RRR Telugu Movie
RRR from Baahubali director S. S. Rajamouli is an epic action film. Set in the 1920's, the film tells the story of two powerful people who fight against the British Empire in their own way.
Rajamouli starts the film by establishing his two protagonists with introduction sequences. Ram Charan is Alluri Sitarama Raju, a cop so powerful that he could stomp past scores of men to catch one of them. They are not some ordinary men but are Sikh people, who are known for their strength. Raju's stunt is so brave that it leaves a big impression on his British commander. It is an unbelievable set piece on paper, but star Ram Charan and director Rajamouli make it somewhat believable. It is not a hero introduction scene as Raju is merely following the orders of a British commander to oppress the Indians. His act is not heroic in the filmy sense of the word.
In the other sequence, Jr NTR uses himself as bait for a hyena, but he ends up trapping a tiger instead. It is the same tiger we see in the trailer. We wonder whether the tiger is for use as food or as a weapon. Later, we realize that Jr NTR plays a man who grew up in the forest and who leads a rebel army against the Brits.
At some point, we realize that the protagonists will meet. There is a bit of Manmohan Desai-ness about the meeting point of the two characters as they call themselves brothers instantly. Only, Rajamouli's gigantic set-pieces work as the things that separate the characters with a brotherly bond here, versus coincidences, space and time in a Desai film.
RRR is a film where the characters spend most of the time gliding in the air like Hindi film stars in motion posters. Nevertheless, Rajamouli's filmmaking craft is so good that much of the action is enjoyable despite being a tad over the top. In one scene, Jr NTR comes flying from the back of a truck with a group of wild animals, including the hyena and tiger from the start of the film. It is glorious to watch in a 3D theater. Even amid the spectacular action, Rajamouli shows little details like the tiger attacking the Jr NTR character. Remember, he has trapped the tiger but has not tamed it at the start of the film.
In a film like RRR, things like story and script are always in service to the spectacle it delivers. Now as much as I appreciate and enjoyed the spectacle in RRR, I did not quite like the storytelling here. With Rajamouli since Baahubali: The Beginning, it has been like the bigger the spectacle and the bigger the budget, the less interesting the film from a storytelling point of view. People view Rajamouli as a big-budget director, but his best work is the more intimate Eega. The 2012 film may be bizarre, but Rajamouli's storytelling has such conviction that it still boggles the mind. RRR has that midas touch of storyteller Rajamouli only to some extent.
RRR has quite an old-fashioned story of people with different ideologies about different pathways to independence. The film is full of broad strokes and lacks depth in emotions. The Jr NTR character appears more of a muscular personality than a freedom fighter. On the other hand, there is at least a terrific backstory for the Ram Charan character, which keeps the mostly airborne film grounded for a while. A spectacular action film becomes more than just a thing of beauty when a strong story aspect binds to its action. There are only some bravura sequences in the film with action that combines itself with pieces of clever storytelling.
Nevertheless, RRR is quite a few notches ahead of your standard mass entertainer. After all, it is a masala film. It has stunning action and wonderful performances from its two leads. Ajay Devgan is also excellent in a cameo role here. The British characters may be one-note bad guys as in most period films about India's independence, but the acting for those roles is not half as bad. The Malayalam dubbing leaves a lot to be desired, but I found the 3D experience worthwhile.
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