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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.

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187 minutes

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

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S. S. Rajamouli

Writer (story)

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Sreekar Prasad
M.M. Keeravaani

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‘RRR’ Review: A Hero (or Two) Shall Rise

Scenes of glorious excess make the screen hum with energy in S.S. Rajamouli’s action epic set in British colonial India.

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By Nicolas Rapold

It’s not long in “RRR” before a tiger and a wolf collide midair during a brawl with one of the film’s two musclebound heroes. Scenes of glorious excess make the screen hum with energy in the latest feature from S.S. Rajamouli, the director of the “Baahubali” blockbusters.

Set in 1920s India before independence, “RRR” pairs two of the country’s biggest stars, N.T. Rama Rao Jr. (known as “Jr. NTR”) and Ram Charan, as superfriends from either side of a bloody colonial divide. A goofily gallant Jr. NTR plays Bheem, a warrior from the Gond tribe, while Charan smolders as Ram, a fearsome police officer who is underestimated by his white superiors. (The characters are inspired by two rebel heroes from the era, Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju.)

Bheem journeys to Delhi to rescue a Gond girl enslaved by the British governor and his wife, a couple of sadists. Ram has orders to identify and capture Bheem by going undercover with revolutionaries. Instead, the men unwittingly make fast friends when they save a child stranded on a river that’s on fire. (As one does.)

But their missions get inevitably entangled, and Rajamouli (who collaborated on the story with his screenwriter father, Vijayendra Prasad), stirs in an aw-shucks courtship between Bheem and the governor’s not-racist niece (Olivia Morris).

Rajamouli shoots the film’s action with hallucinogenic fervor, supercharging scenes with a shimmering brand of extended slow-motion and C.G.I. that feels less “generated” than unleashed. Here-to-there plot filler in “RRR” is instantly forgiven with each wild set-piece: Ram furiously tunneling through a hundred-strong mob outside his garrison, or the rumbling dance-off (the “Naatu Naatu” musical number) where Bheem and Ram giddily exhaust the British cads and delight the ladies.

The rousing anticolonialist battle royal concludes with one final fist-pump: an end-credit song celebrating political figures from across India.

RRR Rated PG-13 for violent sequences, some intense language and general mayhem. With subtitles. Running time: 3 hours 7 minutes. In theaters.

If the detailed social realism of the Dardenne brothers represents one kind of cinema, RRR is its polar opposite. S.S. Rajamouli’s three-hour-plus epic is a riot of outrageous spectacle, gravity-defying stunts, colour, song and dance, big emotions and a menagerie of CG animals. It feels like the kind of film that looks great in a clip on Twitter but is disappointing when you sit down and watch the whole thing. But have no fear — RRR (it stands for “Rise! Roar! Revolt!”) is a big, gaudy, sledgehammer-subtle slice of escapist cinema that is fun from first frame to last.

Set in 1920s India, the plot, as it is, pits soldier Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and villager Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr) against the British Empire, represented by Governor Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson, terrible) and his even more vindictive wife Catherine (Alison Doody, who wields a particularly nasty whip as a reminder of her Indiana Jones days), after the Brits kidnap Bheem’s kid sister. Raju and Bheem are introduced in fantastic fashion — the former performing an in-camera version of The Matrix Reloaded ’s ‘burly brawl’ to apprehend a wrong’un, the latter outrunning a wolf and then shouting down a tiger — and then come together to save a little boy in a river on fire (don’t ask) using a motorcycle, a horse, a rope and a ridiculous feat of timing that puts Spider-Man bridge-rescues to shame. This is all in the first half hour.

RRR never runs out of steam — the dust-ups of the final jungle battle feel as fresh as the opening scene.

From here, the inventiveness and originality of the action escalates to giddy levels, often completely oblivious to the laws of physics. The quality of the VFX is variable but it doesn’t matter, partly because Rajamouli has got such a great eye for brazen movie heroics and partly because it has so much spirit it is easy to be carried along (to wit, there is a fantastic set-piece as Raju batters Brit stooges while being hoisted aloft on Bheem’s shoulders).

In-between the fighting there are heavy-handed, John Woo-esque thematics (loyalty, brotherhood, identity), low comedy as Bheem tries to woo English rose Jenny (Olivia Morris), and catchy musical numbers — the best of the bunch being a dance-off as Raju and Bheem show the stiff shirts of the Raj how it’s done. The plotting is creaky and the writing ham-fisted (“Take the special forces and nail the bastards”), but it wins the day thanks to Rajamouli’s bravura, the infectious charisma of Charan and Rama Rao Jr, ace filmmaking talent (M.M. Keeravani’s huge score, A. Sreeker Prasad’s propulsive editing) and the imagination of the stunt team. RRR never runs out of steam — the dust-ups of the final jungle battle feel as fresh as the opening scene — meaning that 185 minutes run by in the blink of a digital tiger’s eye.

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‘rrr’ review: s.s. rajamouli’s glorious indian action spectacle.

This Telugu-language action-adventure epic, available on Netflix, has become a worldwide sensation.

By Frank Scheck

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“Delirious” is the word to describe S.S. Rajamouli’s Indian action-adventure film that has become a worldwide phenomenon both in theaters and on Netflix since its summer release.

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The Netflix Hit “RRR” Is a Political Screed, an Action Bonanza, and an Exhilarating Musical

When it comes to cinematic propaganda, blatant is better than insidious. Overt advocacy has the virtue of candor and the vigor of fervent emotion. A movie such as “ Top Gun: Maverick ” hides its messages under the guise of unexceptionable realities, whereas another new, high-energy, political action spectacle, the Indian film “RRR” (which was released theatrically in March and is now streaming on Netflix, where it’s in the top five), makes its statements explicit. It thrusts its imaginative artistry thrillingly and gleefully to the fore.

“RRR”—the title stands for “Rise Roar Revolt”—turns history into legend by way of heightened visual rhetoric. It’s based very loosely on the real-life stories of two Indian revolutionaries of the early twentieth century, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, who contested the oppressions of British colonial power. There’s no record of their having met, let alone joining forces. The director, S. S. Rajamouli —who also wrote the screenplay, based on a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad (his father)—derives a magnificent outpouring of creative energy from the inspiring fantasy of their volatile connection. (The movie’s original language is Telugu; the version shown on Netflix is dubbed into Hindi.)

On a motor trip through the Indian countryside, Catherine Buxton (Alison Doody), the high-handed wife of the British colonial governor, buys an Indian girl named Malli (Twinkle Sharma) as one might buy a pet. The governor’s party carts the child away over the protests of her mother, Loki (Ahmareen Anjum), who is brutalized by British guards. Malli is from the Gond tribe, which is said to hold fast together, and its so-called shepherd, Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao, Jr.), a fierce warrior, heads to Delhi to find her, disguising himself as a Muslim mechanic named Akhtar. The British governor, Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson), is warned by an Indian police officer about the shepherd and his ferocity; Buxton orders his officers to find and capture the shepherd. One of his Indian police officers, Raju (Ram Charan), volunteers for the mission, planning to infiltrate the city’s revolutionary Indian circles. In Delhi, two Indian strangers see a boy drowning in the river and team up to rescue him; the two men, Raju and “Akhtar,” become fast friends. Raju is unaware that Akhtar is the warrior he’s looking for, and Akhtar is unaware that Raju works for the man whose household he aims to raid. The drama of their secrets, and the circuitous path of their ultimate collaboration (it’s no spoiler), involve scenes of moral and emotional horror that are redeemed in the high purpose of their historic mission.

The similarity in tone to other Indian action films is matched by what it shares with Hollywood blockbusters, too. The drama is built around action, stints on character, features very little dialogue that doesn’t advance the plot, and offers neither psychology nor history nor social context to enrich the historical framework. It’s a movie of shortcuts and elisions no less relentless than those of American superhero or superstar vehicles, but Rajamouli is an artist of a distinctive temperament and talent. He spotlights the halo of legend in an extended scene that introduces Raju, at a prison where Indian people are storming the gates to free a prisoner. There, Raju takes on the entire surging crowd by way of impossible acrobatics and eruptive martial artistry (highlighted by a madly rotating camera) that plays like a live-action cartoon. The element of fantasy is intensified by a sequence of Bheem’s rigorous self-imposed training, which involves single-handed battle with a wolf and a tiger.

There’s an overt element of exaggeration that bends the story into the substance and the tone of legend—the effect is of an onscreen tall tale. It’s a film of giddy, exhilarating hyperbole in which physical action pierces the barrier of impossibility but stops short of the supernatural or superheroic. And there’s a dashing graphic sense of composition and an assertively precise sense of rapid action that owes nothing to the generic jumble with which most Hollywood action scenes are filmed and edited. “RRR” is also filled with gore: streaming blood, spurting blood, bodies beaten and pierced and torn. Yet the combination of sharply determined political purpose and compositional artistry lends the horror an air of abstraction that stokes a sense of indignation or of justice without physical disgust or titillation.

The plot has twists and turns, hidden byways and surprising connections, that have the dazzle of magic tricks. The story’s omissions and truncations—an odd thing to refer to in a movie that runs to nearly three hours—contribute to the air of wonder and lend a jolt of astonishment to an extensive flashback that’s dropped in midway through. The drama is rooted in the absolute sadism, the monstrous and indeed genocidal racism of the British, the governmental terrorism with which Buxton reigns, the pathological bloodlust of power that Catherine flaunts, the dehumanizing prejudices of subordinate officers, and the vile politics of hiring indigenous people to do their dirty work. The story’s view of colonial despotism involves not only grievous economic inequality but also relentless political repression—and a sense of fear that’s nearly a sense of doom, signalled by the absolute ban on Indian people owning firearms and the tumult that results when even a single rifle falls into the hands of one of them.

For all its political determination, “RRR” is also a musical, and an electrifying one. The movie is filled with music and with characters singing at moments of grand political import; when Raju and Bheem manage to attend a high British social gathering, they convert a moment of cultural chauvinism into a spectacular dance-off. The frenetically athletic choreography involves gestures of a rapid-fire sculptural majesty to match the geometric flair of the images that capture it. Where the movie’s central dance is pugnaciously competitive, the fight scenes are dance-like, featuring moments of phantasmagorical splendor. One won’t soon forget the vision of a warrior carrying another on his back, with the one on top bearing two rifles and shooting them with deadly accuracy in opposite directions while the bearer breaks on the run through a brick wall. Or a runaway motorcycle being stopped with one foot as if it were a soccer ball, caught in midair, and hurled with the devastating force of a cannonball. Or a single flaming arrow igniting the entire countryside and yielding Wagnerian images of sublime destruction.

The drama of political unity that song lyrics characterize as “friendship between an erupting volcano and a wild storm” is also a flag-waving spectacle of patriotic pomp. The movie’s powerful sense of revolutionary virtue and collective purpose yields to nationalistic pride that’s danced and sung with uninhibited joy. The concluding production number, with militaristic bravado, spotlights the present-day purposes of this quasi-historical tale.

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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."

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RRR Reviews

An absolute sumptuous feast for the senses.

Full Review | Jul 3, 2024

If you enjoyed “The Woman King” (2022) or Namor’s flashback sequences in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022) but wanted the fight scenes against the colonizers to be longer, then this movie is for you.

Full Review | Jun 2, 2024

RRR is one action crescendo after another, never dull but not exhausting either.

Full Review | Sep 19, 2023

SS Rajamouli delivers his most complete, his most Rajamouli film yet...

Full Review | Sep 12, 2023

What a blast of filmmaking, talent, & across the board insanity. Emotional, riveting, hilarious, action packed, & flat out just one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen this year. So over the top I couldn’t stop watching

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

There are complications and coincidences at work. That is the heart and soul of this great adventure laden with fantasy.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Mar 24, 2023

One of 2022's 20 best films.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 13, 2023

In a movie that also includes Bheem battling a tiger with his bare hands and an aerial rescue involving a motorcycle, “Naatu Naatu” may be the most impressive action sequence.

Full Review | Mar 10, 2023

It's not just about men transitioning from ignorant to enlightened, sad to happy, or anti-hero to hero. It's about humans morphing into fable, history turning into heavens and hells – and life transforming into visual literature.

...goosebumps raising, whiste-worthy, crazy, insane. Did I say outrageous?

The bonanza with a cast of what looks to be thousands and a storyline about getting back at colonizers is a blast throughout its 3-hour-plus running time.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Mar 2, 2023

This big epic action movie reminds me of some of those Fast and Furious movies because of the really outlandish action sequences, but this film has the added attraction of Bollywood style musical numbers and a showy dance off.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jan 27, 2023

... A show that escapes realist drama at every turn. [Fulll review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jan 27, 2023

Between the stunts, the music, and the acting, you don't want to miss this fantastical spectacle of an adventure. It's cinema at its finest!

Full Review | Jan 22, 2023

One of the beset films of 2022, RRR stands as a gateway into South Asian cinema.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Jan 17, 2023

There are many twists as this beast punches its way through three long hours, but it moves so beautifully and is so frequently astonishing that it's well worth a look.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 13, 2023

We critics occasionally forget that one of the main purposes of cinema is to entertain, impress, and have the audience simply have fun watching. “RRR” reminds us just that.

Full Review | Original Score: 7 | Jan 2, 2023

...has just about everything in it—colonialism, revolution, mateship, a massive cast, insane stunts, amazing costumes and sets, and lots of music and dance.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Jan 2, 2023

It taps into many of the basic emotional centers that have always made movies of this sort popular and, in the process, offers hope that there may still be room for non-IP epics to exist side-by-side with Hollywood’s overbranded franchises.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 31, 2022

RRR was amazing… No other word can describe it! The stunts, story, choreography, music, it was pure cinema. Oh my goodness. A MUST WATCH!

Full Review | Original Score: 9.5/10 | Dec 29, 2022

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‘RRR’: Review

By Tara Judah 2022-04-08T09:12:00+01:00

S.S. Rajamouli smashes records with his big-screen spectacular

Source: Media House Global

Dir/scr: S.S. Rajamouli. India. 2022. 180 mins.

When it comes to spectacle, S.S. Rajamouli delivers. And then some. His latest action-packed audience-pleasing adventure epic RRR has smashed numerous box office records and helped revive cinema-going, especially for the domestic market. Riotous good fun from start to finish, RRR , a fictionalised account of two real-life revolutionaries fighting against the British Raj and Nizam of Hyderabad in 1920s India is being deservedly championed for reminding audiences what big screen entertainment is all about.

Big, bold and bombastic, this is big screen entertainment at its best.

The second most expensive Indian film ever made, with a budget of $72 million (second only to 2018’s 2.0 which came in at $75 million), with the highest opening day collection by an Indian film ($31m), RRR has also just taken the mantel as the fifth highest grossing Indian film of all time (at the time of writing it has taken $99m at the global box office, with $65m of that from its opening weekend, and admissions continue to climb). Yet perhaps RRR was a sure thing given Rajamouli’s previous success with his Baahubali films; Baahubali: The Beginning (which took more than $100m globally) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (which took $254m globally), and his two big star lead actors, N.T. Rama Rao Jr, grandson to Telugu actor politician N.T. Rama Rao, and Ram Charan, both of whom are multi award-winning performers. But what is most remarkable about RRR , however, is its deeply affecting tone.

N.T. Rama Rao Jr. (aka Jr. NTR) plays the kind-hearted Komaram Bheem, revolutionary of the Gond tribes, while Ram Charan is Alluri Sitarama Raju, who waged armed revolution against British colonial rule. The similarities to their real-life counterparts are slight, with Rajamouli’s epic imagining what might have happened if the pair had met during the undocumented periods in their lives before their fights for India’s independence truly took hold.

The film begins in the Adilabad Forest, with the first ‘R’ accounted for – Sto R y – where a young girl, Malli (Twinkle Sharma) is taken from her mother at the behest of the British governor’s wife, who thinks the young girl’s henna artistry and charming nightingale song would make her an ideal addition to the mantelpiece. This is the narrative act that will later put everything in motion for Bheem.

The second ‘R’ comes from Fi R e, where we are first introduced to Raju (Charan), who will do anything to get a promotion – including a single-handed fight sequence that defies the odds and probably gravity just to prove his indomitable spirit, otherworldly strengths and oddly aligned allegiance to the crown. Set on the outskirts of Delhi, where riots are being led by Lala Lajpat Rai, Raju must do more than just ‘hold the line’ if he wants to get noticed. The action sequence that follows is nothing short of incredible, with Raju emerging as a jaw-dropping physical force to be reckoned with. This chapter also includes what must be the most impressive literal crowd scene (populated by people, not CGI) since Ben Hur.

Finally – although at less than an hour into the 180-minute epic – the third ‘R’ is revealed – Wate R – which properly introduces Bheem, presented as the “shepherd” of the Gond tribes, on a mission (undercover as Akhtar) to retrieve the lost lamb Malli and return her to her mother, family and village. But Bheem is soon surpassing what might be reasonable expectations of a shepherd: wearing extremely short shorts, with dramatically dripping blood running down his face and upper torso, Bheem takes on a wolf and a tiger – both of which move in decidedly marvellous and unexpected ways, with all the animals in this production being computer generated.

The central conflict comes from the British wanting Bheem captured and Raju being the man to do the job. But plot becomes secondary in this over-the-top action adventure, where fantastically choreographed set pieces – including a human pyramid of colossal proportions that not only seems to defy physics but that also has a touch of the Busby Berkeley about it – take centre stage. RRR’s set pieces, which are matched only by the utterly charismatic performances of its two leads (who, for all of their earth-defiant fighting might as well be literal superheroes) give every instalment of the Marvel multiverse a run for their money.

The film’s early domestic success comes just as two of India’s biggest cinema chains, PVR Cinemas and Inox Leisure, merged to form a mega-circuit of 1,546 screens, and already RRR has had a significant impact in drawing domestic audiences away from smaller screens and into potential post-Pandemic recovery. (Although box office notched an impressive $515.5m in 2021 – an increase of 56% on 2020 – it is still at just 37% of where it was at before Covid hit.)

It’s no surprise. Composer M.M. Keeravani has crafted incredibly catchy tunes, which Rajamouli chooses to repeat like a heartbeat throughout, making the final crescendo even more satisfying. A Sreeker Prasad’s editing is so dynamic that the whole thing - at three hours, and with an intermission – feels like it flies by in an instant. For all of its historical absurdity – realism is nowhere to be seen here – there is no denying that Rajamouli has delivered exactly what audiences want: big, bold and bombastic, this is cinema entertainment at its best.

Production companies: DVV Entertainment

International Sales: Phars Film, [email protected]

Producer: D.V.V. Danayya

Cinematography: Senthil Kumar

Editing: A. Sreeker Prasad

Production design: Sabu Cyril

Music: M.M. Keeravani

Main cast: N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Olivia Morris, Shriya Saran, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, Edward Sonnenblick

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‘RRR’ Review: A Magnificent Cinematic Explosion

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S.S. Rajamouli ’s “ RRR ” is a dazzling work of historical fiction — emphasis on the “fiction” — that makes the moving image feel intimate and enormous all at once. A pulsating period action drama, it outshines even the director’s record-smashing “Baahubali” movies (viewers familiar with them probably won’t know what to expect here) thanks to its mix of naked sincerity, unapologetic machismo, and balls-to-the-wall action craftsmanship. The film is playing on over a thousand screens in North America, and watching it with a packed audience familiar with Telugu-language cinema is likely to yield one of the noisiest and most raucous theatrical experiences imaginable. Plenty of recent releases have been hailed as “the return of cinema” post-pandemic, but “RRR” stands apart as an unabashed return to everything that makes the cinematic experience great, all at once.

To talk about the film in any meaningful sense — especially for unfamiliar viewers — first requires setting the stage. Its title is a backronym that stands for “Rise, Roar, Revolt” in English (and similar phrases in various other Indian languages), a fitting label for its early 20th century story about a pair of Indian anti-colonial revolutionaries. However, “RRR” started out as the film’s working title. It stood for director Rajamouli, and the film’s two renowned Tollywood stars, Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr. (or N.T.R. Jr.), whose first on-screen collaboration is a good enough reason for many people to buy tickets. The title stuck. The high-caliber names involved are the main attraction, something that becomes all too clear when each actor first appears, and adoring fans turn darkened multiplex screens into lively spaces of celebration, whose walls echo with hoots, hollers and wolf whistles.

The film is worth this reaction, too.

Charan and N.T.R Jr. play Alluri Sitarama Raju (or simply Ram in the film) and Komaram Bheem, a pair of freedom fighters who, as far as anyone knows, never actually met. However, Rajamouli and his co-scribes — story writer K. V. Vijayendra Prasad and dialogue writer Sai Madhav Burra — imagine a fictitious friendship between the pair, during a period in the early 1920s where historical documentation of both figures happens to be scant. “RRR” takes that mild coincidence and turns it into a boisterous, melodramatic saga filled with action that’s over-the-top in its staging, but grounded in its emotional reality.

Charan’s Ram is introduced first, in a manner that’s as viscerally enjoyable as it is narratively shocking. In a strange inversion of history (though one that no doubt establishes a distinct trajectory for his character), we meet this fictitious version of the revolutionary when he’s a police officer for the British Empire. He leaps into battle against a sea of righteous Indian protesters and takes on hundreds of them at once, a superhuman feat typical of South Indian action stars, but one that Rajamouli anchors to tangible bruises, blood and broken bones, blending ludicrous staging (via wide shots that feel like baroque tableaus) with piercing close-ups that rarely cut away as the action plays out. All the while, Ram remains fearlessly and obsessively dedicated to the Crown, and it’s hard not to cheer him on despite this ugly setup — especially when he doesn’t receive the requisite thanks from his British superiors and takes out his frustrations by reducing a punching bag to sandy pulp.

Before long, Ram — now undercover as a revolutionary in the hopes of a big police promotion — is set on a collision course with N.T.R. Jr.’s kindly and heroic Bheem, whose own introduction plays like a fever dream. After a young girl from Bheem’s forest tribe, the Gond, is kidnapped by a British aristocrat, he sets a mysterious plan in motion that involves capturing a number of wild animals (a setup whose payoff is magnificently unexpected). We first meet Bheem as he sprints through the forest — Rajamouli and cinematographer K. K. Senthil Kumar charge towards him with their camera, making his movements feel limitless — and when he manages to capture a roaring tiger in a net, he roars back in its face, accessing something primal and animalistic, as the camera zeroes in on his quivering veins and muscles.

Both men are, in a strictly narrative sense, straight — Ram has a fiancé back home; Bheem has a bit of a will-they-won’t-they with an English woman, Jenny (Olivia Morris) — but everything about the way they’re captured and the way they interact drips with an unapologetic homoeroticism that forms the film’s emotional core. The duo, unaware of each other’s true identities as a cop and revolutionary, first become friends in a scene of explosive heroism that involves a bike, a horse, a train, and both men swinging off a bridge, but the beat that feels most colossal amidst the mayhem is an intimate close up in which they clasp hands, a moment so enormous that it yanks the film’s title onto the screen about 40 minutes in (who would’ve thought “RRR” would have something in common with “Drive My Car”?)

Charan is suave as Ram, and he guides N.T.R. Jr.’s more awkward Bheem through romantic advances with Jenny (a dynamic made hilarious thanks to their linguistic barrier), but the two leading men constantly wrestle between several emotional layers. Each one has their own secret mission — Ram hopes to suss out a revolutionary leader who he doesn’t realize is Bheem; Bheem hopes to make his way into a Governor’s mansion to rescue the kidnapped girl — but the duo’s close friendship also begins to infect their respective missions, especially when they’re forced to confront the truth about one another. They have broader ideals for which they fight, but their senses of duty, which they each see as altruistic, soon become complicated by their love for each as individuals.

It may not be hard to predict the plot, at least in its broad strokes — it’s filled with coincidences, and with misunderstandings which are eventually clarified — but each emotional moment along the way is both magnified to the maximum, yet rooted in the kind of devastating sincerity that makes the duo’s eventual, inevitable collision almost difficult to watch. “RRR” is the kind of film where violence and music aren’t just layered atop the story, but intrinsically woven into the way it’s told. Every action beat has meaning, either in the way it’s set up — a brief moment from the duo’s friendship montage, in which Ram sits atop Bheem’s shoulders, later returns in stunning fashion — or in the way it enhances the narrative. A moment of betrayal, for instance, is marked by a flaming carriage wheel coming undone and striking one of the characters in the heart, and it’s only about the tenth or fifteenth wildest thing that happens in that entire set piece.

For every story beat told through action, there’s another expressed through M. M. Keeravani’s music. The themes composed for Ram, especially when he’s in uniform, arrive with terrifying western horns, which blare whenever he jumps into action, while Bheem’s compositions feel more Earthy, creating a connection between him and nature through spiritual vocal chants and more traditional wooden instruments. As the duo’s friendship grows deeper, the lines between these kinds of compositions begin to blur. The film may not have many dance sequences, but the one major number — “ Naatu Naatu ,” which went viral several months ago for the way Ram and Bheem dance energetically arm-in-arm — becomes its own euphoric mini-movie about friendship and revolution, with its own subplot running throughout the choreography. Modern Hollywood blockbusters tend to have one or two standout scenes, but nearly every scene of “RRR” feels like it could be somebody’s favorite, so even its gargantuan 188 minute running time feels like a breeze.

Of course, the Hollywood influence on “RRR” is clear from the outset, as is the case with many Indian blockbusters, but the film is also its own unique beast. While it evokes images of superhero movies, American war films, and even films about chattel slavery, it blends them together in transformative fashion, hyper-charging each image until it pushes up against the line of believability, but is swiftly yanked back into a familiar emotional realm by recognizable performances. Hollywood star Ray Stevenson plays a moustache-twirling British officer, Governor Scott, who initially comes off as cartoonishly evil — so much so that he doesn’t even want to waste precious English bullets on “brown rubbish” — yet the film not only sticks with that cartoonishness until it feels familiar, but even expands on his strange philosophy until it becomes inextricable from the plot. That Stevenson (and even Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn, who appear in supporting roles) feel like also-rans in the face of Ram Charan and N.T.R. Jr. is a testament to just how massive this collaboration feels — there’s really no western equivalent — and Rajamouli captures every moment and every interaction with the requisite scale and adoration.

By the time the film reaches its fiery climax, one filled with jaw-dropping imagery, it imbues both men with a sense of holy mythicism. Ram even ends up molded in the visage of his namesake, Lord Rama from Hindu scripture, wielding a bow and arrow in the face of British firearms, but no matter how ridiculously any of these moments read on paper, they fit perfectly with the film’s emotional reality, in which love and righteousness flow through the characters like electric superpowers, allowing them to achieve extraordinary, face-melting feats that will leave even the most hardened and cynical viewers feeling childishly giddy.

“RRR” is now playing in theaters.

India’s wild action movie RRR re-imagines real-life revolt as an epic superhero battle

The latest outsized crowd-pleaser from Baahubali series director S.S. Rajamouli finds massive thrills in revolution

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by Katie Rife

Jr NTR roars in the face of a Bengal tiger in RRR

In the famous “No Man’s Land” sequence from 2017’s Wonder Woman , Gal Gadot strides across a barren battlefield in slow motion, deflecting German bullets with her wrist cuffs and magical shield. The wind blows through her hair as she leaps across the muddy fields with godlike nimbleness, the score swelling behind her with patriotic pride. There’s a similar moment in RRR (“Rise Roar Revolt”), S.S. Rajamouli’s action-drama hybrid about the adventures of two Indian revolutionaries who have divergent approaches to resisting British occupation in 1920s Delhi. The difference is, in RRR , it’s just one of half a dozen scenes of its kind.

The latest outsized action spectacle from Rajamouli — director of the much-beloved Baahubali movies , available on Netflix — mythologizes two historical figures, Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) and Alluri Sitarama Raju (Konidela Ram Charan). In real life, Bheem was a leader of the Gondi people who collaborated with other groups to resist landlords and mining companies encroaching onto tribal lands. Raju, meanwhile, led guerrilla attacks on imperial police stations, seizing British guns and ammunition to level the playing field between colonizer and colonized.

This last point makes its way into RRR , as part of a storyline that reframes Raju as a supercop on a mission to take down the British power structure from within. That’s a minor liberty, however, compared to the fact that in the film, both Raju and Bheem have superheroic agility, strength, and fighting abilities. Both can scale buildings like Spider-Man, dodge bullets like Wonder Woman, and flip their opponents like pro wrestlers. Bheem, representing the element of water, counts the animals of the forest among his allies, and bursts onto the field of battle with tigers and wolves by his side. And Raju, representing fire, drives a burning carriage and shoots flaming arrows. Picture Benjamin Franklin and Paul Revere joining the MCU, with Franklin harnessing the power of electricity, and Revere the swiftness of the wind.

The superpowers aren’t the only liberty taken with their stories. RRR explains gaps in both men’s histories by proposing that they became friends after they each made their way to Delhi in the early 1920s — Raju as an undercover imperial cop, Bheem on a rescue mission to save a village girl kidnapped by a colonial governor. (They never met in real life.) In the film, the pair bond over their mutual derring-do. They’re two strangers who agree with a nod to embark on a dangerous impromptu rescue mission to save a little boy trapped by a flaming train accident on a Delhi river.

Subtlety, to put it mildly, is not Rajamouli’s thing. And so the director not only takes every opportunity available to hammer home the “fire and water” theme, he also works in dramatic slow-motion shots wherever he can. Bheem trips and knocks a silver tray out of a waiter’s hand at a garden party? The tray drops in slow motion and spins to a stop as guests stare with wide eyes and jaws agape. Raju pummels a punching bag in frustration after being passed over for a promotion? You bet those drops of sweat are beading off of his glistening, muscular shoulders and dashing mustache at half-speed.

RRR also deals in big emotions to match its hyper-dramatic shooting style. Betrayal, loyalty, and legacy are all major themes, and an alternate title of the film could be SSS — “Secrets. Subterfuge. Sacrifice.” Compared to a stereotypical Bollywood film (which RRR is not — it’s a Telugu production), RRR is relatively light on music and romance, devoting much of its screen time to visual spectacle, gonzo action, and patriotic zeal. The dynamic between Bheem and Raju has shades of the macho bromance of John Woo’s 1980s movies, until it transforms into a superhero team-up. And Rajamouli’s camera is unabashed in its worship of these men, introducing them with protracted sequences designed to build anticipation for viewers’ first look at the characters.

But RRR does make some time for comedy and music amid its stylized feats of mythological bravery. Between the title card — which pops up around the 45-minute mark — and the intermission (sorry, “InteRRRmission”) break two hours in, RRR pauses for a breezy interlude that invites viewers to hang out with the provincial Bheem and the more Anglicized Raju as they get into mischief and chase girls. Raju has a sweetheart back home — his childhood friend Sita (Alia Bhatt), to whom he pledged eternal loyalty before leaving his village to join the Indian Imperial Police. So he acts as Bheem’s wingman, helping Bheem charm sympathetic Englishwoman Jenny (Olivia Morris) with his aw-shucks attitude and impressive dance skills.

A shirtless Jr NTR shoots an arrow through a gap in a wall of fire in RRR

Jr NTR (the common abbreviation for N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) and Ram Charan, both Telugu superstars in their own right, show off those skills in the rousing “ Naatu Naatu, ” RRR ’s only real musical production number. (Another song, “Etthara Jenda,” plays over the end credits, and Bheem puts his defiance into song while being punished for his revolutionary activities.) Longtime Rajamouli collaborator M.M. Keeravani provides music for these numbers, along with a title song and instrumental compositions designed to get audiences to their feet.

RRR is a busy movie, full of kinetic camerawork, bustling crowd scenes, elaborate set design, expensive-looking CGI, and loud sound effects. Rajamouli is skilled at balancing the film’s many elements, so “overstimulated” isn’t quite the word for how walking out o f RRR feels. It’s more like the pleasant exhaustion after a good workout.

The extended running times of Indian films used to form a barrier to entry for Western audiences unaccustomed to spending three full hours at the movies. But times have changed, and RRR is only 10 minutes longer than The Batman . On the other hand, although it’s set for release in 30 countries , the film assumes a familiarity with certain characters and iconographies that might go over foreign viewers’ heads. Still, at its core, this is a story about people fighting for their beliefs against impossible odds. It’s about perseverance and the power of working together toward a common goal. Those themes are universally relatable — as is the giddy thrill of watching racist forces of imperial oppression get exactly what’s coming to them.

RRR is now playing in select theaters worldwide.

[ Ed. note: We recommend viewers check local listings or contact the theater to make sure you’re catching the version of RRR you want to see. The film was shot in Telugu, but some theaters are running multiple screens with versions of the film dubbed into one or more of the other major Indian languages: Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam. A Telugu screening will give you the original voice performances with English subtitles.]

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‘RRR’ Review: Telugu Cinema Superstars N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan Shine in a Splendidly Exciting Epic

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Straight out of Tollywood: “ RRR ,” a bigger-than-life and bolder-than-mainstream action-adventure epic, is performing mightily in international release as audiences marvel at its spectacle, embrace its emotions, and sway to its music while being repeatedly gobsmacked by its unfettered audacity. Propelled by the Telugu Cinema triumvirate of superstars N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan and director S.S. Rajamouli — whose combined names are one reason for the triple-consonant title — the movie is such an irresistible and intoxicating celebration of cinematic excess that even after 187 minutes (including intermission or, as the title card announces, “InteRRRval”), you are left exhilarated, not exhausted. Which, truth to tell, is hard to say about certain comic-book movies from two major extended universes.

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In the 1920s world according to “RRR” — which also stands for “Rise, Roar, Revolt,” when the full title finally makes its first appearance on screen — Raju, referenced here as Ram, is a fiercely determined firebrand from Andhra Pradesh who goes undercover as a member of the British army in the hope of arming his compatriots. Early on, he demonstrates his faux loyalty to the Crown — and more or less establishes his superhumanity — by singlehandedly punching, kicking, beating and otherwise manhandling what appear to be thousands of protesters to seize a guy who tossed a rock at a portrait in a police outpost. In most action movies, this sequence would satisfy as a rousingly over-the-top climax. In “RRR,” however, it’s nothing more than a curtain-raiser.

In the Adilabad forest, the working-class-heroic Bheem establishes his own preternatural bona fides while outrunning a wolf in order to lead the beast into a trap. Unfortunately, the wolf is taken out of the equation by a tiger, who proceeds to chase Bheem. Fortunately, Bheem is more than a match for the big cat, even when the trap doesn’t quite work. The tiger roars. Bheem roars back. And if you are fortunate enough to see “RRR” in a theater, as it is meant to be, the next roar you hear will be that of a cheering audience.

The fuse is lit for an explosive meeting of these exceptional men when the British governor Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson) and his crueler-than-Cruella wife Catherine (Alison Doody) go slumming in a Gond village — accompanied, of course, by a contingent of heavily armed soldiers. Catherine is enchanted by a little girl named Malli (Twinkle Sharma), and claims the child as an amusing plaything to entertain guests in their palatial Delhi home. This doesn’t go over well with the child’s mother — or anyone else in the village, for that matter — but Buxton has enough muscle power to enforce his wife’s whim of iron. He doesn’t have anyone shot only because he doesn’t want to waste expensive bullets on “brown rubbish.”

At this point, you may be tempted to shout rude things at the screen. But don’t fear: Bheem vows to journey to Delhi and, with the aid of simpatico locals, retrieve Malli. It doesn’t take long for word of Bheem’s impending arrival to reach British authorities — and it takes even less time for Ram to volunteer to find and arrest the potential troublemaker. But fate (along with the shamelessly contrived scenario by Rajamouli and co-writers Sai Madhav Burra and K.V. Vijayendra Prasad) tosses both men a curve when each sees a boy trapped in a Delhi river while flaming railroad cars drop into the water around him. Both men rush to a conveniently located bridge — Ram on horseback, Bheem on a motorcycle — and improvise a rescue detailed in another jaw-dropping action set piece.

And all of this happens in the film’s first 40 minutes.

It would be unfair to spill more beans and spoil any fun by providing additional plot details or scene descriptions. (Just wait until you see what Bheem does with a truckload of nonhuman disruptors.) Suffice it to say that Bheem and Ram develop a deep friendship without either knowing the other’s true identity or grand designs, and they greatly enjoy each other’s company until they don’t, and then they do again. There are two splendiferously spirited song-and-dance sequence where the guys delight in their bromance, and they play like fever dreams of Stanley Donen directing an action-movie remake of “Singin’ in the Rain.”

Widely known as Jr NTR, N.T. Rama Rao Jr. is effective and empathy-grabbing as a seemingly ordinary man who achieves the extraordinary while evolving into an iconic hero. (He also gets a few laughs, especially during Bheem’s shy yet stealthy romance of a British beauty sweetly played by Olivia Morris.) Better yet, he has sensational chemistry with the more conventionally dashing Ram Charan. It may be overstating the case to suggest Charan carries himself with the authority and assurance of a deity — that is, when he’s not physically or emotionally anguished — but when Ram “borrows” the bow and arrow from a statue of Lord Rama, it seems less an act of sacrilege than an example of professional courtesy.

Echoes of John Woo abound in “RRR” as themes of loyalty, betrayal, and mutable identity are recurrently sounded, providing a powerful anchor of seriousness and mortal stakes during the most fantastical fights, flights and feats of derring-do. Occasionally your mind may tell you, “This is absurd!” Each time that happens, though, your heart will reply, “So what? Give me more!”

Reviewed at Regal Edwards Greenway Grand Palace, Houston, April 1, 2022. Running time: 187 MIN.

Production: (India) A Sarigama Cinemas release (U.S.) of a DVV Entertainment production. Producer: D.V.V. Danayya.
Crew: Director: S. S. Rajamouli. Screenplay: S. S. Rajamouli, Sai Madhav Burra, from a story by K.V. Vijayendra Prasad. Camera: K.K. Senthil Kumar. Editor: A. Sreekar Prasad. Music: M.M. Keeravani.
With: N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Samuthirakani, Olivia Morris, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, Twinkle Sharma. (Telugu, English dialogue)

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Common Sense Says
Parents Say 4 Reviews
Kids Say 8 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Epic blockbuster studies colonialism, has brutal violence.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 16+?

The uprising at the core of the film is very violent. There are brawls and bysta

Language used includes "bastard" and "wanker." Derogatory language used toward t

Characters are seen smoking cigars. At a party, characters are seen drinking alc

Any Positive Content?

Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju are incredibly courageous in the face of

The movie does promote the idea that you match violence with violence. But it al

The film is set in India and the majority of the cast are native to the country,

Violence & Scariness

The uprising at the core of the film is very violent. There are brawls and bystanders are hit over the head with rocks and bats. Several brutal deaths. The cracking of bones and bloody faces. Women and children get caught up in the crossfire, being shot and even abducted. There are many explosions and a multitude of weaponry including crossbows, arrows, and cannons. Characters are tortured for information, and are whipped in front of the public as punishment. There are fights between wild animals and humans, the former shot at, the latter mauled. The colonialists beat up helpless Indians, and refuse to use bullets as they are too expensive, killing innocent people using brute force, such as being hit over the head with a branch.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language used includes "bastard" and "wanker." Derogatory language used toward the Indians include them being called "brown buggers," "filth," "rats," and "monkeys."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters are seen smoking cigars. At a party, characters are seen drinking alcohol.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Role Models

Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju are incredibly courageous in the face of prejudice and evil. They both realize that teamwork and putting aside their differences will help their cause.

Positive Messages

The movie does promote the idea that you match violence with violence. But it also shows the strength in community and teamwork.

Diverse Representations

The film is set in India and the majority of the cast are native to the country, including the heroes of the piece. The film is very much male-led however, with few female roles of any real note.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Parents need to know that RRR is a hugely entertaining Indian blockbuster with violent scenes throughout and some racist language. The central theme is that of an uprising, standing up and showing courage in the face of tyrannical rule. Set in 1920s colonial India, Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) and Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan Teja) begin as enemies but realize that in order to defeat the British they must join forces. The uprising itself is incredibly violent, but cinematic in its execution. There are fights between humans and wild tigers, with animals being killed and humans mauled. There are also countless deaths -- including innocent women and children -- some of which are brutal and graphic. Characters are also tortured and whipped. There is some use of "bastard" and "wanker," as well as racist language. Characters are referred to as animals and "brown buggers." This Indian production has a diverse cast -- both Telugu and English are spoken -- though it's fair to say the majority of characters, and the heroes of the piece, are men. It has a runtime of over three hours. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

RRR: N.T. Rama Rao Jr. & Ram Charan dancing

Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (4)
Kids say (8)

Based on 4 parent reviews

BLOODY AMAZING

What's the story.

RRR is a fictitious story about real events, focusing in on the colonialism of India at the hands of the British. Set in the 1920s, when a young girl is abducted, and her mother callously murdered, family member Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) seeks vengeance against the perpetrators, though he is coming up against a brutal, tyrannical regime. What doesn't help, is that fellow countryman Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan Teja) is working for the enemy, and he himself proves an indestructible force.

Is It Any Good?

This Indian action-drama offers viewers about as much fun as you can have with a movie. RRR is pure cinema, at times completely over-the-top and ridiculous, but remaining grounded by its historical context. The credit must go to director S.S. Rajamouli for this ambitious undertaking. He truly is a master of his craft, with some spellbinding sequences -- scenes that you may say out loud in the planning stage, but to actually bring them to life is another matter. He may not have the budget of a major Hollywood production, but it matters little such is the strength in storytelling, and his ability to create such epic set-pieces. RRR combines fantasy with realism in a striking way, and while the film tells an important tale, above anything else, it's just purely, and utterly entertaining.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in RRR . How did it make you feel? Did it add to the story? Do some types of media violence have different impact than others?

The movie is set in the 1920s during colonial India. What do you know about this period? Why is it important to look back on the past? What can we learn from it?

Discuss some of the racist language used. What purpose did it serve the story? How did it make you feel hearing these things in the film?

The movie has very little female representation . Did you find this problematic? Why, or why not?

The film is a fictitious account of real events. What other movies have you seen that has taken this approach?

Movie Details

In theaters : March 25, 2022
On DVD or streaming : May 20, 2022
Cast : N.T. Rama Rao Jr. , Ram Charan Teja , Alia Bhatt
Director : S.S. Rajamouli
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Indian/South Asian actors
Studio : Variance Films
Genre : Action/Adventure
Topics : Friendship , History , Wild Animals
Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance , Teamwork
Run time : 187 minutes
MPAA rating : NR
Award : Golden Globe - Golden Globe Award Winner
Last updated : June 20, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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‘RRR’ Review: Jr NTR & Ram Charan In S.S. Rajamouli’s Latest Epic

By Stephanie Bunbury

Stephanie Bunbury

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Rajamouli’s success with his previous Baahubali series and RRR ’s starry cast – led by Ram Charan and Jr NTR (aka N. T. Rama Rao Jr ), with megastars Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt in supporting roles — meant that the Indian audience was expecting great things this time round. Nobody will be disappointed.

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From the first scene, when we see a young “tribal” girl stolen from her mother to become the British governor’s wife’s plaything, we are in a heady world of good versus evil. In the next scene we see Alluri Sitirama Raju (Charan), an officer in the British army, tear through a surging crowd of seemingly tens of thousands to bring down one miscreant. Time and again, he is pulled down, beaten and rises to return to the chase. As the crowd disperses, beaten and dispirited, the one British officer with a lick of sense tells his nervous subordinate that while the angry masses were unnerving, he was much more scared of their own native recruit. Quite right, old chap. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

After that, RRR is one action crescendo after another, never dull but not exhausting either; there are plenty of scenes of Raju’s burgeoning bromance with Komaram Bheem (NTR), a similarly invincible knight come from the forest to find the missing girl, to give cheerful respite. Mostly, however, it’s all about cracking heads and derring-do.

RRR wastes no time on nuance; it doesn’t give a second’s credence to the lingering British belief that theirs was a benevolent kind of colonialism. Governor Scott is an ogre who tells his men not to waste good British bullets on these brown scum when they can easily beat their brains out; his bloodthirsty wife looks capable of poisoning 10 Snow Whites before breakfast. The officers are vain wimps; the men brutes. As for the railways, Britain’s much-vaunted legacy to Empire, the only train in RRR , catches fire on a bridge and collapses into the river that is the people’s livelihood. Nice one, Britain.

That said, there is an interesting undercurrent of intersectionality at the Governor’s garden party (shot in Ukraine, incidentally) where all the ladies are very taken with our heroes and want to give their kind of dancing a go, much to the chagrin of their men. There is even a flicker of romance between Bheem and the Governor’s niece, who lends the revolutionaries a crucial hand when needed. This scene lasts no more than a few seconds, however; RRR is very much about men. That’s an opportunity missed. Even Alia Bhatt, as Raju’s stalwart fiancée Seetha, is barely there.

A serious question emerges, however, between the thrills, whippings, beatings and the happy scenes of boyish togetherness that punctuate them. It is the old chestnut of means and ends. How many innocent people constitute legitimate collateral damage in the fight for freedom? Would you kill your best friend? Should you be capable of that? Maybe if soldiers killed both your parents in front of you when you were a child, you would be — but is that a righteous fury or just another wound? It is a question both heroes must ask themselves, both in the course of battle and its aftermath.

In real life, neither of these revolutionary heroes would live to see their battle won. There is, however, a harbinger of a better future. In the last speaking scene — there is another song and dance to come, of course, in which Bhatt finally joins the boys for some Busby Berkley-style kaleidoscopic swirling — the forest-dweller Bheem announces his new goal: to learn to read and write. Bheem did, in fact, learn to read and write in English, Urdu and Hindi, but RRR makes no claim to documentary truth. The myth is what matters, right down to Raju’s ultimate transformation into Lord Rama, shooting down the enemy with his divinely unerring bow and arrow. But do you want the truth, or something beautiful? RRR ’s vision is a far cry from the bitter realities of Narendra Modi’s India, but it makes a truly great story.

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Coffee House

What Netflix’s RRR gets wrong about the British Raj

The vogue for facile anti-imperialism is far from innocent.

19 July 2022, 12:05pm

Robert Tombs

Netflix is promoting a new pseudo-historical blockbuster. RRR , which stands for Rise, Roar, Revolt , is an Indian film which has been playing to packed houses at home. Those expecting the usual Indian crowd-pleaser featuring magic, romance, stiff-upper-lip male heroism, and improbably gory violence will not be disappointed. RRR is set in the 1920s, when India was still in the British empire. The villains are British. No surprises there. But the portrayal of the two main British characters, ‘Governor Scott’ and his wife, is unusually nasty and at the same time amazingly silly.

Among other incidents, the Scotts kidnap an Indian child and try to murder the mother. Hapless Indians are brutally tortured by assorted Brits. To portray British officials and soldiers roaming the country casually committing crimes is a sign of absolute ignorance or of deliberate dishonesty. The Indian civil service – the highest ranks of the administration – were regarded as an incorruptible elite, highly selected and dedicated to their jobs. In any case, in the 1920s, many of them were Indians: in 1929, there were only 894 British officials in the ICS. So viewers of RRR will have to imagine Indian colleagues and indeed Indian superiors sitting back and allowing rogue Brits to commit murder.

Netflix should be ashamed for promoting it

If similar films were made slandering other nations, they would be regarded as crudely racist. Imagine a film showing twentieth-century Nigerian rulers as cannibals, or Hindu politicians burning widows alive. But we can’t imagine such films, because they would not be made. Yet the British have long been fair game. Usually, we shrug this off. We have played such an important role in the world over the last few centuries that we have accumulated enemies as well as friends. In many nationalist myths, we are cast in the role of villains. It’s a way that quite a few countries make up heroic stories about themselves.

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But that is no reason why we should accept these stories as true, or start apologising for things that did not happen.

That is not to say that there is nothing to regret. Almost every conversation about the British Raj sooner or later mentions the Amritsar Massacre in 1919, when a squad mainly of Gurkhas commanded by a British officer opened fire on an illegal demonstration. Several hundred people were killed. Yet this was regarded at the time as a unique and shocking atrocity. Churchill condemned it in parliament. The officer responsible was sacked. But priests of the Golden Temple in Amritsar (the holiest Sikh shrine) thought he had done the right thing, and made him an honorary Sikh.

I have stood on the spot where the massacre took place, with feelings readers might easily imagine. Some young Indian men came up to me. I was expecting at least a reproachful comment. But they just wanted to say hello and practise their English. I mention this because hardly any British person who has been to India – and I have been half a dozen times to as many different regions – can have experienced hostility arising from the memory of British rule. Usually the opposite is true. I know Indians whose parents or grandparents held office under the Raj. Indeed, in the 1920s, when this film is set, India was mostly run by Indians, under fairly distant British supervision. The distinguished Indian writer Nirad C. Chaudhuri (whose father was a nationalistic city official) recalled that he had never met or even seen an Englishman during his childhood, until a British inspector came to his school and presented him with a paintbox.

So films like RRR do not reveal some hidden truth about the past, nor do they express genuine popular feeling. They try to stir up synthetic emotions. Their main purpose, of course, is to entertain and make money. So should we just laugh, and even enjoy the melodrama? Perhaps. But although absurdly unbelievable, we know that nowadays people will swallow almost anything bad about the British empire. Doubtless many viewers in a range of countries will regard this as just as accurate as the most serious academic study. British adolescents will watch it too. Perhaps it will be discussed in schools as a piece of historical evidence.

But the worst result will be in India. RRR panders to the reactionary and violent Hindu nationalism that is coming to dominate Indian culture and politics, fanned by the Modi government. Those who suffer from this are not the British, but Indian minorities, above all Muslim but Christian too, and indeed any liberals who stand up against extremism, persecution and bigotry. In reality, RRR does not record the nastiness of 1920s British rule, but it does reflect the growing nastiness of today’s India. Netflix should be ashamed for promoting it.

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‘RRR’ Is the Best — and Most Revolutionary — Blockbuster of 2022

By David Fear

It’s tough to pinpoint the exact moment that the movie hooks you; mileage will vary per viewer. For some, it might be right from the get go, during a Melodrama 101 preamble involving a kidnapped child and casual colonial cruelty that leaves corpses in its wake. Others may find themselves leaning forward when a supercop, sporting the world’s most luxurious old-timey mustache, single-handedly beats back a crowd of thousands to catch a rock-throwing culprit. Or maybe the sight of a ripped, shirtless man sprinting through a forest and narrowly avoiding a midair collision between an angry wolf and an even angrier tiger is your investment tipping point.

utterly obsessed with this suspenders bit in RRR. Rajamouli putting every American musical movie from this century to shame pic.twitter.com/2HVyg8FJrN — Gerry (@HartmanGerry) June 1, 2022

A subversive, supersized screed set in 1920’s Delhi, the latest film from the Telugu writer-director S.S. Rajamouli — its title RRR means different things depending on what translated version you see, but the Hindi cut opts for “Rise, Roar, Revolt” — has already broken box office records in India and earned a rapidly growing cult following everywhere else, notably the States. Its tale of Rama (Ram Charan), a dogged police officer going undercover for the British Raj, and Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr., a.k.a. Jr. NTR), the rural revolutionary he’s hunting, features two of the country’s modern megastars and pulls liberally from the nation’s tempestuous 20th century history, ancient folklore and Hindu mythology, notably the two Sanskit epics Mahabarata and Ramayana. Even if you’re familiar with the “Tollywood” industry’s output, India’s action flicks and/or Rajamouli’s past works (notably the Baahubali movies), the breakneck pacing, go-for-broke set pieces and sheer volume of plot surprises will still manage to blow your hair back. For the many moviegoers who aren’t, especially in the West, this three-hour extravaganza of sound and fury will serve as a gateway drug to a whole subset of world-cinema pop narcotics.

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And yet, there’s a lingua franca here that cuts across the fear that you’ve either been seduced by something you only partially comprehend or are simply reacting to the thrill of new, steroidal exotica. More than anything, RRR is about the movies: the thrill of watching stories told at larger-than-life levels, the joy of watching stars collide (with each other and CGI tigers), the effort of rendering lavish mythologies at whatever the digital equivalent of 24 frames per second is, the sensation of seeing manufactured movement via gleefully conspicuous special effects bump up against genuine physical effort. (Seriously, the “Desi Naach” dance sequence feels like a Gene Kelly number dialed up to superhuman levels.) To call this the best blockbuster of 2022 is only partially accurate; it’s really several of the best blockbusters, plural, you’re apt to catch this year. And if ever a movie deserved to be seen with a crowd and on the largest screen imaginable, it’s this one.

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Amid All The RRR Praise, Some Scathing UK Reviews: ‘Lies’, ‘Travesty Of History’, ‘Nasty’. Netizens React

Writing for the spectator, cambridge historian robert tombs said: 'rrr panders to the reactionary and violent hindu nationalism’..

RRR Movie UK Review Lies Travesty Of History Nasty Amid All RRR Praise Some Scathing UK Reviews Netizens React Amid All The RRR Praise, Some Scathing UK Reviews: ‘Lies’, ‘Travesty Of History’, ‘Nasty’. Netizens React

Four months since its theatrical release, filmmaker SS Rajamouli's blockbuster RRR has been continuing to garner praise. While the film has already achieved a cult status in India, lavish praise has been coming from international audiences too. The latest to shower applause on the Ram Charan-NT Rama Rao Junior flick is filmmaker Joe Russo, whose The Gray Man starring another South star Dhanush just released on Netflix. He called it a “well done epic”. Before Russo, there were other Marvel Cinematic Universe alums James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson, who had tweeted in praise of the massive hit.

RRR has become the first film from India to be nominated for Best Picture category at the Hollywood Critics Association Awards. And there are talks that it may even be sent to the Oscars as India’s official entry.

However, amid all the praise, there is a section overseas that has heavily criticised the film, mainly because of its plotline and the way the British employees in colonial India were portrayed in it.

After a July 9 report in Daily Mail quoted a historian as saying that what is shown in the movie is “a very dangerous concoction of lies”, a Cambridge professor wrote in The Spectator last week called the portrayal of certain characters "unusually nasty and at the same time amazingly silly”.

The RRR Story

RRR (Rise, Roar Revolt) is a story of two legendary revolutionaries and their fight for India in the 1920s. It’s a fictional depiction of the lives of real-life freedom fighters Komaram Bheem and Alluri Seetharama Raju. While Ram Charan plays Raju, Jr NTR portrays the role of Bheem.

The story of the film begins with Governor Scott Buxton and his wife Catherine ‘buying’ a young tribal girl against her parents’ wishes after visiting a forest area inhabited by the Gond tribe. Komaram Bheem, who is the tribe’s guardian, then travels all the way to Delhi to rescue the girl. Raju, meanwhile, serves in the Indian Imperial Police with the ultimate aim to bring down the British. While his job was to protect the Governor from Bheem, he joins him. The film showed their journey and how they together rose, roared and revolted against the British and even succeeded in the mission.

RRR also had Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn playing cameo roles. According to IMDb, the film loaded with VFX was made at a budget of Rs 550 crore — the most expensive film to have been made in India so far.

It has earned over Rs 1,200 crore across the world, according to boxofficeindia.com.

‘RRR Panders To The Reactionary And Violent Hindu Nationalism’

The film showed unbearable atrocities on Indians by the British, as has been depicted in all real and fictional stories of India’s struggle and uprising against the British Raj in the past.

Robert Tombs, emeritus professor in history at the University of Cambridge, however, told Daily Mail: “This film is a piece of xenophobic slander, utterly false and without historical foundation.”

He later wrote a scathing review in The Spectator. “To portray British officials and soldiers roaming the country casually committing crimes is a sign of absolute ignorance or of deliberate dishonesty.”

To buttress his argument, Tombs added: “The Indian civil service – the highest ranks of the administration – were regarded as an incorruptible elite, highly selected and dedicated to their jobs. In any case, in the 1920s, many of them were Indians: in 1929, there were only 894 British officials in the ICS.”

This, he said, meant “Indian colleagues and indeed Indian superiors sitting back and allowing rogue Brits to commit murder”.

Tombs also said while the British usually “shrug this off”, similar movies “would be regarded as crudely racist” if they slandered other nations like this.

“Imagine a film showing twentieth-century Nigerian rulers as cannibals, or Hindu politicians burning widows alive. But we can’t imagine such films, because they would not be made,” he wrote.

Robert Tombs acknowledged why the British are shown in movies in such a negative light. “We have played such an important role in the world over the last few centuries that we have accumulated enemies as well as friends. In many nationalist myths, we are cast in the role of villains. It’s a way that quite a few countries make up heroic stories about themselves.”

But, he added, that is no reason why the British should “accept these stories as true, or start apologising for things that did not happen”.

Tombs also wrote that there were indeed some regretful events that India saw during the British rule, such as the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, but the British government had acknowledged such events.

“I mention this because hardly any British person who has been to India — and I have been half a dozen times to as many different regions — can have experienced hostility arising from the memory of British rule,” he wrote. “I have stood on the spot where the massacre took place, with feelings readers might easily imagine. Some young Indian men came up to me. I was expecting at least a reproachful comment. But they just wanted to say hello and practise their English.”

Tombs wrote that India in the 1920s, when the RRR plot is set, “was mostly run by Indians, under fairly distant British supervision”.

He went on to say that films like RRR “try to stir up synthetic emotions”, and are “absurdly unbelievable”.

Tombs also sought to link the trend to the current nature of Indian politics. “RRR panders to the reactionary and violent Hindu nationalism that is coming to dominate Indian culture and politics…” he wrote, and added that it will be the Indian minorities and liberals who are suffering from this, and not the British.

He went on to say that RRR reflects “the growing nastiness of today’s India” and castigated Netflix for promoting the film.

What Others Are Saying Against RRR

Quoting critics, the July 9 article in Daily Mail said RRR “grossly mispresents history”, and twists some versions of events to present “fiction” as fact.

“The entire plot is a travesty of history,” Dr Zareer Masani, who is an expert on British colonialism, was quoted as saying. “It’s fiction presented as fact.”

He said there might have been acts of violence in the 19th century, but not in the 1920s, when the film is set.

While Netflix carries a disclaimer with the film stating that “the story is purely fictional”, Masani said it was not enough as the film “will be taken as gospel by many”, a concern Robert Tombs also shared in his review in The Spectator.

“RRR seems to combine sadism with anti-British racism and a good dollop of historical invention," the Daily Mail article quoted Cambridge historian Andrew Roberts as saying. "What you get is a very dangerous concoction of lies,” he added.

“Portraying employees of the colonial service as cartoon villains is par for the course nowadays," said Toby Young, founder of Free Speech Union. "In reality, they were almost all conscientious, highly scrupulous public servants.”

How Netizens Are Reacting To RRR Criticism

The British criticism of RRR has evidently, and unsurprisingly, not gone down well with Indians. Netizens have reacted to both the Daily Mail article and the review by Robert Tombs.

Check out some of the posts:

Robert Tombs is an absolute bigot as his racism is reflected in this article itself where he says ‘Indians came to him to practice their English’. This is why RRRs should be made, atrocities displayed and gruesomeness of Raj ought to be publicised. https://t.co/l8wd4UpYot — Ajeet Bharti (@AjeetBhartii) July 20, 2022

BritishBabu is upset that his nostalgia is being disturbed & Indians are awakening to the truth. Colonialist administration oppressed India in many ways, denying it is a crime: #Colonized What Netflix's RRR gets wrong about the British Raj | The Spectator https://t.co/5owdkCUwQO — Dr. Lavanya Vemsani Ph.D. (@ProfVemsani) July 19, 2022

“The vogue for facile anti-imperialism”, it seems. LOL. https://t.co/xtvR1pmbtE — Aniruddha Guha (@AniGuha) July 20, 2022

This clown needs a history lesson badly. Not the British version. The world version. https://t.co/FLlBrYEOQI — Rohit Ghali (@rohitghali) July 20, 2022

'A concoction of dangerous lies': Netflix slammed for film that depicts the 1920s British Raj as being 'addicted to rape and murder' Awwww .. Mirrors aren't very high in demand amongst descendants of the Empire, it seems, 'coz they show their true faces! https://t.co/kPNjxHfyGc — Harpreet (@CestMoiz) July 12, 2022

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Against gossip & scandal, independent media network, global stories from local perspective, factual culture news, ‘rrr’: a powerful, bonkers, and thoroughly executed story that transcends established genres | one of the best films of 2022.

Nader Chamas is an aspiring television writer who seeks to fuse thought provoking progressive ideals into the films, shows, and stories that he loves. Having graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Screenwriting, Nader seeks to use his writing to advance causes that do not get enough attention or input across mainstream media. Like most, Nader has his own share of his favorite franchises and stories across pop culture. However, he seeks to contribute timely and relevant topics into these stories as well as in his own original material. This is why Nader’s analysis of popular films and tv shows matches The Hollywood Insider’s practice of discussing entertainment from a socially cognizant and critical perspective.

Jun 10, 2022

Table of Contents

Photo: ‘RRR’

Normally, when a movie or show fluctuates in tone and pulls elements from many different genres, it often turns out very convoluted not knowing what type of story it wants to be. This is definitely the case with many blockbusters. Most try to include tropes and tools from a handful of different genres which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however nine times out of ten they end up falling flat causing the narrative to be very dull. This is the polar opposite of S.S Rajamouli’s ‘Rise Roar Revolt’, otherwise known as ‘ RRR’ .

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The primarily Telugu-spoken film follows a fictional story between two real-life characters who try to fight back against the brutally real British colonization of India in the 1920s. The first of the movie’s two protagonists is Bheem, a warrior sent to rescue a girl kidnapped from his village by British troops who is played by N.T. Rama Rao Jr . The other main protagonist is Raju, an officer in the British Army who is tasked with stopping Bheem and is played by Ram Charan . The film also stars Alia Bhatt , Ray Stevenson , Olivia Morris , and Alison Doody . This harrowing story is a tale of friendship, liberation struggles, crazy action sequences, and stimulating musical pieces.

Related article: Sign Petition Now: ‘RRR’ Must Be Nominated for Oscars Best Picture & Best Director Categories & More

Please sign the petition below – ‘RRR’ Must Receive Oscars’ Nominations

Request nomination for 'rrr' in oscar's best picture and best director categories & more.

Sign this Petition: RRR Must Receive Oscars Nomination

We will keep this simple. If you are a lover of Cinema, then you have probably heard of the magnificient 'RRR' directed by S. S. Rajamouli. The film has garnered fans all over the world.

Now, we want to help this piece of brilliant Cinema receive the recognition it deserves.

Please sign the petition above.

We would like to request The Academy and its members to nominate 'RRR' in multiple Oscars catergoes which includes, Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actors, Best Original Song, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score etc.

The Hollywood Insider would like to wish ‘RRR’ and its entire team, the best of luck at the Oscars, for multiple categories including Best Picture.

Go watch the magnificient 'RRR' now.

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‘RRR’ – The Powerful

Despite the story being fictional, the two revolutionaries that the film follows actually existed and the backdrop of British colonization of India obviously took place. The film has its lighthearted moments which will be touched on later in this review, however, it does not shy away one bit from showcasing the brutality that the various people and tribes of India endured during British colonial rule. Whether in the clash sequences between British police and protestors, the prison and torture scenes, or when seeing a girl be kidnapped from her village to be a servant in the governor’s mansion, the film does a superb job of conveying the trauma that victims of oppression and imperialism feel.

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The viewer is also able to feel the conflict of Raju’s character as an Indian man in the British colonial army. Eventually, the film shows us why this character partakes in the suppression of his fellow countrymen, how he found himself in this position, and what has led him here. He finds himself making many decisions that really violate his sense of identity and own well-being. The various characters in the British governance of India such as Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, and Edward Sonnenblick all do an effective job in portraying the attitudes that the colonizer has against the colonized.

The Bonkers

The film goes all out in its wild, wacky, and wonderfully over-the-top style of entertainment. Beginning with the many action sequences, the film utilizes slow-motion as much as it pleases. This can very easily become obnoxious and annoying to the viewer. However, the film seems to almost be aware of this fact and finds a way to somehow embrace the over-the-top nature of repeated slow-motion shots, which miraculously stick the landing. The unapologetic use of slow-motion multiple times throughout every action sequence greatly enhances their entertainment and overwhelms the viewer with excitement. The use of slow-motion especially enhances the entertainment of these scenes during absolutely bonkers moments such as when a character jumps out of a truck carrying two torches with a hoard of tigers, leopards, bears, and wolves at his side. Another one of these moments is when a character swings a motorcycle around his head to fend off approaching enemies. The use of slow-motion is not only acceptable, but welcome with open arms.

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Another wonderfully wacky aspect of this film is the exuberant musical pieces throughout. Some are exciting and moving songs that play while the action on screen is taking place. Others are actual musical sequences that feature the characters singing and dancing. This is absolutely not an exaggeration, but the song ‘Naacho Naacho’ will be one the viewer will listen to on repeat for days after seeing this movie. The music, composed by M.M. Keeravani with lyrical contributions in Hindi as well as Telugu from Riya Mukherjee , Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry , Chandrabose , and Varun Grover along with vocals provided mainly by Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj , make for some of most powerful musical moments seen in any film in years. While there are many light-hearted moments filled with music, there are also a handful of scenes where music is used to evoke a more serious emotional effect in an effort to show the many sides of oppression at the hands of a powerful empire like England.

The Well-Crafted

‘RRR’ is not only a great blockbuster and a fantastic spectacle film, it is also an exceptionally well written story. S.S Rajamouli and Vijayendra Prasad’s script takes the time to introduce characters that are not only original but also have reasonable motivations for the audience to buy into. It is impossible to count the number of times, especially in blockbusters, where characters did not have a believable or unique drive in taking the actions that they do. This is especially engaging to watch during scenes of conflict when certain characters both have empathizable motivations for what they are doing, yet that is what brings them into an inevitable impasse with each other.

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The story also features many twists and turns, none of which are unoriginal. They feel earned, realistic, yet unpredictable at the same time, a very difficult point to find in any type of story. The dialogue is also witty when it is able to be, empowering when it has earned itself to be, and sensitive when it has to be. There are a few lines that did feel as if they were there simply because they had to be, but they are very few and far between so this is the most minor of nitpicks. ‘Rise, Roar, Revolt’ or ‘RRR’ is one of the best films of the year and deserves the ever-growing word of mouth it is getting.

Directed by S.S Rajamouli | Written by Vijayendra Prasad and S.S Rajamouli

Producers: D.V.V Danayya , M.M. Srivalli

Cast: N.T Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charen, Ray Stevenson, Alia Bhatt, Olivia Morris, Alison Doody, Edward Sonnenblick

By Nader Chamas

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I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV. media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed. ”

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The best drama movie you missed in theaters just arrived on streaming — and it’s 91% on Rotten Tomatoes

“Evil Does Not Exist” is a slow-burn with a lot to say

Ryo Nishikawa as Hana Yasumura in "Evil Does Not Exist"

A curious thing happened when I watched “Evil Does Not Exist” in theaters earlier this year. When the credits began to roll, nobody moved. Usually in a packed cinema screen the second the movie ends there’s a dash to the exit, but in this case, it was as if the whole auditorium had stopped to catch its breath and consider the movie we’d just watched.

This acclaimed drama from "Drive My Car" director Ryusuke Hamaguchi is an extraordinarily thoughtful movie. It’s not just a drama flick that will have you glued to the screen throughout its runtime, it’s also a rare feature that will have you reflecting on what you’ve just witnessed long after the credits have finished rolling, and it might even inspire you to consider making a few changes in your own life.

Perhaps unsurprisingly this Japanese drama didn’t quite get the attention it deserved in theaters and was overshadowed by popcorn blockbusters and major studio releases. However, earlier this week (on Aug. 20) it was made available on premium streaming platforms including Prime Video , and I’m hoping this brings the movie to a wider audience.

If you’re looking for something a little more reflective, with a strong emphasis on realistic characters and stunning cinematography, here’s why “Evil Does Not Exist” is a movie worth watching this week…

What is “Evil Does Not Exist” about?

EVIL DOES NOT EXIST - Official US Trailer - YouTube

“Evil Does Not Exist” is set in the stunning Japanese mountain village of Mizubiki, and follows Takumi (Hitoshi Omika), who lives a simple life with his young daughter while spending his days completing various odd jobs for people in the local community.

When the residents of the village learn that a large corporate developer is planning to construct a glamping site nearby, the community is deeply concerned about the impact this will have on their way of life, and also the environmental devastation tourists will bring.

Takumi expresses his frustration to the company’s representatives, Takahashi (Ryuji Kosaka) and Mayuzumi (Ayaka Shibutani), but the executives plan to push ahead with the plans regardless of these concerns, which leads to unforeseen consequences for all involved.

“Evil Does Not Exist” reviews — critics love this movie

I’m clearly not the only one that was seriously impressed with “Evil Does Not Exist”. The movie holds an impressive 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes which is enough to earn it the coveted “Certified Fresh” seal of approval. Its audience score is similarly noteworthy at 82%.

Odie Henderson of the Boston Globe said “I had no idea where Hamaguchi’s cautionary tale was taking me, but I remained intrigued until the bitter end.” Barry Hertz of Globe and Mail was even more impressed, declaring “[Evil Does Not Exist] is an instant-masterpiece worthy of intense debate in which every side will have a valid point.”

Another extremely positive write-up came from The Daily Beast ’s Nick Schager. They called “Evil Does Not Exist” a “masterful film” and argued it “invites contemplation and, in return, delivers lyrical beauty, haunting mystery, and more than a bit of unexpected terror.”

Not all critics were so enthralled with Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest project. Its intentionally slow pacing alienated some viewers such as Kyle Smith of Wall Street Journal .

“Luxuriating in long, patient scenes of chopping wood or filling containers with water from a brook, it glows with appreciation for living off the grid in an otherwise hectic time. There should be more to a film than a mood, however,” said Smith in a more mixed review.

You need to stream “Evil Does Not Exist” right now

I feel I should warn any potential viewers that “Evil Does Not Exist” is a very slow burn. In some ways, it’s almost more of a mood piece than a conventional movie (though that’s not to say its overarching narrative isn’t still gripping when it takes the focus). If you’re looking for action thrills or adrenaline-spiking set pieces, this is very much not the movie for you.

However, if you don’t mind a slower-paced drama, and can appreciate some absolutely breathtaking shots of rural Japan (seriously, this movie made me want to go live in the Japanese woods!), then you will find plenty to appreciate about “Evil Does Not Exist”. Its thoughtful nature had me reflecting on my own approach to the environment by the end.

If you’re not sure that “Evil Does Not Exist” is for you, or just want even more viewing recommendations, be sure to check out this overlooked thriller that also arrived on streaming this month, alongside our roundup of the best classic movies that just hit Prime Video .

Buy or rent "Evil Does Not Exist" on Amazon now

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Rory is an Entertainment Editor at Tom’s Guide based in the UK. He covers a wide range of topics but with a particular focus on gaming and streaming. When he’s not reviewing the latest games, searching for hidden gems on Netflix, or writing hot takes on new gaming hardware, TV shows and movies, he can be found attending music festivals and getting far too emotionally invested in his favorite football team.

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Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis Trailer Has Been Pulled Due To Its Use Of Fabricated Movie Review Quotes

This is a weird turn of events.

Earlier today, the first trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis was released online, giving the public a taste of the director’s first feature in over a decade following its polarizing premiere at the Cannes Festival in May. However, now Lionsgate , which is handling the upcoming 2024 movie ’s distribution, is is pulling the trailer from theaters and online. The reason: it uses movie review quotes that were made up.

Let me provide some context first. If you missed seeing the Megalopolis trailer, it features negative pull quotes from reviews of some of Coppola’s past movies, including The Godfather , Apocalypse Now and Dracula . This was done to show how just because a movie is received poorly at the time of its initial release doesn’t mean it can’t become a classic years later. But as Vulture pointed out, the quotes used in the Megalopolis trailer aren’t actually from those reviews written back in the day by greats like Pauline Kale, Andrew Sarris and Roger Ebert .

While it’s unclear where these quotes came from or why they were included in the preview rather than using actual portions from the reviews, Variety received the following statement from Lionsgate regarding its decision to pull the Megalopolis trailer, saying:

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Examples of these made-up quotes included Andrew Sarris calling The Godfather a “sloppy self-indulgent movie,” John Simon calling Apocalypse Now a “spectacular failure,” and Owen Gleiberman calling Dracula a “beautiful mess.” Weirdly, the one real quote comes from Robert Ebert saying that the aforementioned vampire movie was a “triumph of style over substance”… except that actually came from his review of 1989’s Batman . As of this writing, the Megalopolis trailer has indeed been pulled from Lionsgate’s official channels on YouTube, but it remains on various other channels that snatched it up following its drop this morning.

This is just the latest controversy tied to Megalopolis , which Francis Ford Coppola spent $120 million of his own money to fund. In December 2022, it was reported that the filmmaker fired most of the production’s visual effects team. Then this past July, video footage was released of Coppola trying to kiss multiple female extras back in summer 2023 during filming, and other crew members accused him of behaving unprofessionally. The movie, which stars actors like Adam Driver , Giancarlo Esposito , Nathalie Emmanuel and Aubrey Plaza , takes place in a fictional version of the United States and follows an architect feuding with the mayor of New Roe over how to rebuild the city after it’s ravaged by a deadly accident.

Megalopolis hits theaters on September 27. While we wait for more news about this piece of silver screen entertainment, read through our ranking of Francis Ford Coppola’s 10 best movies and what other upcoming sci-fi movies are lined up.

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IMAGES

Movie Review
RRR Movie Review and Rating
RRR Movie Review: A film that’s meant for the big screen RRR is a
RRR (2022)– Film Review
RRR Movie Review: This is what we were all waiting for…
RRR Review: A well Packed Action Drama, RRR movie Review

COMMENTS

RRR movie review & film summary (2022)
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 ...
RRR
RRR is a gift. Go see it. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review G This is a very entertaining movie! It has it all, the history, the action, the sorrow, the laughter, and ...
'RRR' Review: A Hero (or Two) Shall Rise
Ram Charan in "RRR.". DVV Entertainment. Rajamouli shoots the film's action with hallucinogenic fervor, supercharging scenes with a shimmering brand of extended slow-motion and C.G.I. that ...
RRR Review
S.S. Rajamouli's three-hour-plus epic is a riot of outrageous spectacle, gravity-defying stunts, colour, song and dance, big emotions and a menagerie of CG animals. It feels like the kind of ...
'RRR' Review: S.S. Rajamouli's Glorious Indian Action Spectacle
The Bottom Line You won't be bored for a nanosecond. Cast: N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, Olivia Morris. Director ...
Review: The Netflix Hit "RRR" Is a Political Screed, an Action Bonanza
Richard Brody reviews S. S. Rajamouli's political action film, starring N. T. Rama Rao, Jr., and Ram Charan, which takes the stories of two Indian revolutionaries and bends them into delicious ...
'RRR' review: S.S. Rajamouli's Indian epic bromance is better on the
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 ...
RRR
Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Mar 2, 2023. Robert Roten Laramie Movie Scope. This big epic action movie reminds me of some of those Fast and Furious movies because of the really outlandish ...
'RRR': Review
India. 2022. 180 mins. When it comes to spectacle, S.S. Rajamouli delivers. And then some. His latest action-packed audience-pleasing adventure epic RRR has smashed numerous box office records and ...
'RRR' Review: A Magnificent Cinematic Explosion
March 26, 2022 3:30 pm. "RRR". DVV Entertainment. S.S. Rajamouli 's " RRR " is a dazzling work of historical fiction — emphasis on the "fiction" — that makes the moving image feel ...
RRR review: an Indian action epic finds the universal thrills in
RRR is a busy movie, full of kinetic camerawork, bustling crowd scenes, elaborate set design, expensive-looking CGI, and loud sound effects. Rajamouli is skilled at balancing the film's many ...
'RRR' Review: A Uniquely Exhilarating Telegu Action-Adventure
In most action movies, this sequence would satisfy as a rousingly over-the-top climax. ... 'RRR' Review: Telugu Cinema Superstars N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan Shine in a Splendidly ...
RRR Movie Review
RRR is a fictitious story about real events, focusing in on the colonialism of India at the hands of the British. Set in the 1920s, when a young girl is abducted, and her mother callously murdered, family member Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) seeks vengeance against the perpetrators, though he is coming up against a brutal, tyrannical regime.
RRR (2022)
RRR: Directed by S.S. Rajamouli. With N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt. A fearless warrior on a perilous mission comes face to face with a steely cop serving British forces in this epic saga set in pre-independent India.
RRR (2022)
RRR (2022) : Movie Review - High and Low. No, I'm not talking about Akira Kurosawa's Japanese flick from 1963, but I'm talking about SS Rajamouli's RRR. Actually, that's the best brief for the film I can think of. SS Rajamouli has been making mass-friendly commercial films for a long time, but Bahubali brought him pan-India popularity.
'RRR' Review: Jr NTR & Ram Charan In S.S. Rajamouli's Epic
Read the review for RRR, director S.S. Rajamouli's latest epic starring Jr NTR and Ram Charan. ... Cannes Film Festival 2024: Read All Of Deadline's Movie Reviews, Including Palme d'Or Winner ...
Oscar nominee RRR: Why the Indian action spectacle is charming ...
In India, cinema as a medium has become extremely politicised, says writer and film critic Sowmya Rajendran. So RRR's appropriation of two real-life activists who fought for tribal rights and ...
What Netflix's RRR gets wrong about the British Raj
The vogue for facile anti-imperialism is far from innocent. Netflix is promoting a new pseudo-historical blockbuster. RRR, which stands for Rise, Roar, Revolt, is an Indian film which has been ...
'Rrr' Review: A Magnificent Cinematic Explosion
S.S. Rajamouli's "Rrr" is a dazzling work of historical fiction — emphasis on the "fiction" — that makes the moving image feel intimate and enormous all at once. A pulsating period action drama, it outshines even the director's record-smashing "Baahubali" movies (viewers familiar with them probably won't know what to expect here) thanks to its mix of naked sincerity ...
'RRR' Is the Single Best Blockbuster of the Year. It's Not Even Close
More than anything, RRR is about the movies: the thrill of watching stories told at larger-than-life levels, the joy of watching stars collide (with each other and CGI tigers), the effort of ...
RRR Negative review Cambridge Professor says RRR panders to Violent
RRR (Rise, Roar Revolt) is a story of two legendary revolutionaries and their fight for India in the 1920s. It's a fictional depiction of the lives of real-life freedom fighters Komaram Bheem and Alluri Seetharama Raju. While Ram Charan plays Raju, Jr NTR portrays the role of Bheem.
Blink Twice Review: An Unexpectedly Cool Thriller From First-Time
Blink Twice is Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut, and it's a lush fever dream of a movie with a keen eye for detail. Lush. Unexpected. Fun.
'RRR': A Powerful, Bonkers, and Thoroughly Executed Story that
Now, we want to help this piece of brilliant Cinema receive the recognition it deserves. Please sign the petition above. We would like to request The Academy and its members to nominate 'RRR' in multiple Oscars catergoes which includes, Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actors, Best Original Song, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score etc.
The best drama movie you missed in theaters just arrived on streaming
The movie holds an impressive 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes which is enough to earn it the coveted "Certified Fresh" seal of approval. Its audience score is similarly noteworthy at 82%. Its ...
Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis Trailer Has Been ...
Weirdly, the one real quote comes from Robert Ebert saying that the aforementioned vampire movie was a "triumph of style over substance"… except that actually came from his review of 1989 ...

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‘RRR’: Review

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‘RRR’ Review: Telugu Cinema Superstars N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan Shine in a Splendidly Exciting Epic

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Reviewed at Regal Edwards Greenway Grand Palace, Houston, April 1, 2022. Running time: 187 MIN.

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