Challenging to match up to Ramya: Mrunal Thakur on playing Sivagami in Netflix's Baahubali prequel

On 9 November, Netflix announced 8 new original films, as well as multiple series for the Indian audience. Among these was a prequel series to SS Rajamouli's blockbuster, Baahubali franchise, titled Baahubali:Before The Beginning. The series will feature Mrunal Thakur, Rahul Bose, Atul Kulkarni, Vaquar Shaikh and Anup Soni in key roles. 

Thakur, who was recently seen in Love Sonia (2018), has been cast as Sivagami. The role was played by Ramya Krishnan in the films by Rajamouli, and proved to be a popular and key character to the story. Speaking of the role, Thakur said, "For me, when I gave the audition, it was not easy. When I saw both the films, the benchmark was there. To match up to Ramya who played Sivagami was a challenge. It's a big treat to work with this team. When I got to know that it was a Netflix project, I was even more excited." 

The live-action series by Netflix will be based on the book written by Anand Neelakantan and directed by Deva Katta and Praveen Sataru. The story will also focus on the rise of Sivagami as the ruler of the kingdom of Mahishmati. 

"The process wasn't easy as well. It was a little difficult but somewhere down the line in my head, I knew I was going to be Sivagami because she is a strong character who rules the entire Mahishmati. She's got the sense of motherhood, at the same time she is got the sense of what is right and what is wrong. She treats everybody equal no matter who it is. Through this project, I'm living my dream," she added.

Mrunal Thakur will be seen in Super 30, which hits the screens on 25 January 2019.