Title: Non-Verbal Dialogues: Speaking Film Narratives Through Costumes in Baahubali, the Beginning
Authors: Alkasim Harisu Alkasim
Volume: 9
Issue: 7
Pages: 219-221
Publication Date: 2025/07/28
Abstract:
The role of costumes as non-verbal dialogues is often footnoted in scholarship for not being viewed as requisite instruments for communicating the narrative of a film. Thus, this paper is predicated on analysing costumes as apposite tools for telling the story of the film Baahubali: the Beginning. Costumes play significant role across various media including film. In film, costumes are an indelible insignia and a critical aspect of visual storytelling that enhances the narrative and overall viewing experience. Unlike what many a viewer thinks, costumes can function as visual storytelling tools in films. As a tool for storytelling, costumes provide the audience sufficient information on each characters' personality and history in a quick and economical way. They are a badge that distinguishes the psychological state, economic status, educational level, etc. of the characters in a film. In contrast to the superficial meanings attached to them, costumes externalise multidimensional significations that communicate deeper meanings. Using semiotics as theoretical bedrock and qualitative methodology through content analysis as a perimeter, this paper argues that with or without dialogues, costumes can tell the story of a film. It reveals that costumes