March 25th, 2022

Rating: 9/10 (Revelation, Revolution, Resurrection) 

Cast: Ram Charan, Jr, NTR, Ajay Devgan (Special Appearance), Alia Bhatt, Samuthrikani, Olivia Morris, Alison Doody, Ray Stevenson, Shriya Saran (Special Appearance), Chatrapathi Shekar, Rajeev Kanakala 

Story by: K.V. Vijayendra Prasad

Dialogues by: Sai Madhav Burra 

Screenplay - Direction by: SS Rajamouli

Music: M.M. Keeravani

Cinematography: KK Senthil Kumar 

Editing: A. Sreekar Prasad 

Production Design: Sabu Cyril 

Producer: DVV Danayya 

Banner: DVV Entertainments

IT'S FINALLY HERE: AFTER A GAP OF 5 YEARS, THE BIGGEST OF THE MOVIE OF THE YEAR IN RRR HAS ARRIVED. The biggest multistarrer in modern cinema ever at the moment, RRR needs no introduction. Directed by SS Rajamouli, the movie features Mega Powerstar Ram Charan and Young Tiger Jr. NTR sharing the screen together for the first time as the freedom fighters Alluri Seetha Rama Raju and Komaram Bheem respectively. Also starring Alia Bhatt as Sita, Olivia Morris, and Alison Doody of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade fame and Ray Stevenson of The Other Guys fame as the villains, Ranam Roudhram Rudhiram has music by MM Keeravani.  Can this colossal juggernaut of a film rewrite the record books and have a shot at beating Baahubali 1's records? Let's find out in this review.
 

Plot 

RRR explores the possibility the scenario of What If much like the Marvel Animated series and asks the question What If Alluri Seetharama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr.NTR) had met, became best friends, and fought for India's independence in the 1920's. 

Performances

After a gap of 9 years since SVSC, RRR sees the combination of two superstars in one film in Ram Charan and Jr. NTR sharing the screen space in one film.

As Alluri Seetharama Raju, Ram Charan is EUPHORIC. This is his CAREER BEST performance as Rama Raju is such a versatile character with so many different shades. The various emotions and character changes are INCREDIBLE and it's a feast to watch him on screen. There are so many goosebump moments associated with his character you will lose count. The Alluri Seeta Rama Raju getup in the climax is GOD LEVEL STUFF and will give you unlimited goosebumps. His acting has grown leaps and bounds and his screen presence is MONUMENTAL. He perfectly encapsulates the character of FIRE and is a perfect foil and companion to Bheem. His performance in the emotional scenes is OUSTANDING and in the action sequences in particular, it's a feast to behold. His bromance and chemistry with NTR is the highlight of the movie.   

After missing from the screen for the last 4 years, Jr. NTR makes a return and HOW?????!!!!!. Tarak is SPELLBINDING as Komaram Bheem and also delivers his CAREER BEST performance. There's a certain innocence with the character of Bheem that makes you feel for him and root for him and Tarak being the world class he is brings out these emotions and traits with such ease. It's a feast for his fans and the general audience to like to see the most versatile actor in Tollywood absolutely kill it each scene. His introduction scene is UNLIMITED GOOSEBUMPS along with his entry in the INTERVAL and the spear episode in the CLIMAX. His relentless passion for his best friend brings tears to your eyes and his rage in the action scenes makes your veins rush with blood to every part in your body. His performance in the Komuram Bheemudo song says everything about his acting and this will remain one of the greatest performances in Telugu cinema forever. Jr. NTR garu, please come on the screen more often, we can't enough of your incredible talent. 

The bromance between Charan and Tarak is so beautiful to watch and gives you goosebumps seeing two of the biggest superstars of Telugu cinema in one frame. Hats off to Rajamouli for making this possible and giving both sets of fans full meals and will be remembered for a long, long time. 

The supporting cast is superb all around. Alia Bhatt is decent as Seetha, Ajay Devgan's incredible screen presence does justice to his character which comes in the flashback and it's so nice to see Shreya Saran back in a big film after such a long gap.

Samuthirakani is awesome as Rama's uncle, while Chatrapathi Shekar, Makrand Deshpande, and Rahul Ramakrishna make their presence felt as members of the Gond tribe.  

Olivia Morris is the surprise package in RRR and she is excellent as a kind hearted British woman. She has a very bright future in world cinema and she's a great find. 

Lastly, Ray Stevenson of the Other Guys and Thor fame and Alison Doody of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade fame are strictly adequate as the villains. More on that later, but their performances are very good overall with what they were given. 

Direction

Direction by SS Rajamouli is a MASTERCLASS. The megastar director is known for taking his sweet time to amke films and would you believe it's almost 5 years since Baahubali 2 released. Yes it's been that long! But man oh man, he returns to form and how. The writing of the film is superb barring a few hiccups and logistical things but this is a Rajamouli movie. You don't look for logic. The screenplay of the film is FANTASTIC. Much like his earlier works, Rajamouli moves the film at a thumping pace making sure that at no point do you ever feel bored. He extracts superb performances from his two superstars in Tarak and Charan and crafts so many goosebump moments you lose count. Just to name a few, Charan and Tarak's intro scene, first meeting scene, Dosti song, Naatu Naatu song, pre interval, interval, post interval, prison break, and climax are just to name a few scenes. His vision is unmatched and with this film he proves that he's untouchable when it comes to delivering expectations,. Handling one superstar is hard enough but to handle two and perfectly cater each of their fanbases with unforgettable moments is just Rajamouli things. There are so many elevation scenes and the characters are so good they overshadow any of the flaws associated with the film and RRR makes for a ride with UNLIMITED GOOSEBUMPS. The only negatives are the weak villains and hit or miss emotions which are the core staples in Rajamouli films but with two superstars on hand and scintillatingly crafted emotional and action blocks throughout, RRR is everything you would expect and more. One thing is, never, ever, ever doubt SS Rajamouli. Salute to the GOAT! 

Technical Aspects

Making a film with 400-500 crores is no easy feat and Rajamouli is somebody who always extracts the best from his technicians. 

Music by MM Keeravani is a MASTERPIECE. While the songs were decent to listen to, the picturization of each song on screen was GOOSEBUMPS to see and the BGM was another feather in the cap and just OUTSTANDING. Keeravani's score provides so many goosebump moments and gets your heart rate thumping, veins pulsating, and blood rushing in each and every scene. Specific mention to Naatu Naatu and Ramam Raghavam on screen as one again they're unlimited goosebumps. Just another MASTERCLASS from MM Keeravani and proves he and Rajamouli remain the deadliest combo in Telugu cinema.

Cinematography by KK Senthil Kumar is MAGNIFICENT. Each and every shot is dripped in granduer and the superstar cameraman brings Rajamouli's vision and shot making to life to with so many memorable shots. RRR is like the most gorgeous painting ever and then some and there are UNLIMITED shots that give GOOSEBUMPS throughout. An overall flawless and masterful job. 

Production Design by Sabu Cyril is WORLD CLASS. If you thought Baahubali sets were good, RRR sets are ANOTHER LEVEL. Be it the Gond tribe sets, Ramaraju village set, Jail sets, or British Palace house set, they're all a FEAST TO THE EYES and so beautiful on screen. An all around amazing job from him and it makes sense why the most expensive Production Designer in India.

Editing by A Sreekar Prasad is FANTASTIC. After a numerous big budget disasters as editor, Sreekar Prasad makes a resounding return to form as editor. RRR has no lag and even at 3 hours long, it moves at such a good pace. 

Action Sequences by are THE FREAKING BEST PART. The fights in the movie are all SUPERBLY COMPOSED and so well designed. Each and every action block has a certain emotion and electricity to them and provide unlimited goosebumps. There are 10 fights in the movie and every single one is so good.

Costume Design by Rama Rajamouli is WORLD CLASS. RRR is equivalent to a bid budget Hollywood film when it comes to the costumes and all of them selected for recreated the 1920's era are amazing.

Dialogues by Sai Madhav Burra are EXCELLENT.

Chroeography by Prem Rakshit is WORLD CLASS. For the Naatu Naatu song, one word: ARACHAKAM. It's a feast for everybody. 

Lastly, Production Values by DVV Danayya are MAGNIFICENT and SPECTACULAR. He's produced probably the biggest Indian film ever made and the scale and granduer are a sight to behold on screen. 

Positives

+ Ram Charan and NTR 

+ Rajamouli's Direction 

+ Fights 

+ Keeravani's Music, Senthil Kumar's Cinematography, Sabu Cyril's Production Design, Sreekar Prasad Editing, Rama Rajamouli Costumes

+ UNLIMITED GOOSEBUMP Moments 

+ Production Values 

+ Fans Moments 

+ Songs Picturization

Negatives 

- Weak Villains/Villainy 

- Hit or Miss Emotions 

Analysis and Final Take

Back in 2017, there were a famous photo of Ram Charan, Rajamouli and NTR on a couch holding each others hands and smiling. That photo would manifest into RRR. After the record breaking success of Baahubali 2, Rajamouli's next film was eagerly awaited and unfortunatley due to the coronavirus pandemic, it took up 5 years of his time. He tested the audience's patience so many times by postponing the film 4 times and every time we thought we were so close, the film would feel so far away with a postponement. But the wait is over and RRR is finally here. 

Rajamouli got the idea of what if freedom fighters Alluri Seetha Rama Raju and Komaram Bheem, belonging to Andhra and Telangana regions respectively, had met, became best friends, and joined hands to fights the British? To clear the confusion, it's a fictional story about freedom fighters that DOES NOT take any part of their history into account. Instead it's a FICTIONAL take on two men who just happen to have the names of the freedom fighters and Rajamouli crafted two characters for each superstar in Ram Charan and Komaram Bheem and man oh man, it's a FEAST FROM START TO FINISH. 

The film starts off in a stunning way with two back to back introduction scenes that get your veins pulsing and blood rushing and then takes some time to get into the real story. As with any Rajamouli film, the pre interval and interval scenes are among the highlights and RRR is no different. After a Rajamouli MARK INTERVAL BANG, the 2nd half is equally as good and gives unlimited goosebumps once again with a satisfying ending and Etthara Jenda video song during the credits. 

There's really not much we can say because literally from start to finish, there are so many UNLIMITED GOOSEBUMP moments you lose count and each every scene is somehow incredible and the action only gets better and better. RRR is worth the wait and hype and proves there's no better director when it comes to commercial movies than SS Rajamouli. He's simply a god of cinema and the master of the big screen for a reason, His vision, his passion, and ability to surpass and exceed expectations is why he's the greatest director of our time. And he does it once again with a film that's on par or better than Baahubali. 

Overall, RRR is a revelation, a revolution, and RESURRECTION of the BOX OFFICE and the BIG SCREEN EXPERIENCE. The general audience and the fans will have a FEAST and it will remain the best Telugu movie of 2022. And lastly stop f*cking reading GreatAndhra and other negative reviews and please support genuine sites and reviewers like ours and SaiSays. 

GO AND WATCH IT!  JAI NTR, JAI RAM CHARAN, JAI RAJAMOULI. LONG LIVE TELUGU CINEMA!

Signing off, 

- Teja Rao Die Hard Telugu cinema fan.