Redefining Indian Cinema: Rajamouli's epic RRR
- By Shargeel Sheikh -
- May 27, 2022
After a serious hiatus in the Indian film industry, joy and box office hits like ‘RRR’ and ‘KGF’ have started to sprung up, but not from Bollywood. There’s a much culturally secluded part of India known as the South that is tremendously gaining popularity in the movie business against its Hindi counterparts.
Finishing off its total box office collection to INR 1000 +, RRR is another South Indian film breaking the stereotypes about the South film industry and beating Bollywood with groundbreaking scores. The first movie breaking the INR 1000+ record was Bahubali chapter 2, a project of the same director.
This means that RRR has already garnered enough buck and love from its viewers and is one of the most talked about movies as it makes it well anticipated Netflix entry.
RRR’s success is certainly not a fluke. It’s a fine and commendable manifestation of sheer hard work, creativity, and concern for the “thing ” the audience are seeking in a movie.
With epic fighting scenes, an emotional storyline, and a much enjoyable CGI animations, RRR makes itself the perfect South Asian movie the industry was longing for – for a very long time.
The movie is set during the British colonial rule in India and revolves around two leading roles, both of them on different corners of the same country, encountering different problems cause by the same colonial power. These two leading actors are Ram Charan and Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr. Both of these actors are already an established figure in the rapidly emerging South Indian film industry.
The two leading men have very different roles in the movie that eventually binds them together. But the movie is awe-struck even before these two characters meet. It’s been proven a never-ending ride of excitement and energy- the one that keeps you on your seat and keeps your eyes glued to the screen.
From the start of the film, the audience are carried away with a dramatic clash between a tiger and a wolf, preceding more moments of excitement. This beautifully sets a phase of surprise and energy. RRR is a curious film in which where anticipation is always at the tip of the peak.
Bollywood superstars Ajay Devgan and Alia Bhatt are also a part of the film and can be seen playing essential roles.
Ram Charan (Raju) is an underestimated police officer servicing the British Empire while Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr (Bheem), a member of the Gong tribe, is in search for a girl taken by the British elites from her village.
S.S Rajamouli’s characters are well defined. They are highly emotional, highly devoted, agile and super strong, a set of traits one usually expects from a typical South Indian Film. The script has been planned and penned by V. Vijayendra Prasad who himself is an award-winning screenwriter.
When we talk about direction, S.S Rajamouli has spared no focus on his film. He has masterfully taken assistance from CGI and has enriched every scene. This is probably a less exaggerated movie by the director that connects every move, every action scene with a logic in the most pliable way possible.
While watching this movie, one simply is unable to ignore the zestful wave of its dances number songs. Some of them are a cringe yet addictive. These songs represent the proverbial fervor South Asians hold for their love of dance numbers. There is also a patriotic song paying tribute to all the Indian freedom fighters.
The movie RRR is one of the several attempts made by south filmmakers for attracting viewers of all languages. The term “Pan Indian is being discussed with fervor recently and South filmmakers are unquestionably adept at it. This is one of the reasons behind recent South movie projects bashing records after records while the Hindi cinema is struggling to even reach a breakeven.
Apart from the Pan Indian thing, RRR enthrallingly delivers a relishing experience to its viewers. It is a family movie in which no hesitations and awkwardness is experienced between the young and their parents. The movie is one of the multiple moves pulled off by movie makers to revive the family movie watching culture. Something that has neared extinction in the modern world of mobile and laptops.
The love for culture, language, and the country is apparent as one skims through the scenes. A powerful display of nationalism has been put into the project, making its more rejuvenating.
While movie watching is fun, moviemaking isn’t. It’s a serious business and an opportunity for the industry artists to come together and work on something that comes out unique and profitable. The South Indian film fraternity has often shown the will and the determination to portray such ideas successfully. There was a time when Hindi Cinema was doing this as well, but times have changed and that’s a topic for another day.
RRR has finally arrived on Netflix and can be streamed in Hindi. An extraordinary family movie to watch, RRR speaks for itself as it was the number one choice for the cinemagoers right off the bat. The narrative and the director’s efforts are laudable enough that the small misses are easily ignored and forgiven.