RRR

RRR
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	S. S. Rajamouli
Written by	S. S. Rajamouli (Screenplay) V. Vijayendra Prasad (Story) Sai Madhav Burra (Dialogues)
Produced by	D. V. V. Danayya
Starring	N. T. Rama Rao Jr. Ram Charan Ajay Devgn Alia Bhatt Shriya Saran Samuthirakani Ray Stevenson Alison Doody Olivia Morris
Cinematography	K. K. Senthil KumarVisual effects byV. Srinivas Mohan
Edited by	A. Sreekar Prasad
Music by	M. M. Keeravani
Production company	DVV Entertainment
Distributed by	Pen Studios (North India) Lyca Productions (Tamil Nadu) KVN Productions (Karnataka) HR Pictures (Kerala)
Release date	25 March 2022 (2022-03-25)
Running time	182 minutes
Language	Telugu
Country	India
Budget	Template:INR550 crore
Box office	Template:INR1,387.26 crore

RRR (subtitled onscreen as Roudram Ranam Rudhiram) is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language epic period action drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli, who co-wrote the film with V. Vijayendra Prasad. It was produced by D. V. V. Danayya of DVV Entertainment. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan alongside an ensemble cast with Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, and Olivia Morris playing supporting roles. It is a historical fiction film of two Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (NTR Jr.), their friendship, and their fight against the British Raj.

Made on a budget of Template:Indian Rupee550 crore (US$49 million), RRR is the second most expensive Indian film to date and was the most expensive at release. The film was initially scheduled for theatrical release on 30 July 2020, which was postponed multiple times due to production delays and the COVID pandemic. RRR was released theatrically on 25 March 2022. With Template:INRConvert worldwide on its first day, RRR recorded the highest opening-day earned by an Indian film. It emerged as the highest-grossing film in its home market of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, grossing over Template:INRConvert. The film grossed Template:INRConvert worldwide, setting several box office records for an Indian film, including the third highest-grossing Indian film, second highest-grossing Telugu film, highest grossing Telugu film of 2022 and highest grossing Indian film of 2022 worldwide.

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Plot

During the British Raj in 1920, Governor Scott Buxton and his wife Catherine visit a forest in Adilabad, where they abduct Malli, an artistically talented young girl from the Gond tribe. The tribe's guardian Komaram Bheem embarks for Delhi to rescue her, disguising himself as a Muslim named Akhtar. The Nizamate of Hyderabad, sympathetic to the Raj, warns Buxton's office of the impending danger and advises them to return the child. Undeterred, Catherine enlists A. Rama Raju, an ambitious Indian Imperial Police officer, to quell the threat, promising a promotion should he capture Bheem alive.

Raju and his uncle Venkateswarulu attend an pro-independence gathering in disguise, where Bheem's aide Lachhu attempts to recruit them into Bheem's plot. On the way to Bheem's hideout, Lachhu discerns Raju's identity and flees. Shortly afterward, Raju and Bheem witness a child getting trapped by a train wreck and work together to rescue him. Unaware of their opposing allegiances, they form a close friendship.

With Raju's help, Bheem courts an Englishwoman named Jenny, discovering that she is staying with the Buxtons. Following a party where Raju and Bheem out-dance the pompous English attendees, Jenny invites Bheem to her residence, where he finds Malli and promises to free her soon.

Meanwhile, Raju locates Lachhu and apprehends him. While being interrogated, Lachhu sets a banded krait onto Raju and warns him of his imminent death and that the antidote is only known to the Gonds. Bheem finds Raju, saves his life, and divulges his tribal identity and mission, unaware of Raju's true identity. That night, at an event to honour Governor Buxton, Bheem's men barge into his residence with a lorry filled with wild animals, creating havoc among the guests. Raju arrives and fights Bheem; Bheem is forced to stand down when Buxton holds Malli at gunpoint. Bheem is arrested and Raju is promoted.

A flashback reveals that Raju's father Alluri Venkatarama Raju was a revolutionary who hoped to arm his village with British rifles but was killed by British soldiers before he got the chance. Raju subsequently left his village and his fiancee Sita to become a mole within the police, his promotion for having captured Bheem finally giving him access to the gun shipments.

At Bheem's public flogging, Raju attempts to persuade him to recant his actions; Bheem chooses flogging instead. Bheem sings in defiance of his injuries, inciting the assembled crowd into rebellion, and further enlightening Raju. He persuades Buxton to execute Bheem in secrecy in front of Malli while preparing an ambush to rescue both of them, but Buxton discovers the plan, and Raju is injured while rescuing Malli. Bheem, thinking Malli is in danger, bludgeons Raju and escapes with the girl. Raju is arrested for treason and imprisoned in solitary confinement.

Months later, Bheem, who is hiding with his group and Malli in Hathras, is cornered by the colonial authorities. He narrowly avoids being exposed when Sita repels them by claiming there is a smallpox epidemic. Unaware of Bheem's identity, she reveals Raju's anti-colonial objectives and his impending execution. Realising his folly, Bheem vows to save him.

With Jenny's sympathetic assistance, Bheem infiltrates the barracks where Raju is detained and frees him. The pair retreat to a nearby forest, where they defeat soldiers with a longbow taken from a Rama shrine and a spear. Taking the fight to Buxton, they hurl a flaming motorcycle into the barracks' magazines, setting it afire. Bheem steals a cache of guns for Raju before the barracks explode, killing many soldiers and Catherine. Cornering a wounded Buxton, Raju has Bheem execute him with a British rifle, fulfilling their respective objectives. Raju is reunited with Sita, and Bheem is reunited with Jenny and his family. To mark the mission's successful completion, Raju asks Bheem to make a wish he can grant; Bheem asks Raju to provide education for him and his community.

Cast

• N. T. Rama Rao Jr. as Komaram Bheem / Akhtar (Fake), a Gond tribal leader from Telangana who fought against the Nizam of Hyderabad for the liberation of Hyderabad State
• Ram Charan as Alluri Sitarama Raju, a revolutionary leader from Andhra Pradesh who waged an armed campaign against the British Raj
  • Varun Buddhadev as Young Alluri Sitarama Raju
• Ajay Devgn as Alluri Venkatarama Raju, Sitarama Raju's late father
• Alia Bhatt as Sita, Ramaraju's fiancé
  • Spandan Chaturvedi as Young Sita
• Shriya Saran as Alluri Sarojini, Venkatarama Raju's wife and Sitarama Raju's late mother
• Samuthirakani as Venkateswarulu, Sitarama Raju's uncle
• Ray Stevenson as Governor Scott Buxton
• Alison Doody as Catherine Buxton
• Olivia Morris as Jennifer "Jenny"
• Chatrapathi Sekhar as Jangu, Bheem's companion
• Makarand Deshpande as Peddayya, Bheem's companion
• Rajeev Kanakala as Venkat Avadhani, special advisor to the Nizam
• Rahul Ramakrishna as Lachu
• Edward Sonnenblick as Edward
• Mark Bennington as Cunningham
• Eduard Buhac as Jake
• R. Bhakti Klein as DSP Philip Green
• Ahmareen Anjum as Loki, Malli's mother
• Twinkle Sharma as Malli
• Chakri as Chinna, Rama Raju's brother
• S. S. Rajamouli as himself in the song "Etthara Jenda" (special appearance)

Production

Development

Alluri Sitarama Raju (left) and Komaram Bheem (right), the real-life Indian revolutionaries whose lives were fictionalised in the film

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Rajamouli came across real-life stories about the lives of Rama Raju and Bheem and connected the coincidences between them, imagining what would have happened had they met, and been friends.

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When I read about Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, it was exciting to know that their story is similar. They never met each other. What if they had met? What if they had got inspired by each other? That is what RRR is about. It is completely fictitious. The film is mounted on a very large scale. We had to do a lot of research for it. To know costumes, their dialect, their way of living and that is why it took so much time for us to get this together.

— S. S. Rajamouli

Casting

Alia Bhatt (top), Ray Stevenson (middle) and Ajay Devgn (bottom) made their debut in Telugu cinema (Tollywood) in this film.

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Design

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Principal photography

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The "Naatu Naatu" song was filmed at the Mariinskyi Palace in capital Kyiv of Ukraine.

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Post-production

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V. Srinivas Mohan is the visual effects supervisor of the film, along with Framestore and the Moving Picture Company (MPC), the film's principal visual effects studio. Alzahra VFX, NY VFXWaala, Redefine, Knack Studios, Makuta VFX, Digital Domain, Rhythm and Hues Studios, Method Studios, Rodeo FX, Technicolor VFX, Legend3D, The Third Floor, Inc, Clear Angle Studios, Halon Entertainment, 4DMax, and Cinesite, among others, are responsible for some of the other visual effects in the film. In an interview, Mohan discussed the utilisation of pre-visualization, lidar scanning, and light stage technology in the film. Extensive visual effects work took place for more than six months during the post-production process. The finishing work for RRR was performed at ANR Sound & Vision at Annapurna Studios, by colorist BVR Shivakumar.

The final copy of the film was ready by late November 2021, and was submitted to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that month. On 9 December 2021, the film received a U/A certificate from the Censor Board, with a finalised runtime of 187 minutes.

Themes and influences

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Kaveree Bamzai of Open magazine writes this about Bheem's attack on the governor's palace,

"The animals, ranging from tigers to stags, run riot, tearing the enemy to bits. It is both a metaphor and a statement. A metaphor for the weaponisation of the Earth, a foreshadowing of climate change, and a statement on the tribal way of life in which the human apologises to the beast for taking advantage of it."

She noted that the film's layered storytelling emphasising the two conflicting ways in which Ram and Bheem fight for India's freedom is a theme that is appropriate to revisit in the nation's 75th year post-independence. She also notes,

"The fight against the British is shown to be as plural as the actual freedom struggle was. Bheem, in fact, spends much of the movie disguised as a Muslim mechanic, Akhtar, and is given shelter by a family in Delhi. There is no pandering to the establishment in the movie, a hallmark of most movies emerging out of Bollywood currently."

Katie Rife of Polygon in her review of the film, felt that — betrayal, loyalty and legacy are the major themes of the film. Also, she opined that "RRR is relatively light on music and romance, devoting much of its screen time to visual spectacle, gonzo action, and patriotic zeal. The dynamic between Bheem and Raju has shades of the macho bromance of John Woo's 1980s movies, until the film transforms into a superhero team-up". MensXP in their article praising Rajamouli, opined that strong representation of heroism in the film was one of the key reasons for the film's success.

Music

Main article: RRR (soundtrack)

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The soundtrack consists of seven original songs composed by Keeravani, namely, "Dosti" (Soldier), "Naatu Naatu" (Soldier) "Janani" (Soldier), "Komuram Bheemudo", "Raamam Raaghavam", "Etthara Jenda", and "Komma Uyyala". Lyrics are written by Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, Chandrabose, Keeravaani, Suddala Ashok Teja, K. Siva Dutta, and Ramajogayya Sastry. "Naatu Naatu" won Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards.

Marketing

Left to right: Rajamouli, Charan, Bhatt, Rama Rao and Danayya at the trailer launch event of the film's Tamil version in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

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Release

Theatrical

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Screenings and statistics

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Distribution

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Home media

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Critical reception

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India

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International

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Ritesh Babu, writing for American publication Vox, called RRR "incredible action movie with seriously troubling politics", claiming the film's direction as characterised by "deep casteism" that "reinforces a Brahmanical vision of the universe." Babu contends that the movie, centered around historical freedom fighters Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, perpetuates troubling caste dynamics. Despite depicting a fictional friendship between the two iconic figures, Babu argues that RRR succumbs to a casteist lens, asserting that the character of Ram, an upper-caste leader, is uplifted as a "well-educated upper-caste savior with a vision," while Bheem, an Adivasi revolutionary, is reduced to an "uneducated noble savage who must be taught the 'civilized' ways." He suggests that RRR aligns with a broader issue in Bollywood where historical narratives serve Hindutva talking points, contributing to the flattening and marginalisation of diverse groups. Babu argues that director Rajamouli's work, while globally successful, fails to critically question the privileged upper-caste framework, asserting that the film's choices, including the portrayal of Komaram Bheem, are steeped in a Brahmanical vision that reinforces invisible caste hierarchies. Despite celebrating RRR's stand against the British Empire, Babu urges a nuanced examination of the film's inner dynamics to understand the Indian people portrayed in their full humanity.

Box office

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Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by RRR

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Adaptations

• In 2024, Takarazuka Revue's Star Troupe staged a musical production of the film, titled "RRR x TAKA"R"AZUKA - √Bheem-". The production was adapted and directed by Tani Takaya, and stars Rei Makoto as Komaram Bheem, Maisora Hitomi as Jenny, and Akatsuki Chisei as A. Rama Raju.

Future

Before the film's release, Rajamouli said that he had no intentions of making a sequel for RRR nor turning it into a franchise. However, writer Vijayendra Prasad said that "they started exploring the idea of sequel and hope to make it happen sometime later." Speaking with Variety, Rama Rao expressed his hope that the world of RRR would be continued as a franchise. During a screening event in Chicago, Rajamouli said that his father and screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad is working on the sequel's story.

See also

• List of Indian winners and nominees of the Golden Globe Awards
• List of films with longest production time
• Google Easter egg featuring RRR

Notes

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External links

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v - e - dAwards for RRR
Template:Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Foreign Language Film Template:Saturn Award for Best International Film Template:National Film Award Wholesome Entertainment Template:National Film Award Best Special Effects Template:Seattle Film Critics Society Award for Best Action Choreography

Template:S. S. Rajamouli Template:Lyca Productions