The husband and I watched RRR at Sathyam on opening day evening with a packed audience of Telugu movie fans. It is for movies like RRR that the big screen is made. These are my thoughts on the movie -a spoiler free compilation.
Before I start , giving credits where it is due, props to the husband for booking tickets in the wee hours of the morning. Yours truly was particular we watch it in Telugu to keep the nativity intact . We did not get subtitles and neither of us know the language. Nevertheless, RRR's interval time came and both of us were beaming and smiling, at a loss for words to describe what we were watching on screen.
The cardinal rule of watching any SSR movie - assume it is a super hero flick. The characters are going to defy space , time, all rules of physics and logical human capability. To those who go " hey, that is so typical of a Telugu movie , hero twists his moustache and the villain dies?" , SSR movies are not for you. Assuming it falls in super hero genre helps take logic out of the equation . Surrendering to the vision and story telling, makes the movie experience pleasurable.
There is no dull moment in RRR. It is three hours of testosterone fuelled action (there are no prominent female characters) set in 1920's India amidst the freedom struggle. It is action sequence after action sequence, the set pieces so elaborate, the actors are in their peak form, the screenplay so tight, there no space for slowing down even momentarily to check the phone.
Being Rajamouli's lead must be the most difficult acting assignment in the country. Ram Charan and NTR Jr are all ripped, express a gamut of emotions through their eyes, ride horses, lift each other on their shoulders (which plays into some crucial scenes in the movie) and dance with such speed it is like watching bullets come out of a gun. I can go back to the theatres just to watch Naatu Naatu once again on the big screen. The audience erupted at each dance move and cheered for them with such joy. I don't recollect an audience enjoying a song sequence better than this one, in any other movie. NTR Jr's entry scene involves a tiger chase through the jungles - as is evident in the trailer. If any other movie had shown the hero growl back at a tiger, it could easily be reduced to caricature. But in RRR, you marvel at the intensity in NTR Jr's eyes in said shot. Ram Charan's physical transformation is astounding .
All the physical prowess they exhibit is backed by a reasonably strong story line and character development. The movie is filled with stereotypes - the monotone Britishers who are all bad, the one pretty English lady who is kind and falls in love with the hero (lots of Lagaan flashbacks) . The women in the movie have very less screen time and even lesser to do. The lead men instantly share a bromance even though there are not many scenes to show why they bond so much, setting the stage for them to become foes later on. But, S S Rajamouli delivers a visual spectacle that makes you forget all the flaws - the experience is just too immersive.
Pre-interval block, there is a big face off and a rescue attempt . NTR Jr's entry in this scene made my heart stop for a few seconds and stare at the grandeur of imagination and audacity to stage such an entry. Ram Charan is characterised as fire and NTR Jr as Water. The references to this run through the film - like Fire and Ice in the Game of Thrones. The first half of the movie passes by super fast and is a lot of fun to watch.
The second half is naturally the redemption arc of the story. Remember the scene in Bahubali 2 where men catapult off palm trees? There are numerous such flights of fancy in RRR. S S Rajamouli said in one of his interviews " I read Amar Chitra Katha and always wondered what if Ramayana and Mahabharatha could cross over? " He does it in RRR. Bheem, like Hanuman, delivers an ornament to Sita from Ram. So you get the mighty Bheemasena being Ram's equal and his friend, not a mighty Hanuman, who worships Ram. Watch and find your own interpretation. Do not miss the song that plays in the end credits.
RRR is three hours of unadulterated entertainment . Watching RRR in OTT is the equivalent of listening to Chikku Bukku Rayile on a transistor radio. The credits said Zee has the rights to the movie and in a matter of months it will stream. Not watching it on screen is a wasted opportunity.
Comments
Post a Comment