Actually, ‘RRR’ has left its status as an ‘insider tip’ behind for a long, long time. Finally, in 2022, the whole world suddenly seemed to be talking about the action epic. “Avatar 2” director James Cameron and his colleague Steven Spielberg are among the many famous fans who publicly celebrated the film. At the 2023 Oscars there was even a golden boy for best film song. But I have a feeling that ‘RRR’ still receives far too little attention – and can also determine this through figures.
There are hardly any user reviews for “RRR” on our website – which is often a very good indication that a movie is still completely under the radar of the masses. Are you intimidated by the fact that you have no experience with Indian cinema? Or is the running time of more than three hours an obstacle? My plea is clear. Put these thoughts aside – especially since “RRR” is a perfect introduction to Indian cinema and could even easily be divided into two evenings (more on this at the end of the article).
And There are matching ones SS Rajamoulis Unique film on the largest German streaming service Netflix as a subscription – in the Hindi language version with German subtitles.
“RRR” – you just have to see it!
The event takes place in India in 1920. British Governor Scott (the recently deceased ‘Ahsoka’ fan favorite Ray Stevenson as a wonderfully annoying villain) and his wife Catherine (Alison Doody – aka Dr. Elsa Schneider from ‘Indiana Jones 3 “) kidnapping a little girl from the inhabitants of a village and taking her to Delhi. But they have no idea that the tribe has a protector: Komaram Bheem (NT Rama Rao Jr.) vows to find the girl again and goes to the capital, where he disguises himself as a Muslim and a mechanic and prepares a rescue operation and watches for a way to penetrate the massively protected palace.
But the British occupiers get wind of the matter and start looking for the savior. Above all, the young police officer A. Rama Raju (Ram Charan) sees his opportunity. Despite his courageous exploits, he has been passed over for every promotion so far because he is simply not a white British person. He vows to catch Bheem. But when the two muscular and courageous men meet for the first time and together save a little boy, they have no idea who the other is. And so they become best friends and inseparable. But in the few hours they don’t see each other, they continue to pursue their secret missions…
What a madness “RRR” is The prologue is already clear, which essentially offers three entire films at once. First we see the kidnapping of the girl in a sequence that starts harmoniously and elegantly and then becomes brutal and moving, before the two heroes are introduced in two gigantic action scenes. While Bheem captures enormous wild beasts (which later make a grand appearance in a sensational shot), Rama fights his way through rebels for the British crown – not a dozen, but only hundreds.
That makes it clear how big, no, how gigantic ‘RRR’ is. Here everything is not a little exaggerated, but immeasurably magnified and every superlative is used. It is not enough to fight against odds; it should be so large that it fills the entire frame in a zoomed out aerial photo.
“RRR” is a celebration of superlatives
And so it is with everything in “RRR”. Everything has been elevated to superlatives. The English occupiers not only torture brutally, they also torture super brutally. And the friendship between Bheem and Rama is not just a male friendship, but it is the very best, most intense, most male friendship you have ever seen in a movie. If there is a dance scene at a summer festival, it is not just dancing, it is dancing so wildly, fast and for so long until only one person can stand. And Even though the testosterone in ‘RRR’ is constantly dripping from the film, it is also an incredibly emotional story with many different tones.
A love story between the bumbling Bheem and the British Jenny (Olivia Morris) is not an odd affair, but rather entertains as a wonderful little RomCom in itself. And Rama’s tragic backstory, told as a long flashback halfway through a film-within-a-film, suddenly makes his actions appear in a new light – and turns everything upside down again.
If you’re wondering what the title “RRR” means? Actually, that was just a working title to make it clear that this was a director Rajamouli and the actors Rben rao and Rthree Indian megastars are working together for the first time on Charan. But the title sounded so cool and was so well received that they kept it and looked for an interpretation later. The additional title “Rise, Roar, Revolt” was added worldwide – which clearly illustrates the rousing enthusiasm for the freedom struggle of the main characters.
But you can see how much it’s all about the stars, as not only their very first appearances, but all subsequent appearances as well, are celebrated. The film always pauses to give the audience space to simply applaud. This happened a lot in the cinema and there was enthusiastic cheering. But these moments also have their appeal on Netflix – even if you don’t jump up from the couch in ecstasy.
“RRR” also works over 2 evenings
I promised at the beginning that there is a solution if “RRR” is too long for you. That’s no problem. Like many Indian films, “RRR” was produced with an intentional pause. In the cinema there is a so-called ‘intermission’, during which you can go to the toilet, get a new drink or shake your legs. Unfortunately, Netflix has removed the indication that the break starts now, but you can still recognize the perfect moment for it. If you see the photo below, this is the perfect moment to take a moment if you want to spread your “RRR” experience over two evenings:
On Netflix, the image remains displayed for a while before the action continues. Of course, in my opinion, the best “RRR” experience is if you watch the movie in one sitting. But especially during the week and/or for children who want to go to bed earlier, this division into two feature films with a regular length of around 90 minutes is a good option. In the end, the most important thing is: no matter what, look “RRR”! Because it is the action film that you should definitely see from 2022!