rrr movie review toi

• entertainment

RRR movie review highlights : Jr NTR and Ram Charan are in top form in SS Rajamouli directorial

Visual Stories

The Telugu language Indian action epic "RRR" (short for "Rise Roar Revolt") has returned to US theaters for an exceptional one-night-only engagement on June 1st following its initial theatrical release. Some hindsight has made it easy to guess why writer/director S.S. Rajamouli has only now broken through to Western audiences with "RRR" despite his consistent box office success. Rajamouli's latest is an anti-colonial fable and buddy drama about the imaginary combo of two real-life freedom fighters, Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) and Alluri Sitarama Raju ( Ram Charan ). "RRR" is also a fine showcase for Rajamouli's characteristic focus on maximalist action choreography, overwhelming stuntwork and pyrotechnics, and sophisticated computer graphics.  

By the time he made "RRR," Rajamouli had already developed his brand of Nationalistic self-mythologizing with some help from recurring collaborators like regular story writer (and biological father) Vijayendra Prasad and both co-leads, who previously starred in Rajamouli's "Yamadonga" and "Magadheera," respectively.

Set in and around Delhi in 1920, "RRR" pointedly lacks historical context so that Rajamouli and his team can transform a straight-forward rescue mission into a rallying cry for reunification and also cathartic violence. Bheem, the avenging "shepherd" of the Adivasian Gond tribe, visits Delhi to track down Malli ( Twinkle Sharma ), an innocent pre-teen who's kidnapped from her Gondian mother by the cartoonishly evil British Governor Scott ( Ray Stevenson ) and his sadistic wife Cathy ( Alison Doody ).

Raju, a peerless Colonial police officer, befriends Bheem without realizing that they're at cross purposes: Bheem wants to break into Scott's fortress-like quarters to rescue Maali while Raju wants to catch the unknown "tribal" that Scott's lackey Edward ( Edward Sonnenblick ) fears might be lurking about. Raju and Bheem immediately bond after they save an unrelated child from being crushed by a runaway train, as clear a sign as any of Rajamouli's love for Cecil B. DeMille-style melodrama. ("Ben Hur" is an acknowledged influence for Rajamouli, as are the action/period dramas of fellow DeMille-ian Mel Gibson ).

It's also fitting that "RRR" is Rajamouli's big breakthrough since it's inevitably about Bheem as an inspiring symbol of quasi-traditional, boundary-trampling patriotism. Rajamouli has gotten quite good at incorporating potentially alienating elements, like his cheap-seats love of grisly violence and brash sloganeering, into his propulsive, inventive, and visually assured fight scenes and dance numbers.

Rajamouli has also already perfected the way he works with and uses his actors as part of his shock-and-awe style of melodrama. Rama Rao is ideally cast as the naively sweet-natured Bheem, whose messianic qualities are also effectively high-lit in a handful of rousing set pieces, like when a bare-chested Bheem wrestles a tiger into submission. Rama Rao's performance isn't the main thing, but it is the emblematic inspiration that, along with a "Passion of the Christ"-worthy scourging, understandably leads an assembly of Indian nationals to attack Scott and his bloodthirsty hambone wife in a later scene.

Likewise, Charan's steely-eyed performance in "RRR" is limited, but strong enough to be credibly superhuman. Rajamouli knows exactly how to capture his best sides, as in an astounding opening action scene where Raju descends into a rioting mob just to subdue and apprehend one particular dissident. Rao and Charan's bro-mantic chemistry and syncopated physicality have already made a viral success of the movie's splashy "Naatu Naatu" musical number, but that scene's infectiously joyful presentation is supra-human by design.

The spirit of the individual matters more than any single person in Rajamouli's movies and "RRR" is a perfect expression of that notion. It's also a decent reflection of Rajamouli's fame, which Film Companion South 's Sagar Tetali keenly suggests is "the triumph of directorial ambition over the actor-star—the triumph of a brand of storytelling over the South Indian star image."

With "RRR," Rajamouli repeats his preference for one nation under populist ubermenschen. Both Bheem and Raju are extraordinary men because they are, at heart, aspirational expressions of the people's will. Their lives, their loved ones, and their relationships are all of secondary importance—check out Bollywood star Ajay Devgn 's explosive cameo!—so it makes sense that the cast's images and performances are also blown up to James Cameron-sized proportions.

Like Cameron, Rajamouli has earned a reputation for pushing the limits of industrialized pop cinema. In that sense, "RRR" feels simultaneously personal and gargantuan in scope. Film Comment 's R. Emmet Sweeney is right to caution viewers regarding the towering streak of "Hindu-centric" Nationalism and characterizations at the heart of Rajamouli's "Pan-Indian address." Sweeney is also right to hail Rajamouli's dazzling "technical innovation." It's not every day that a new Indian movie—which are typically not advertised to Western viewers beyond indigenous language speakers, and therefore largely ignored by Western outlets—is presented as an event to American theatergoers. Attend or miss out.

Available in theaters tonight, June 1st, and also streaming on Netflix.

Simon Abrams

Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in  The New York Times ,  Vanity Fair ,  The Village Voice,  and elsewhere.

• N.T. Rama Rao Jr. as Komaram Bheem
• Ram Charan as Alluri Sitarama Raju
• Alia Bhatt as Sita
• Ajay Devgn as Venkata Rama Raju
• Ray Stevenson as Scott Buxton
• Alison Doody as Cassandra Buxton
• Olivia Morris as Jennifer 'Jenny' Buxton
• Samuthirakani as Venkateshwarulu
• Shriya Saran as Sarojini
• Chatrapathi Sekhar as Jangu
• Makrand Deshpande as Peddanna

Cinematographer

• K.K. Senthil Kumar
• M.M. Keeravaani
• S. S. Rajamouli
• Sreekar Prasad
• S.S. Rajamouli

Writer (story)

• Vijayendra Prasad

Leave a comment

Now playing.

All We Imagine as Light

Elton John: Never Too Late

The Creep Tapes

Small Things Like These

Bird (2024)

Meanwhile on Earth

Christmas Eve in Miller's Point

Stockholm Bloodbath

Latest articles

Taylor Sheridan's Well Runs Dry in "Landman"

The Rise of Fourth Cinema

J-Horror Lives: Introducing “Missing Child Videotape” Director Ryota Kondo

“She Just Had an Accident”: “Seed of Chucky” at 20

The best movie reviews, in your inbox.

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Movie Reviews

• LISTEN & FOLLOW
• Apple Podcasts
• Amazon Music

Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free feed.

If you haven't been back to the movies yet, Indian epic 'RRR' is the reason to go

John Powers

Ram Charan stars in RRR, an action-packed bromance set in India in the 1920s. Raftar Creations hide caption

Ram Charan stars in RRR, an action-packed bromance set in India in the 1920s.

If you're over the age of, say, 40, you will surely remember the 1975 cult phenomenon The Rocky Horror Picture Show . Weekend after weekend, year after year, decade after decade, audiences turned up at theaters — often dressed in corsets, fishnets and other costumes — to shriek out lines ahead of the characters and sing along with the songs.

I've never seen anything like it — until now. A few nights ago, I went to a packed screening of RRR , an epic action-picture bromance from India. The screening had 900 people — some of whom had already seen the film 10 times — clapping and dancing from the opening credits.

Made by box-office titan S.S. Rajamouli, RRR induces such unabashed giddiness in its audience that Hollywood is witnessing a push to get it nominated for the Oscars. Forget Best International Feature Film, folks are talking Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor. And having seen RRR twice myself, I'm part of the bandwagon.

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'rrr' is an interrrnational phenomenon.

Set during the British Raj in the 1920s, the movie tells the story of two heroes with impressive physiques and super-charged abilities. The tightly wound Ram — played by Ram Charan — works for the British as a crack military officer who we see quash a mass Indian uprising single-handed. His tiger-hunting counterpart, Bheem, played by N.T. Rama Rao, Jr., is a tribal villager who has come in disguise to Delhi to reclaim a young girl from his village who has been capriciously snatched by the evil wife of the evil British governor.

Ram and Bheem meet heroically while working in tandem to save a child from a train crashing into a river. Kindred in their bravery, they instantly become fast friends. But they don't know one important thing. While Bheem secretly opposes the governor, Ram is secretly working for him. They're bound for a head-on collision.

RRR — the title stands for Rise Roar Revolt — is populist filmmaking. Its emotions are simple, its anti-colonial politics broad. Rajamouli makes the British rulers of India even worse than they actually were, and they were mighty bad. But his mega-star lead actors play their roles with such ardent conviction that we don't merely believe in Ram and Bheem's friendship, we're moved by it. Rajamouli unfolds the many twists and turns of their story with such confidently rampaging energy that, by comparison, most Hollywood blockbusters feel anemic.

I'm normally bored by action sequences, but from the opening riot to the assault on the governor's mansion to the big prison escape — during which Ram rides atop Bheem's shoulders with guns ablazing — RRR contains more exciting action scenes than all the Marvel movies put together. Indeed, there's a slow-motion shot right before the intermission that is one of the most jaw dropping moments in the history of cinema. Just as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix offered American viewers a new vision of action, so RRR possesses a delirious inventiveness and originality that audiences will love. And I haven't even mentioned the marvelous "Naatu Naatu" song-and-dance sequence that recalls the dance-off between the Jets and the Sharks in West Side Story , but is vastly more alive.

You can currently see RRR on Netflix, and it's a good enough movie that you'll enjoy it. But if you can — and I'd urge local theaters to bring it back — you should see it on a big screen. For two reasons. First, Rajamouli is in love with the sheer bigness that makes movies so much grander than TV. Bursting with fights, rescues, wild animals, surging crowds, sadistic monsters, larger-than-life showdowns and mythic transformations, RRR is not a movie that leaves you asking for more.

Indeed, in these days when the box-office is way down, movie chains are wobbling, and experts wonder whether the movies will even survive, RRR makes the case for returning to theaters. It reminds us that movies are always more thrilling when they're part of a collective experience, when you can share the excitement with the people around you. That excitement is electric when you watch RRR . You may well leave the theater humming the catchy tune, "Naatu Naatu."

Subscribe Now! Get features like

• Assembly Elections 2024
• HT Photo Contest
• ₹ 10 Lakh,1" data-value="Loan ₹ 10 Lakh">Loan ₹ 10 Lakh

• Entertainment
• Latest News
• Games & Puzzles
• IPL Auction
• Win iPhone 15
• The Taste of Time
• Web Stories
• Mumbai News
• Bengaluru News
• Daily Digest

RRR movie review: Jr NTR and Ram Charan are dazzling, Bollywood has a lot to learn from this SS Rajamouli epic

Rrr movie review: ss rajamouli gets so much right in his latest film starring jr ntr and ram charan..

Larger-than-life characters, high-octane action sequences, gravity defying shots that give you an adrenaline rush, world class VFX and sets mounted on a huge canvas-- SS Rajamouli once again serves you the perfect visual spectacle with RRR. Starring Junior NTR and Ram Charan in the lead, the film is a wholesome entertainer and it only gets more grand with every scene. (Also read: RRR release live updates: Ram Charan's fans dress up like his RRR character Alluri Sitarama Raju; ruckus at theatres)

It took Rajamouli five long years since Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017) to have his next big screen outing and when you watch RRR, you understand why wait was so long. His penchant for grandeur, perfection and attention to details comes alive in each frame of this multi-starrer. Keeping the emotional core of his story strong, he beautifully adorns it with superlative action, interesting origin stories and a tinge of humour, too. Even the most unrealistic visuals would impress you as the narrative and magnificent screenplay complements them well.

Set in 1920s in Delhi, RRR narrates the story of two individuals — Ramaraju (Ram Charan) and Bheem (Jr NTR) who become close friends without knowing each other's truth or the intention behind their actions for or against the British kingdom. While the fierce, hotblooded and angry young cop Ramaraju is the 'R' in fire, the innocent, calm, charming yet beast-like Bheem is the 'R' in water. Ramaraju works for the British but has faced much humiliation for his skin colour. On the other hand, Bheem, belonging to Gond tribe, has come to Delhi to rescue the young girl called Malli, help captive by the British. What happens when Bheem and Ramaraju's paths cross and they become friends? What happens when the actual truth is unearthed?

It's the camaraderie between Ram Charan and Jr NTR that wins you over. Both have an endearing screen presence and with their unique persona, bring so much more to their respective characters. While Ram Charan flexes his muscles, Jr NTR connects with you in the emotional and vulnerable scenes. Their bonding, chemistry in the song Nacho Nacho is the highlight of the film and gets you grooving in no time.

Sita is played by Alia Bhatt in an extended cameo but feels like she is forcefully fit into the narrative. She doesn't bring much to the table other than a couple of scenes, and a dance sequence with the lead pair in the end credits, where she delivers with dedication. On the other hand, Ajay Devgn is a better-crafted character and holds your attention. Other supporting parts — King Scott (Ray Stevenson) Lady Scott (Alison Doody) are merciless as antagonists. Jennifer (Olivia Morris) is the benevolent Brit who helps Bheem in his purpose. She will remind you of Elizabeth from Lagaan who helped Bhuvan fight against the British rulers.

RRR is not just high on star quotient but also scores big with an overwhelming story. The film keeps you hooked from the word go. No time is wasted in the beginning to build up the plot and it's only as the story unfolds, that we are familiarised with the backstories of characters. The movie's intermission block narrates a story in itself and is such a powerful visual. I quite like how Rajamouli, throughout the film, maintains the reference to fire and water whenever Jr NTR and Ram Charan's characters are shown. The fight sequences in particular are great and filmed in an elaborate way. Some slow motion shots just blow your mind and you want to cheer and applaud, looking at the cinematic marvel. Full credit here to KK Senthil Kumar for such spectacular cinematography. Despite its nearly 3-hour runtime, the film never looks dragged or boring for it has a tight screenplay and crisp editing by A Sreekar Prasad. Background score gives the film depth and adds to the scale of the scenes and characters.

To sum up, RRR is the perfect visual spectacle that you can only enjoy on the big screen and it is sure to leave you spellbound with its magnificent aura and scale. Not to miss, Jr NTR and Ram Charan win will your hearts with convincing performances.

• Ss Rajamouli
• Movie Review

Join Hindustan Times

Create free account and unlock exciting features like.

• Terms of use
• Privacy policy
• Weather Today
• HT Newsletters
• Subscription
• Print Ad Rates
• Code of Ethics

• India vs Sri Lanka
• Live Cricket Score
• Cricket Teams
• Cricket Players
• ICC Rankings
• Cricket Schedule
• Shreyas Iyer
• Harshit Rana
• Kusal Mendis
• Ravi Bishnoi
• Rinku Singh
• Riyan Parag
• Washington Sundar
• Avishka Fernando
• Charith Asalanka
• Dasun Shanaka
• Khaleel Ahmed
• Pathum Nissanka
• Other Cities
• Income Tax Calculator
• Petrol Prices
• UGC NET Answer Key 2024 Live
• Diesel Prices
• Silver Rate
• Relationships
• Art and Culture
• Telugu Cinema
• Tamil Cinema
• Study Abroad
• Board Exams
• Exam Results
• Admission News
• Employment News
• Competitive Exams
• BBA Colleges
• Engineering Colleges
• Medical Colleges
• BCA Colleges
• Medical Exams
• Engineering Exams
• Love Horoscope
• Annual Horoscope
• Festival Calendar
• Compatibility Calculator
• Career Horoscope
• Manifestation
• The Economist Articles
• Lok Sabha States
• Lok Sabha Parties
• Lok Sabha Candidates
• Explainer Video
• On The Record
• Vikram Chandra Daily Wrap
• Entertainment Photos
• Lifestyle Photos
• News Photos
• Olympics 2024
• Olympics Medal Tally
• Other Sports
• EPL 2023-24
• ISL 2023-24
• Asian Games 2023
• Public Health
• Economic Policy
• International Affairs
• Climate Change
• Gender Equality
• future tech
• HT Friday Finance
• Explore Hindustan Times
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Subscription - Terms of Use