Prabhas was cast as main lead of the film.
Anushka Shetty was cast as the heroine of the film as she was also a part of
Mirchi (2013).
[5] She coincidentally became the first heroine Rajamouli repeated in his films and thus made her schedules full for 2013 and 2014.
[6] Telugu actor
Rana Daggubati was recruited as the antagonist of the film and coincidentally he was also a part of
Rudhramadevi.
[7] Tamil actor Sathyaraj signed the film.
[8]
Kannada actor
Sudeep was picked for a small but important role in the film.
[9] He shot for four days in July 2013 for the film and had to fight with Sathyaraj in a stunt sequence choreographed by
Peter Hein.
[10] In April 2013, Adivi Sesh was cast for a crucial role in the film as Rajamouli was impressed by his work in the
Panjaa (2011).
[11] Actress
Ramya Krishnan was chosen to play the crucial role in the film as
Rajamatha in August 2013.
[12] Actor Nassar was selected to play a supporting role.
[12] On 11 December 2013, a press release stated that Charandeep is selected for one of the negative characters in the film.
[13] On 20 December 2013 a press release stated that
Tamannaah will be second heroine of the film which marks her first collaboration with Rajamouli and second collaboration with Prabhas.
[14] Meka Ramakrishna was picked for the head of kuntala guerilla rebels.
Rana Daggubati was said to be playing the role of Prabhas' brother and he too underwent a lot of physical transformation for the role he was assigned to play in the film.[7] He also underwent training in Martial arts under the supervision of a Vietnamese trainer, Tuan.[15] Sathyaraj has a Tonsured look for his role in the film.[16] Sudeep said that he would play the role of a weapons trader Aslam Khan in this film.[17] In the end of October 2013, Rana appeared at a fashion show with a beefed up body which, according to him, was a part of his look in the film.[18] In mid-May 2014, reports emerged that Anushka would play a pregnant woman for a few sequences in the second part of the film.[19]
At the same time, Prabhas posted on his Facebook page that he underwent a minor shoulder surgery and would join the film's sets in a span of a month.
[20] On 1 June 2014, Prabhas and Rana's trainer Lakshman Reddy, said that Prabhas started his training 8 months before the commencement of shooting and after two years, both of them weighed nearly 100 kilos each. He also added that Prabhas has two attires with a heavy, bulky body for Baahubali's role and a lean physique for the second role.
[21] For his look, Prabhas met
WWE superstars like
The Undertaker in February 2014 and interacted with them about their daily regimen and workouts.
[22]
Prabhas had equipment costing
₹1.5 crore shipped to his home, where he built a personal gym. His breakfast included 40 half boiled egg whites blended and added with protein powder.
[22] In mid-June 2014, regarding her role in the film, Tamannaah said that she would be playing the role of a warrior princess named Avanthika and her appearance in the film is completely different when compared to her past films.
[23][24] Before joining the film's shoot, Tamannaah did costume trials for the film which she confirmed in her micro-blogging page stating "I am very excited to get on to the set of Baahubali. I did some dress trials today and my look in this movie will be totally new. I have never been seen in such sort of a look till now. It will be a new role for me."
[25] Rajamouli called Tamannaah and her characterization as a "value addition" to the movie.
[26] She stated that she plays Avanthika, and had a special training and diet regime.
[27] The film introduced a new language called Kilikili.
[28]
