Introduction
The Indian film RRR, produced in Telugu and released in 2022, has become a huge crossover hit. Still, some viewers may be curious about the degree to which its historical narrative is based on reality. Writer and director S. S. Rajamouli creates an exciting action epic by combining Hindu mythology elements and real-life personalities’ historical tales with the complicated antagonist/protagonist friendships seen in action movies like Point Break.
The extraordinary stunt sequences in RRR earn their hype and easily stand alongside anything from the current crop of Western superhero movies, as Rajamouli has stated that the film is about the “imaginary friendship between two superheroes.”
Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, a police officer working for the imperial government and an Indian freedom fighter, respectively, start as adversaries but quickly become close friends.
The two heroes are responsible for saving the day. Bheem is dispatched to Delhi to rescue Malli from the evil English Governor Buxton (Ray Stevenson), who has purchased the girl as a present for his wife. Bheem is tasked with rescuing Malli from Buxton. The narrative of RRR draws inspiration from the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana, but it also has a foundation in actual events.
Storyline
Alluri Seetharama Raju was born in 1897 in the city of Visakhapatnam, located on the coast. To this day, the Telugus look to him as a figure of inspiration. As a young man, Raju went on a cross-country journey after the passing of his father. At this time, he was exposed firsthand to the repressive policies of the British Empire and the resulting socio economic hardships. This is a less dramatic origin than the one provided in RRR, which sees his father sacrifice his life for his village, supported by a young Raju armed with a British rifle. But, notwithstanding this creative licence, both the actual Alluri Seetharama Raju and RRR’s Alluri Sitarama Raju vowed to confront the cruelty of British rule.
As in the movie, Raju transferred British weapons to rebel forces. Rather than go undercover within the police force as in RRR, Raju coordinated raids on police stations when he understood that the traditional bow and arrow could not stand up against the might of the British Empire.
The first raid, which garnered the notice and ire of the Empire, took place in 1922, two years before Raju’s death in 1924. These two years of confrontations with the British are known as the “Rampa Rebellion,” about the contested territory subjugated by the oppressive Madras Forest Act.
Following these courageous struggles for colonialism, Raju was captured and killed on May 7, 1924, resulting in additional violence and tyranny against his supporters. Despite Raju’s vital part in Indian history, there are still gaps in his life story, which allowed S. S. Rajamouli took some creative liberties with the character.
The direction of the movie
When you see RRR, you must let go of your preconceived beliefs about how the world is organized. The protagonists can cover incredible distances in a single bound, launch motorcycles into the air, and outrun and outwit tigers on their turf. If Rajamouli were not present to gently orchestrate the situation, it would devolve into complete anarchy.
He uses a rhythmic stuttering motion to transition in and out of slow motion, allowing the greatness of his visuals to determine how long he retains a shot. RRR takes place in a world in which the laws of physics are determined by movie logic and are governed by a skilled choreographer. The set pieces continue indefinitely, reemerging even after they appear to have arrived at their zenith. Although they rarely give the impression of being convincing, the effects are spectacular and help the picture establish a reality that is uniquely it is own.
It’s a reality that’s a lot of fun to be lost in. It would be unfair to the movie to judge RRR based on how it stacks up against Hollywood’s action spectaculars.
However, it is important to note that Rajamouli’s conception of blockbuster filmmaking is refreshingly distinct from the prevalent Hollywood style, which centres films around the work of previsualization teams. This approach should be considered a breath of new air by anyone who is sick of that style or wants a break from it.
Reason To Watch The Movie
In addition to the fact that their time frames coincided and there were convenient gaps in their individual stories, there was one more reason why the liberation warriors in RRR were paired up with one another. RRR provided this explanation. As S. S. Rajamouli wrote the fictional account of a meeting between Komaram Bheem and Alluri Seetharama Raju, he drew inspiration from events in more recent history.
These events provided a source of motivation for Rajamouli. In 2014, as a result of a statute that the Indian Parliament passed, the state of Andhra Pradesh was separated into the new states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Rajamouli was born and reared in this state. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are both in India.
Rajamouli reasoned that, given the backgrounds of both Bheem and Raju, he would be able to highlight the similarities between these newly constituted republics and, in the process, confront the hostility between them.
This is possible, he reasoned, because he would highlight the similarities between these newly constituted republics and the backgrounds of both Bheem and Raju. In light of this, the fact that RRR is a highly idealized portrayal of historical events that took place in Indian history does not prevent it from being relevant to viewers in India in the present day.
The portrayal of racism and oppression under colonialism in RRR makes it essential viewing for audiences in Western countries, which are currently investigating the troublesome colonial pasts of their own countries. As for the rest of the world, audiences in Western countries should watch RRR because of this representation.
Movie Collection
As soon as it was made available to the public in March 2022, massive audiences flocked to watch it whenever and wherever it was screened. In addition to being shown in select locations around the continent at the same time as the film’s official release in theatres across the United States and Canada then, it was also screened in select locations then.
Users of Netflix were given access to a Hindi-language version built for the Bollywood market in May, two months after the initial release of the English-language version. In the United States, this special edition ranked in the Top 10 most-watched titles on the streaming service for nine consecutive weeks.
In the following short months, the New York Times reported that the picture had grossed $14 million at the American box office and played in 175 additional theatres across 34 states by August, even though it was also being streamed simultaneously. This was the case even though the picture played in 175 additional theatres nationwide.
Conclusion
They serve as easy-to-agree-upon villains for a film that finishes with a lengthy, (literally) flag-waving patriotic musical sequence honouring India that tells viewers “there is an iron man in every lane and home.” It’s almost as if we’ve been watching a three-hour recruitment film. RRR’s release coincides with a wave of nationalism in the country that Narendra Modi has stoked, and while Rajamouli’s film does not openly praise that movement, it also does little to condemn it.
Despite everything that’s going on below the surface, everything happening on the surface itself is a huge amount of fun. When Bheem and Raju first catch sight of each other from a distance, they both realize that they’ve finally come face to face with someone they’ve been looking for their entire lives but are unaware they were looking for each other. When one watches RRR, they will experience a feeling similar to what they had when they first saw it since it is the kind of film they have never seen before, making them feel exhilarated and enthralled.
