“RRR”: Indian film bought by Netflix wins world

It may be ridiculous, ridiculous for some to refer to a cinema that tried to copy Hollywood, regardless of the budget of the products produced in World Cinema Mecca. But India is not only the largest filmmaker in the world (2,446 films were made in that country in 2019 against 792 productions made in the US in 2019) but it is also the second oldest film industry after Hollywood.

The epic film “RRR”, which opened in India in March, not only became a local event: it broke the barriers of the Asian market, beating the UK box office (which peaked at number two in the opening weekend gross, competing against “Batman” and the United States (third, DC Hero and “The”). Lost City “, with Sandra Bullock), praised by critics, compared to Marvel, and bought by Netflix. Elsewhere in the world. What are the keys to this huge success?

The title of the film, “RRR”, refers to uprising (uprising), roar (roar) and rebellion (rebellion). It is a (fictional) story that unites two revolutionary heroes from the (real) history of India, Alluri Sitarama Raju (pictured, with an appearance inspired by Che Guevara and “Motorcycle Diaries”) and Komaram Beam.

In “RRR” they are able to transcend the laws of physics and make incredible feats, like mythological figures. In real life, they never met, even though they were contemporaries, but the cinema brought them together to imagine them as best friends by chance. The problem is, everyone secretly follows an agenda of creating enemies. One is working secretly for the British Empire and the other is involved in the rescue of an Indian woman abducted by royalty from England.

In the case of “RRR”, business success was accompanied by critical success. Yet it is not regrettable that the film has grossed millions of dollars both domestically and abroad.

Outside the film, the title “RRR” says otherwise. The film was dubbed by fans when it was announced that director SS Rajamouli, ND Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan, two of the two leading actors, will be working together. Rajamouli had directed two Bhagwati films which were successful in his country in 2015 and 2017. There is not only seniority in industry in India.

In 2019, 379 million movie tickets were sold there, making it one of the most used movie markets on the big screen (behind China and the US alone). It is true that tickets in India are cheaper than tickets in countries like North America or Europe, and that the cultural impact of the biggest Hollywood products is such that its films rarely cross borders.
But that may change.

Tollywood is not Bollywood

Despite being friends, the heroes who seem doomed to face each other on the battlefield carry another symbolic weight in India.

Andhra Pradesh, where the director was born in 2014, was divided and the state of Telangana was formed, for political and economic reasons, although they both speak the same language, Telugu and – the exhausted activities of the “RRR”. Recommended – They share common feelings. Rajamouli agreed that the two areas should be united by their greatest heroes. Vehicle Cinema.

Bengali movies are not made in Bombay because Tollywood is a pre-Bollywood word. The cinematic tradition produced in Bengal includes names such as Satyajit Ray, director of the Abu Trio, and other classics acclaimed by Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Franுவாois Truffaut, Akira Kurosawa and Carlos Saura.

I love watching Marvel movies, but I can not direct one because I have a different feeling: I grew up in Indian mythology.

Tollywood cinema, like Bollywood, has not only developed its own identity. Prior to the advent of the Internet, the production of cultural hybrids reclaimed the best cinema of Hollywood from its golden age, where musicals and phonetic productions dominated the extra and massive collections.

Indian industrial cinema is a mixture of a particular time, place and time, but it has acquired its own style.

Once upon a time in India

In influences and cultural integration, English filmmakers Richard Attenborough and David Lean, along with Gandhi and A Passage to India, also filmed the British colonization of India. Both of these titles, such as Ang Lee’s’ Extraordinary Adventure ” and Danny Boyle’s’ Slumdog Millionaire ‘, are films set in India (taking elements of that format and material), nominated for or winning an Oscar, no Indian film (to date) Never won the award.

In “RRR” the revolutionaries planned to use the weapons of the settlers as tools for their own liberation. Similar to what happened in the 2002 Oscar-nominated Indian film “Lagaan”, where a group of Indians dared to challenge the British to play cricket. A four-hour epic that competed with “The Groom” for the Oscars, part sports film, part music, part melodrama and part comedy. Despite its success, the Bosnian film “No Man’s Land” lost the award.

Revenge of Indian Cinema

“RRR” cost $ 75 million (the most expensive film in Asian history) and grossed more than $ 88 million in just six days. The director did not hide the fact that he knew the film would be a success: “That’s why we spent so much. Because we know we have stars and an emotional story, but we can not predict success in other countries. ”

This explains why they decided to postpone the original release date to Epidemic 2020 and the March 2022 release brought Indian audiences back to the theaters without capacity limitations.
Commercial success was accompanied by critical success. At RottenTomatoes, the United States platform accumulates reviews from specialized media, forming a consensus in percentage form, surpassing “RRR” (91% positive reviews) over “Avengers: Endgame” (90%) and already one of the best. This year.

When asked by Rajamouli if he was going to direct a superhero film in a comic book, he replied, “I grew up with Indian mythology and Indian history. I love watching Marvel movies, but I can not run one of them because I have a different feeling. I hope to bring my stories from India, the myths of India to the Marvel level. Or more ”.

First published Economist