RRR – Reviewed By Prasad Pereira

For all the controversy surrounding it, SS Rajamouli’s Telugu language blockbuster “RRR” is executed with such ridiculous, epic, over-the-top fervor and out-and-out technical panache that it will most likely have you grinning from ear to ear in utter enjoyment despite your best intentions.

RRR Movie Info

• Genre: Action, Drama
• Original Language: Telugu
• Director: S.S. Rajamouli
• Producer: D.V.V. Danayya
• Writer: S.S. Rajamouli, Sai Madhav Burra
• Release Date (Theaters): Mar 25, 2022  Wide
• Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2022
• Box Office (Gross USA): $596.5K
• Runtime: 3h 7m
• Distributor: Sarigama Cinemas
• Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos
• Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Main Cast

Ram Charan , N. T. Rama Rao Jr. , Ajay Devgn , Alia Bhatt , Olivia Morris , Ray Stevenson , Alison Doody , Shriya Saran , Edward Sonnenblick , Samuthirakani

RRR – Review

For all the controversy surrounding it, SS Rajamouli’s Telugu language blockbuster “RRR” is executed with such ridiculous, epic, over-the-top fervor and out-and-out technical panache that it will most likely have you grinning from ear to ear in utter enjoyment despite your best intentions.

The movie is clearly aimed at a mainstream Indian audience, contains the requisite song-and-dance sequences, exaggerated action sequences, and plot machinations, and yet is so thrilling and so much fun that my higher brain function quite quickly made an exit and, despite rearing its head now and again, was relatively passive throughout the film’s running time.

Rajamouli knows exactly what kind of film he is making. But his execution of the material is far from perfunctory. It is more than evident that he is a highly accomplished craftsman who has a firm grip on the film’s tonal shifts, its story beats, and its pace. And he is also a superb director of action sequences, giving us tense, heroic, muscular, sometimes violent action scenes that work despite their apparent silliness.

Story

The story is a mash-up of historical fiction, fantasy, and action, and sees two Indian revolutionaries, Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju, team up to take on the evil of the British Raj. In reality, the two never met, but Rajamouli doesn’t let that minor detail get in the way of this rollicking adventure. Playing Bheem and Raju are the terrific NT Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan, two superstars of Telugu cinema, who bring heroism, physicality, and strong charisma to their roles. 

As the film’s big baddie, Irish actor Ray Stevenson (Titus Pullo in the superb HBO series “Rome”, Frank Castle in “Punisher: War Zone”) turns the ham up to 11, playing the dastardly Governor Scott Buxton with relish. He is supported by Alison Doody (Dr. Elsa Schneider in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”) as his evil wife. Bollywood superstars Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt also have smaller but significant roles in the movie.

The film truly succeeds as a thrilling action fantasy, with its unpredictable execution of formulaic tropes and joyously over-exaggerated action set pieces. One of the most thrilling scenes is when Bheem raids the British fort that is keeping a child abducted from his tribe and attacks with an array of wild animals. It is a scene so completely overblown and yet executed with such technical mastery and clarity of vision that it will not fail to delight anyone’s inner child. Similarly, the action scenes are fantastical (bordering on the idiotic), yet stark and gritty, with Rajamouli going full tilt on his arsenal of techniques, including low-angle framing, slow-motion, a superb use of crowds, precise editing, and remarkable use of CGI.

Anyone who has enjoyed modern Hollywood action films, from the Fast & Furious franchise to Bullet Train, cannot complain about the action scenes, which are on par with the silliness displayed in those movies but executed with a lot more style and flair. As a former colonial, the film’s treatment of the British as the epitome of cruelty and evil was also quite a thrill—as was the one-dimensionality of their villainy, a quality that western movies have subjected many races and peoples to over the years.

The fact that this film has been embraced by western movie-going audiences is actually quite baffling, given that this is a wholly Indian movie, from its tone and genre to some of the issues it addresses.

Negatively, the movie has a very obvious Hindu nationalistic bent, most notably in its climax, where the hero Raju just happens to be dressed like a Hindu deity and is seen fighting the evil oppressor of his people with Godlike skills and power. The film is also quite classist, but this is something I didn’t cotton onto until I read about the real-life characters who are portrayed here. By the end of the film, we see Bheem, who is of a lower caste, operate in a more servile manner towards Raju, who is of a higher caste. This is quite obvious once the historical context of the two characters is established. There are also some extended torture scenes that feel unnecessarily brutal.

For all its flaws, this is a superb piece of mainstream entertainment and one that has crossed an invisible cultural border. Think of it what you will—I seriously doubt this is a movie for all tastes—but it remains a superb technical achievement and a rollicking good time at the movies.

Prasad Pereira‘s Rating – 4 / 5 stars