The director of “RRR” SS Rajamouli talks about the global success of the film and the comparisons with Marvel

RRRof the last epic Baahubal Director SS Rajamouli grossed more than 960 crowns ($ 126 million) at the worldwide box office in the first two weeks and is still growing. It is already the fourth largest Indian film in the world and also gives Rajamul the right to brag that he has won three titles in the top 10 Indian films globally than any other director in the country.

The long-awaited film is a fictional story of true Indian freedom fighters and stars Junior NTR, Ram Charan, Ajay Devgni and Alia Bhatt. Appreciated for its broad cinematic, action and dramatic scale, RRR Even compared to Marvel.

Deadline recently caught up with a director for a review RRRTelugu success, how he breaks down the barriers of Telugu cinema and if he wants to return to the MCU.

Time frame: Considering success Baahubal Film, but also given that the beginning and end of the pandemic are ahead of you and the post-cinema state of affairs, were you surprised by the force? RRR?
SS RAJAMOULI: ᲐSomehow. Simple logic says if you didn’t expect success RRR, We don’t spend much on the project. It was simple math. We expected success because of the star power it had and it got big, big, long after – at least in India – and also because of the emotional level we had.

We are very confident in the success of the film and I always say: we can be sure of the success of the film, but we cannot predict the extent of the success because it depends on many factors that are not always in our hands. Success comes from unexpected places like the UK, where Baahubal 2 Not so good: success from another point of view is exciting.

Deadline: Your films were a breakthrough in the Telugu industry, both in India and overseas. How important is it to you?
Rajamuli: This is very, very important because as a storyteller, the greatest desire is to have the maximum number of listeners to hear your story. And we are very ungrateful for that, we want more and more people to hear our stories. All languages ​​have value, but it’s already proven Baahubal, if the film is based on human emotions, you can translate it beyond language. This is a practical application of the theory.

This is very important to me because now I can expand even more. More and more films will come and cross these language barriers and reach people in wider areas. We hope to grow not only in the country but also in other countries, other cultures, other languages.

Deadline: You fired RRR In five Indian languages. Does working on different versions pose any particular challenges?
Rajamuli: My thinking is in Telugu, the script is in Telugu sometimes. But before we start shooting, I send the script to screenwriters in other languages ​​so they know what the film is about. These dialogues may not be the last I intend to use in the film, but read the script and if there is anything that complements my story, I will change the version to Telugu. This is a subtle process when typing, but they have to check lip sync. You cannot use a 20-word sentence in place of a six-word sentence. We get the lip sync right, but we won’t compromise on quality.

Deadline: It is working on a large scale in terms of visual effects, our review called it “bigger than Ben Hur“One action growing after another, never boring, but not tired either”. Are you planning an even bigger one?
Rajamuli: If you take any field of cinema, if it is photography and if people say that photography is bad, it is bad; If people say it’s okay, that’s okay. In the same music. But when it comes to visual effects, if you say visual effects are bad, they are bad; If they say the visuals are good, you’re still average. You have a good view in the movie if you don’t comment, so this is the biggest compliment to me for this movie. (People) is about the great VFX moments in terms of the impact that is created, whether it’s the sequence where he jumps from a truck with all the animals, or the scene of an interaction with things where he literally fights hundreds and hundreds. People. People only talk about the influence it creates, but nobody talks about how good the visual effects were. So this was my biggest success. Yes, I will get bigger and bigger.

Deadline: There have been some comparisons with Marvel and suggestions for making an MCU movie. Is this something you’ll ever talk about?
Rajamuli: For me, I grew up with the sensitivity of Indian superheroes, Indian mythologies, Indian stories. I know this world very well. Of course I watch Marvel movies, I like it. Iron manI love watching these movies. But I don’t think I can direct a Marvel movie because the sensitivity is slightly different. Here, I am more experienced in these things. Maybe in the future I hope that everything goes well and brings my Indian stories, my Indian mythologies to the level of Marvel or even more.

Deadline: As for your stories, with this story based on a true story, how did you come up with the idea?
Rajamuli: When I admire a story, I try to make the most of it. For me, the audience that comes to see the film should be as enthusiastic as I am. So whatever needs to be done, I’ll do it. It could be a historical story, it could be a completely fictional story about historical characters like RRR. For me, the story worked, so I went ahead and did it. I know there are hundreds and hundreds of folk, historical and mythological stories in India and 90% of them have the potential to become a big budget action drama on screen. But the fuse must be lit. And if that happens, I’m not going to look back, I’m going to go ahead and do it.

Deadline: Have you worked with your leaders before? Are you going to work with them again?
Rajamuli: This is my fourth with NTR and second with my Ram. I have so many relationships with them from the screen, they are like my younger brothers, they are friends of my family. Of course I would be happy to work with them and for their part I can say that they want to work with me.

Deadline: Finally, the question about a single title, how did it come about?
Rajamuli: It’s funny because when we announced the title, it was just the first few letters of our names as a working title, but viewers and fans alike enjoyed it so much that it got their attention. RRR As a title. They started doing RRR projects and I asked the dealer and they told me it’s very simple in language let’s go ahead and do it.