix project had begun but the project got scrapped mid-way. “The makers were not happy with the way the film was shaping up. They shot almost 70% of the film and decided to scrap it completely as they did not want to compromise on the quality," a source in the know informs a publication.

The latest we hear that Netflix is now putting the whole project back together with a new cast. If reports are to be believed, popular Punjabi actress Wamiqa Gabbi has been roped in to replace Mrunal Thakur as Sivagami.

"Mrunal does not have any more dates to shoot the whole thing again. So, the team have now got Punjabi actress Wamiqa Gabbi who also played a few smaller parts in Hindi films like Jab We Met (2007), Mausam (2011) and Love Aaj Kal (2009). They have already chalked out a plan and the series will be in place by the year-end,” concludes the source.

Keep visiting this space over and again for more updates and reveals from the world of entertainment.