🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐
S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR has been tearing up box office charts around the world since its debut last March, and now it’s not only become a phenomenon on Netflix, but it’s also in the awards race. The Telugu-language blockbuster is one of the most wildly inventive action films in years, full of bravura set pieces that practically leap off the screen (we’d be surprised if you saw another film this year that included a flaming stampede of wild animals). But if that doesn’t hook you, here are seven more reasons to stream RRR ASAP.
RRR may sound like a roller coaster ride from start to finish, but its three-hour run time also allows for plenty of opportunity to just roam around an open market with its cast of characters. Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) and Alluri Sitarama Raju, aka Ram (Ram Charan) are based on real historical figures, and, while the film plays fast and loose with their life stories, it also takes them seriously as fictional characters in their own right. The pair were active revolutionaries during the same era in Indian history, fighting against British rule in different regions of the country. The pair never met in real life, giving RRR the leeway to tell a purely fictitious story against a real historical backdrop. This hybrid structure makes for great moments like Ram serving as Bheem’s wingman in his romance with an Englishwoman, as well as the shocking discovery that the pair are working for opposite sides. By the time you’ve reached the end of the film’s three hours, you’ll be ready to charge into combat right alongside them.
RRR might seem like an unlikely awards season contender; few if any best picture nominees have featured a flame-drenched scene where a horde of wild animals attack a fancy dress party. But maybe more should, and RRR is leading the charge. It’s been racking up a truly impressive collection of prizes, including a best director award from the New York Film Critics Circle and a Golden Globe win for its infectious musical showstopper “Naatu Naatu.” Next stop? The Oscars, we hope. Although India didn’t submit RRR for the academy’s best international feature award, it’s a long shot contender for a best picture nomination, and “Naatu Naatu” made it onto the shortlist for best original song. Did someone say OscaRRR?
While the film’s 187-minute runtime may seem daunting even by Tollywood standards, its storytelling is simple. Bheem is a revolutionary leader from Hyderabad fighting to free a kidnapped child from the clutches of an English governor. Ram is a committed police officer with a mysterious past, determined to catch Bheem. When the pair meet after a daring bridge escape (and the best title-card drop since Drive My Car), they’ll have to reckon with their opposing agendas — and budding friendship. When Ram and Bheem’s missions collide, RRR’s personal and political stakes collide as well. The film’s title is a reference to the three all-star Tollywood talents it brings together (Rajamouli, Rama Rao and Ram Charan), but it also stands for Rise Roar Revolt, a promise that the film fulfills in spades.
Not since Mad Max: Fury Road has a blockbuster’s action felt this imaginative. From an opening sequence that sees Ram clobber his way through hundreds of enemy combatants to a final battle where Ram climbs onto Bheem’s shoulders and decimates enemies like a much more handsome General Grievous, RRR eschews the guardrails of a classical action scene. For audiences less versed in Tollywood action flicks, it’s a perfect gateway into the world of gloriously off-the-wall Indian blockbusters. (Rajamouli directed the spectacular Baahubali adventures, also on Netflix.)
About halfway through RRR, Bheem and Ram find themselves at a high society party, facing off against a snobby Englishman. In most other scenes in the film, the confrontation would end in violence. Instead, Bheem and Ram launch into an enthusiastic dance number called “Naatu Naatu.” By the end of the scene, everyone — from the English characters to the audience — have been won over by the spirited display. The full scene is available online. In India, screenings of the film have repeatedly dissolved into full-on confetti-covered dance parties when “Naatu Naatu” kicks in. If you’re not also trying out a hook step by the end of it, you may not have a soul.
The magic of RRR is just how many different genres it manages to cram into its lengthy run time. For a solid chunk of the film, it morphs into a genuinely charming romantic comedy, with Ram serving as a helpful wingman to Bheem. Bheem’s crush on local British aristocrat Jenny (Olivia Morris) adds some drama to RRR’s fiery climax, but it’s just as important to the film’s midsection, where it serves as a breather from the stress on Ram and Bheem’s relationship. It’s hard to worry about the secrets they’re keeping from one another when Ram is flattening the tires of Jenny’s car so that Bheem will have to talk to her.
RRR deals with a lot of complicated concepts: imperialism, revolution, community. But, at heart, it’s about something much simpler: the unbreakable bond between two good pals. Bheem and Ram are a duo for the ages, and you’ll be rooting for them to push aside the prejudices that divide them and dance and fight their way to freedom. RRR understands that, at the end of the day, the sharpest weapon of revolution are the people we’ve linked arms with along the way.
