Indian filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli has revealed he has mixed feelings about one standout sequence in his latest epic action drama RRR.
The writer-director of the record-breaking Baahubali films has scored another box office hit with RRR (aka Rise Roar Revolt), which ranked as the leading title globally when released on March 25 in five languages, taking $65.6m across its opening weekend, and has now topped $100m in under two weeks.
Set in the 1920s, the historical fiction feature starring Ram Charan and NTR Jr as freedom fighters Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem respectively, is packed with extraordinary scenes of epic proportions, staggering stunts and a cast that also includes Bollywood A-listers Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt.
However, an uplifting dance sequence in the middle of the film – set to the hit song Naatu Naatu – is tinged with sadness for Rajamouli as it was shot in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, just months before the Russian invasion.
“Naatu Naatu, which is supposed to give so much happiness, really makes my heart wrench every time I see it on the screen,” Rajamouli tells Screen. “It was hardly five months since we were there, in this happy place, that it suddenly became a war-torn country. Those feelings come so strongly at me.”
The Telugu-language song proved a viral sensation when first heard at the end of last year, with one accompanying video on YouTube topping 115 million views to date. Choreographed by Prem Rakshith, the two leads dance in sync to impress a young woman and upstage their judgemental, colonial British hosts.
“We had an incredible experience,” Rajamouli says of filming in Ukraine. “I absolutely had no idea that there was political turmoil boiling over. After we came back, people here were asking me, ‘How stupid can you be, going into a country where war could break out at any moment?’ But we never felt that. No one we dealt with there – from the crew to the drivers – made us feel that they were going through a crisis.”
The filmmaker adds that he hopes to go back to Ukraine once peace has returned. “The moment the Ukrainians saw that we work in a different way, they were very accommodative and made our life much easier than any foreign production I’ve experienced,” he says.
“Even when we were shooting there, we were looking at other locations that were available in Ukraine purely because of the nature of the people. I have been talking with a few of the people who worked with us. It’s amazing how they keep their spirits up, even in this time of crisis.”
Delayed release
Produced by D. V. V. Danayya on a budget of $72m (second only to 2018’s 2.0 as the most expensive Indian film ever made), RRR has already become the second highest grossing Telugu-language film of all time, only behind Rajamouli’s Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, which made $254m worldwide following its release in 2017.
Written by Vijayendra Prasad and Rajamouli, the filmmaker says he didn’t feel pressured to break the records set by his previous blockbuster. “I’m aware the audience is expecting the kind of exhilaration and excitement they got out of Baahubali but that’s not a pressure – it’s a boost to my energy,” he says. “I know audiences will be there to watch my film on the first day, for sure, which guarantees a strong opening box office. That’s a strength rather than a pressure.”
Audience anticipation was further heightened by delays in its theatrical release. Shot over more than 300 days in Hyderabad and Ramoji Film City, with further sequences filmed in Delhi, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Ukraine, the production itself was put on pause following the Covid-19 outbreak – a delay that “gave us more time to fine tune the film, especially the visual effects”.
Then, following a rise in the Omicron variant of the virus, the January 7 release was pushed to March 25. Temporary cinema closures during the pandemic have seen audiences increasingly turn to streaming services for entertainment but Rajamouli considers OTT platforms as another opportunity to share stories.
“RRR is the kind of film that you want to watch with a crowd,” he says. “You can have the best home theatre system at your place but it still doesn’t compare to the synchronised energy that you get from your fellow audience.
“The OTT phenomenon was on the rise even before the Covid situation but I really don’t see it as a threat to the traditional film theatre experience. As a storyteller, I want my story to be heard by more people and OTT is another avenue where you can reach out. Of course, one medium will eat a little into the other, but eventually it will settle down and we will just have more platforms to play your film on.”
Netflix’s ‘Baahubali’ prequel series
Netflix and subscription service Zee5 acquired Indian streaming rights to RRR and will make the film available following its theatrical run. Netflix had also ordered a two-season prequel to the Baahubali films, titled Baahubali: Before The Beginning.
However, after filming the first season at a reported cost of $20m, the project was shelved by Netflix before post-production could be completed and is being rewritten, according to Rajamouli.
“I was not actively involved in it but did say the premise of what the story should be and oversaw the story writing part of it,” says the filmmaker. “It was then taken on by producers Shobu [Yarlagadda] and Prasad [Devineni].
“Netflix was actively involved and calling the creative shots. I don’t know what happened but they were not happy with the final output. They said, ‘If you are going to make Baahubali, we have to make it as good as the film – it can’t be lesser than that.’
“They have scrapped what was shot and are rewriting the whole prequel. That’s where it stands now. The bar has been set by the films, which is a very good thing because the audience will be expecting nothing less.”
Next project
What the delay in RRR’s release meant was that Rajamouli could think about his next project, which will be no less epic in scale and ambition. “During those two and a half months when I had nothing else to do, I started thinking about what kind of storylines would be interesting,” he says of the as-yet-untitled project, produced by K.L. Narayana.
“I’m just at entry point but can say it’s an epic film, with [Telugu star] Mahesh Babu playing the lead. There are a couple of storylines, both very exciting and large scale, but as of now all I can say is that it will be a big film.”
He admits to preferring writing over filming “because you don’t need to constantly worry about the daily expenses. No one bills you for your thoughts.”
However, Rajamouli is hoping to start filming by the end of this year and continues to draw inspirations from one classic in particular. “I still go ‘wow’ over Ben Hur,” he says of William Wyler’s 1959 epic. “I have watched it hundreds of times since my childhood. Even today, I can just put on the chariot race and say, ‘Wow’. It still blows my mind.”
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