SS Rajamouli directed multi starer RRR has been the talk of the cinema town since its release; not just in India, but the movie has attracted international audience too. A growing number of Americans are watching and following Indian cinema vigorously more than ever before, and to them this movie is ‘life-changing’ – as tweeted by one of the Americans who watched the movie.
Not to undermine the entire movie and the efforts put in the back of it, the movie was a visual treat totally, and anybody who would want to spend their 3 hours on a weekend afternoon or evening with friends or family would enjoy with with their whole hearts. Both the actors have given their best performances, and it is very evident on the screen. The bromance that brews on screen between the two actors, Ram Charan garu and NTR Jr. garu is phenomenal and can very well be stated as one of the best lead chemistry in recent times.
But, the movie is flawed; on many fronts. The first thing the movie lacks is a solid writing that has the potential to back up the visual treat on screen, that has reportedly gobbed up 500+ crores INR to make. Only if a tenth of that effort and money had been put into story and screenplay development, this could have been deemed fit to be called ‘Magnum Opus’ of the director. Labelling this as the ‘magnum opus’ of Rajamouli not only undermines the grand victory of the Bahubali series, but also gives people a chance to look at forced promotions whose only aim is to bring the audience into the cinema halls as much as possible at any cost.
The movie, hailing from Telugu cinema, carries with it a lot of that ‘Telugu cinema DNA’, with its masala scenes, complete disregard for physics and cry baby stagings for the hero worship sequences. Average audience may not be bothered much by these factors, but people who expected something soulful from the director, would be very disappointed to say the least. The movie has also faced its fair share of criticism with regards to its portrayal of caste-ism. Many of the scenes, dialogues and sequences leave us baffled and surprised at the director’s audacity to portray caste-ism so openly on main stream cinema, particulary in a time where movie makers tend to carry atmost care while handling the topic. There is a scene at the end of the movie, where Ram, who plays the role of a Brahmin cop in the movie, says to NTR, whose role is that of a hill tribe man, “You have given me tremendous support in my quest with your strength and brute force, tell me what can I give you.” To which the tribal man replies, “Give us education, bhaiya”. The irony being that both the characters have depended on each other through out the course of the story, and as if the Brahmin character is the right person to ‘enlighten other castes with education’. Wonder what caste the British would be classified as, since they were the ones that introduced formal education system in India at a time when education was primarily driven by caste dependent gurukuls(remember the story of Ekalaivan and Shambukan).
The bottom line is if at all any movie has to represent Indian cinema on the world stage, it should not be RRR, or in that case, any of SS Rajamouli movies, as most of them have similar problems with them, or even worse. We have had great film makers across languages and time frames who have made creations that have stood the test of time, who can represent Indian cinema much better on the world stage in a much more dignified manner.
#Rants_Of_An_Indian_Cinema_Fan
