“RRR” (2022) is a historical fiction epic action drama set in pre-independent of British rule India around 1920. When Governor Scott Buxton (HBO Rome’s Ray Stevenson), his wife, Catherine (Alison Doody, best known for playing Nazi Elsa in “Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade”(1989)) and British troops kidnap Malli (Twinkle Sharma), a Gond village girl, the Gond’s “shepherd,” Komaram Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.) goes to Deli to retrieve under the disguise of a Muslim alias, Akhtar, a simple mechanic. Meanwhile an ambitious Indian Imperial Police officer, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan Teja), tries to capture this shepherd, but has no leads. When Ram and Bheem meet, they hit it off immediately and are clueless about their clashing agendas. Will their friendship survive, and will they attain their goals?
“RRR” is the highest grossing Indian film and part of a New Wave in Indian cinema, Tollywood, departing from Bollywood musicals. Director S. S. Rajamouli’s work is the best-known example of this movement because of his international success, and he makes a cameo in the closing dance number; thus officially beating Taika Waititi in cool points. If you are unfamiliar with this movie’s style, imagine the anachronistic, gravity-defying fighting style of Xena for only the pair of protagonists, the reframing of actual historical figures as action heroes like the Detective Dee franchise in China or “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” (2012) without any fantasy or horror elements, and G rated, gore free Robert Rodriguez style Grindhouse gun battles. If you enjoyed “The Woman King” (2022) or Namor’s flashback sequences in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022) but wanted the fight scenes against the colonizers to be longer, then this movie is for you. The catharsis makes the film universally appealing. Interesting while everyone cheered at the scores of colonizers dying, no one cheered when the blood thirsty villainess dies.
“RRR” protagonists use cover stories to disguise their secret identities as superheroes although the film just accepts that they are stronger, faster and heal quicker than the average person without providing an explanation. Teja makes Chris Evans feel unseasoned, and just when you think that he could not become possibly more attractive, he gets a glow up in the denouement. Raju is a combo of Daniel Day-Lewis from “There Will Be Blood” (2007) meets Captain America mixed with Wolverine’s water-emerging anger and Legolas’ perspicuous eye. Raju’s musical theme reminded me of the musical score playing during Game of Thrones when Daenerys burns down a temple. Ram is a nice mashup of the Terminator and Sarah Connor in terms of focus.
Bheem is reminiscent of a cross between a Samson and Jesus figure in terms of skills and temperament, but he is also more believable as an affable, everyman. I only use these Biblical figures to help a Western audience understand, not because Rajamouli was intending to invite such comparisons. Rajamouli was inviting parallels to deities that I am unfamiliar with, but whose statues are featured in “RRR.” Bheem’s power is rooted to nature. When Bheem finally reveals his prowess to everyone, the movie kicks into high gear and never relents. I basically screamed the rest of the movie.
Marvel could learn something from Rajamouli’s narrative skills. Even though the men are competitive and potentially antagonists, their camaraderie and soul connection are cemented in the first act. They are like fraternal twins separated at birth, fire and water, city and country mouse although Raju rides a horse and Bheem rides a motorcycle respectively. They are adorable. When I watched the movie, I did not realize that they were based on actual historical figures who never met so it is wish fulfillment like Americans imagining what it would have been like if Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X lived longer and hung out. Rajamouli’s imagination surpasses Tarantino’s in creating alternative historical stories of vengeance. The unspoken question is if they were enemies, who would win.
Like many Indian films, it is meant to inspire patriotism in its audience—to never bow to outside forces and make personal sacrifices for the collective creation of an independent India. Relationships take a back seat to that goal until the relationship serves the nation too. Rajamouli does a good job of introducing symbolism and revisiting certain scenes as a reprise. Raju is presented as a traitor, more aligned with the British than his people, but his friendship with Bheem signals that he is not irredeemable. During Bheem and Ram’s first meeting, notice the prevalence of water and fire coming together and a flag linking and protecting them. During the early friendship sequences, notice how they interact physically and communicate/encourage each other. The physical acts in these sequences will be introduced when they confront each other and in the denouement. Even casual comments about Bheem’s eating habits take on greater significance during an extended flashback scene when “RRR” depicts Ram’s backstory. Fun fact: tigers are the national animal in India (like the US’ bald eagle). It may be propaganda, but it is well-crafted.
If you want to know what “RRR” stands for, you will have to wait forty minutes to find out. The dance sequence, “Naatu Naatu,” is used to promote the film to appeal to everyone, but the rest of the film has more violent confrontations. This dance number is used as a nonviolent way of asserting dignity and perhaps superiority of Indian people (and people of color with a silent shot of an empathetic African musician) to the colonizers in terms of culture, execution, and their sexual appeal to European women.
Did “RRR” become more internationally popular because the first hour centers European characters more than most Indian movies albeit most are villains? Unlike most Indian films that I have seen (and to be fair, I probably could count them on both hands so that is not saying much), this movie does not feature Indian woman protagonists that much except as supporting characters, mostly victims. White women played more of a role.
“RRR” prioritizes virility, which I am not complaining about because if you are a person attracted to men, Rajamouli supplies plenty of eye candy. If the film has any flaws, these flaws fall under two categories. The CGI is not seamless. Also like “Squid Game” (2021), there are translation issues in the widely available Netflix version. I was fortunate enough to see it on the big screen with subtitles translated as intended then watched the dubbed Netflix version, and meaning does get lost. Normally I do not like flashbacks of events that were shown earlier in the film, but this movie is the exception to the rule because it resumes telling Ram’s flashback story in chronological order and acts as a visual, economical way to signal that someone is telling his story. It moved the plot forward and relieves tension.
Some concerns over the popularity of “RRR” have been raised over emerging fascism in India (which is happening everywhere, including US) and how this film may lack criticism over replicating caste systems in the friendship dynamic and casting choices. The depiction of Bheem as unsophisticated compared to the real-life figure and the attribution of his achievement to Ram has been deemed as cultural appropriation. I do not know enough about such topics to comment.