‘Set out to make a film for the audience’: SS Rajamouli on massive critical acclaim for RRR

Veteran filmmaker SS Rajamouli stated that when they initially set out to make the Jr NTR and Ram Charan-starrer period drama RRR, they made the film for the audience and for them to love it and experience the movie. 

Rajamouli told the news agency Reuters, “When we initially set out to make the film, we don’t have the critical acclaim in mind. We set out to make the movie for the audience, for them to love it, for them to experience the movie.” 

He further says that the audience should come out of the theatre refreshed. Rajamouli noted, “I need to make them come out of the theater completely refreshed and get back into their lives.” 

He added that critical acclaim is important as it gives the cast and crew a pat on the back. The veteran filmmaker, also known for the blockbuster Baahubali franchise, said he considers it to be the best compliment when some critics say the film is exactly what the world needs right now. 

Rajamouli won the Best Director award at the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) on January 5. The Baahubali and Yamadonga maker called cinema a temple in his acceptance speech. He also said that the Western audience reacted to the film the same way as the Indians. 

The director said, “With RRR, I saw the same kind of reception in the West. They were reacting the same way that Indians did.” Rajamouli along with his family and RRR’s lead actors Jr NTR, and Ram Charan will also attend the Golden Globes 2023 event on January 11. 

Set in the 1920s, RRR is a period drama based on the friendship of freedom fighters Komaram Bheem and Alluri Seetharamaraju and their respective contribution to the Independence movement. The movie has won two nominations at the Golden Globes 2023 and has been submitted in 14 categories at the Oscars 2023. 

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