Ram Charan and Jr NTR in RRR. Director SS Rajamouli usually mines basic human emotions to whip up unapologetic, out-and-out commercial entertainers. The typical premise of a Rajamouli movie is made up of a man instinctively trying to do the right thing. He then he creates a knock-on effect, with almost all characters reacting to the ensuing incidents with their lizard brain, which is responsible for a person’s fight or flight decision. All action and reaction results in a non-stop flow of superlative dialogues and high-octane, gravity-defying fight sequences. At the end of the movie, we all return to our homes with a sense of joy and relief over an experience that distracted us from our daily struggles. His movies don’t typically give us something to think about. The relationship we share with the director is mostly transactional: we pay for tickets and Rajamouli delivers a bang for our buck.
Rajamouli’s movies rarely take on worldly matters. His 2005 actioner Chatrapathi was an exception with the subject of prejudiced treatment faced by the migrants and modern-day slavery pushing the premise. In RRR, however, he has broken the streak of typical hero versus villain tale by turning the gaze inward. This movie also brings a much-needed reconciliatory tone back to the cinema screens and it reminds us that not all opposing forces are our enemies. This also could be seen as Rajamouli’s commentary on the issue of racism, shared history of freedom struggle among different communities and the need for interfaith brotherhood.
Ram Charan’s Rama Raju and Jr NTR’s Bheem represent two opposing forces of nature: fire and water, respectively. The scene where they join forces for the first time is set near a river, which is on fire. Rajamouli gets blatantly allegorical by combining the visuals of fire and water.
Ram Charan and Jr NTR in RRR movie. (Photo: PR Handout)
After rescuing a young boy from the inferno, Ram extends his hand to Bheem in friendship and gives his true name (not true identity though). And Bheem reciprocates the handshake with a false name, “I am Akhtar,” he says (but he warmly extends his true nature). Bheem is living in Delhi disguised as a Muslim man as part of a personal mission. Ram and Akhtar become best of friends as they break bread at each other’s house and become brothers not in blood, but in bond. They accept each other without any pride or prejudice.
When Akhtar expresses his interest in a British girl Jennifer (Olivia Morris), Ram helps his friend in his romantic endeavour. As Jennifer invites Akhtar to a party, Ram also tags along with his friend. At the party, when a group of British bullies insult a brown-skinned Akhtar, cinematographer K. K. Senthil Kumar’s camera zooms in on a black drummer grimacing at the ill-mannered people. That uncredited black character can understand the horrors of being subjected to racist behaviour. Judging by the look on his face, he empathises with Akhtar and feels the pain along with him. That single shot speaks volumes about the global nature of racism.
But, it’s a Rajamouli film and arrogant villains can’t get away with bad behaviour. In an astonishing, vibrant and even glorious way, a Hindu, a Muslim and a black person flip the finger to a bunch of racist bullies. The black drummer provides the foot-tapping beats, the best of friends, from diverse backgrounds, with their arms over each other’s shoulders, dance their heart out to the Naatu Naatu number much to the dismay and amusement of the British people. Is there a more commercial and better way to make a statement against hatred and uphold India’s value of unity in diversity at the same time?
RRR is set against the backdrop of 1920s India, the struggle for independence from the tyranny of the British Raj is gaining momentum rapidly. And Rajamouli has made little effort to add nuances to the British characters. He has restored to tried-and-test tropes of snobby, indifferent, racist, narcissist and deluded archetypes in portraying the invaders. The narrative rather does not focus on the challenges of overthrowing the dictators. The underlying wisdom seems to be that if all the countrymen rise above their prejudice, half-knowledge, misunderstanding and mistrust for others, overcoming the British is rather a cakewalk. The actual struggle of the characters is more spiritual and psychological than physical. This is a movie about a country that is at war within.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
