RRR

                                                                    ***Reader's Request***

A review for this movie was requested by my readers, hence I went to see the same. Thank you, and hope you like it!

I would not have watched this movie if it was not requested. It was not even on my radar. But I am glad that I did. It was dubbed in Hindi from Telugu and I saw it in 3D. Saw it in an 'ATMOS' theatre. Did not know what that meant or what difference it made. Note that since I was watching a dubbed version, it is natural that I will have lost out on some of the richness of the movie.

RRR stands for (Rise, Roar, Revolt in Hindi), and as cut-in showed (the stoRy, the fiRe, the wateR). It was what it was meant to be, and what I expected out of an S. Rajamouli movie: entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. I went there expecting over-the-top action sequences, the movie exceeded expectations. I had not thought that such a thing was possible, and I am glad that I was wrong.

Firstly I will talk about the symbolism, which was maintained throughout the film, in the action-sequences. Ram is fire and Bhim is water. Their fighting towards the end shows this pretty nicely and the indication of the same at the beginning of the movie thus has a nice pay-off. Special Inspector Ram actually becomes Lord Ram, with a bow-and-arrow and saffron clothes. Bhim though has to satisfy himself with by a motorcycle as a mace.

The story is based on anti-British revolutionaries: Komaram Bheem (played by NTR Jr.) and A. Rama Raju (played by Ram Charan). Both of these actors have done their expected duty of flexing muscles, beating people up, showing off their machoness, and adequately declaring their love for the motherland and friendship. Even the small bits where they have to show expression are fine, with the actors successfully showing emotions. One good thing was that enough time was given to the development of friendship between the two characters so that the betrayals and reforging of friendship seem realistic. The storyline that way is well-written and the jugalbandi between the characters and the actors is excellent. Such that not just the action sequences but also the humorous bits feel natural.

There is a structure and 'quest' nature to the movie for both the characters: why they do certain actions has some 'eating from the inverse hand' logic. So there is a sense of an Assassin's Creed game with different biomes: the jungle, the mountains, the city. I saw it in the fourth week, in Pune, so obviously during the song sequences (which were catchy, and I daresay there was a change of frame-rate to make it faster than usual?) there was no crazy dancing in the theatres by fans. I am sure the first day in Hyderabad was different.

Before going to the action, a special shout-out to all the goras in the movie. Other than Bheem's love interest, the over-the-top cruelty and horrible nature of the British written into the roles were excellently brought forth. Shout out to Alison Doody as Catherine Buxton. The heartlessness shone well on her face. Ray Stevenson plays Scott Buxton and even gets into some crazy action. He previously played Pullo in Rome, Volstagg in Thor and Blackbeard in Black Sails. There is indeed a different perverse sense of vengeful joy in seeing them get beat up. And one has to admit that British cruelty against Indians, especially the tribals was much much worse.

There are some hilarious quibbles I have: like in the aftermath of the child-saving sequence why was the kid dry when he fell on the sand, and then drenched? or showing the British controlling Brazil on a map. Or calling it the English Empire. But that is of little importance in such a movie.

The overly-stylized action sequences are a treat to watch, the CGI animals too. I myself became a part of the collective, cheering and shouting. I think what impressed me most is the thinking behind "we can do this shot this way". Once you get used to the randomness, you start looking forward to the direction and cinematography giving you even more randomness. There is indeed gorgeousness in the goofiness.

Physics? They should preface the movie with:
"All physics was harmed in the making of this film."

Stay back for the Unity-in-Diversity credits sequence song. I was thoroughly happy and drenched in disbelief as to wtf did I just see, as I left the cinema hall. Worth the ticket price (INR 350 for the 2240 show).

Rating: 2 Beards/5