Review for RRR:
•Language: TELUGU.
•Duration: 03 Hours 02 Minutes.
•Genre: PERIODICAL ACTION DRAMA.
•THEATRE: LUXE CINEMAS, IMAX VERSION.
•REVIEW BY ARUNJYOTHI.R
• POSITIVES:
1: DIRECTION
2: STORY, SCREENPLAY AND DIALOGUES
3: PRODUCTION DESIGN
4: PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS
5: CINEMATOGRAPHY
6: MUSIC AND BACKGROUND SCORE
7: EDITING
8: GRAPHICS AND VISUAL EFFECTS
9: SOUND DESIGN
10: ART DEPARTMENT
• NEGATIVES:
1: PREDICTABLE WAY OF STORYTELLING.
2: PREDICTABLE TWIST DOES NOT CREATE ANY SURPRISES.
3: SOME MAY FEEL THE DURATION OF THE FILM IS LENGTHY.
•ONE WORD: RRR offers the best theatrical experience, an engaging action drama.
•STORY IDEA:
RRR tells a fictitious story which is inspired by the life of two freedom fighters called Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju. A small girl called Vali from Gond Tribe who is good at singing and painting is taken away by British officers as a slave. Bheem (NTR Jr) who comes from the same tribe takes the responsibility to bring back the girl. But a British Cop called Ram (Ram Charan) will get in the path of Bheem and they will get emotionally connected as brothers but Ram is on a secret goal of his own to fight against the British. Can Bheem save the girl, how can he cross Ram, what is the secret goal of Ram and will Ram and Bheem be able to achieve their goal is what the rest of the story is unfolding.
•ANALYSIS INTO DIRECTION, STORY, SCREENPLAY & DIALOGUES:
After the industrial blockbuster film Bahubali, S. S Rajamouli is back again with RRR, the top-rated anticipated film of the year. S.S Rajamouli himself handles the screenplay and the story is written by veteran writer K. V. Vijayendra Prasad and the dialogues are written by Madan Karlay. RRR is produced by D. V. V. Danayya under his production company DVV Entertainment. RRR is distributed by various companies like Lyca Productions in Tamil Nadu, Pen Studios in North India, Thameens Films in Kerala and KNV Productions in Karnataka. RRR is made upon a massive budget of 400 Crores and holds a running time of 187 minutes, the film is currently running in theatres with an IMAX version on a 100 percent of occupancy.
We all know the capability of S. S. Rajamouli, through the previous films he had proved his brilliance and the Bahubali franchise still makes the heart. So now he is back with RRR, a movie made of four hundred crores and in the public promotion of RRR what he promises was a spectacular cinematic experience and without making any errors he had made RRR one of the best technical attracting films of recent times. It’s all about his craftsmanship and confidence, his passionate way of filmmaking and his profound manner of writing the script that turned RRR into an enjoyable ride. The cinematic experience offered by RRR was a magnificent visual treat, S. S. Rajamouli had significantly used modern techniques in filmmaking and his comprehended knowledge on the modern trend had given me a priceless cinematic experience, my recent best FDFS. How to organise and conduct a film on a large scale with the two biggest Superstars was revealing the visionary and creativity of S. S. Rajamouli, no matter how much the budget is, once again he has proven that he won’t fail to create a big impact.
NTR Jr and Ram Charan are currently the biggest stars of the Telugu Film industry with a huge fan base so there should be equivalent momentum and actors must have proportional space. So how the director S. S. Rajamouli uses these actors equally and how their combination is getting worked is a tough job to do but in RRR the job was skillfully done by S. S. Rajamouli. He had given the right space for two of the actors, for performing also both were having lots to do and the screen space of Ram Charan and NTR Jr was maintained on a balanced level, both of their fans will be satisfied. The introduction given for NTR Jr and Ram Charan was mind-blowing, the strength and power of the character were introduced strenuously. So how the director and writers had built the story with their combination was ratifying for something big, a promising start was delivered by the makers. The script is composed of the emotions of friendship and brotherhood, that relationship plays an important role and a dramatic flashback is followed, therefore, how all these aspects make the connection for a convincing climax was thoroughly engaging, one won’t feel any sort of boredom or uncertainty.
S. S. Rajamouli takes enough time to establish the story, the screenplay was stored with the proper scenes to make a good start. How the characters of NTR Jr and Ram Charan meet, how they are getting as friends and apart from friendship how they will get emotionally bonded as brothers and finally what are their aims and what’s their hidden goal was written systematically. No confusion was created in the writing, their entire scenario was having the right momentum and the emotional connection between both characters had worked out genuinely to make a mass impact. The first half is all about their relationship and the second is filled with a family flashback of Ajay Devgn’s character Venkata Rama Raju. The post interval scene is something big, in those scenes actions speak louder than words. The conflicts happening between the characters of NTR Jr and Ram Charan is what makes the second half special. The misunderstanding happening between the central characters and the realisation of the actual truth makes the way for the climax. The entire climax is packed with dynamic action sequences, the combined fight of NTR Jr and Ram Charan was a treat to watch, the visual effects and the stunts will surely fascinate everyone.
Some elements didn’t work out in the second half, the shocking interval scene was promising for something big and my expectation was a little bit high. After the interval the second half had started with a scene of punishment, those scenes were creating the right effect on the mind. During the mid-second half, the flashback was introduced and I found those scenes as strictly average. The character of Ajay Devgn as Venkata Rama Raju, Alia Bhatt as Sita and Shriya Saran as Sarojini appears to do a crucial role but their character was moderately written. A depth was missing from their characters, Ajay Devgn was impressive, his looks and coaching came out well. But the character of Alia Bhatt was poor, it was like a dull cameo. The combination scene between Alia Bhatt and Ram Charan was missing chemistry, their love, romance and chemistry were miserably executed and written. The next drawback is the predictable way of storytelling, from the very beginning till the end the film offers the best cinematic experience but it lacks to create some twists and turns. The intended twist doesn’t surprise much because of the predictability. The changing shift of the movie from one angle to another is easily understandable, where it will change and what is going to happen can be rectified by anyone. Also, the logic doesn’t apply for the heroes of RRR, these are not a major issue, all these small cons are defeated by the superlative making held by S. S. Rajamouli and his team.
•PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS:
N. T. Rama Rao Jr. & Ram Charan plays the central character of RRR, it’s their stellar show. Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Alison Doody, Ray Stevenson, Olivia Morris, Samuthirakani and Rajeev Kanakala join the casting.
The biggest attraction of the film RRR was its first announcement, two biggest SuperStar from the Telugu industry joining together for an S. S. Rajamouli film, I was shocked after hearing that NTR Jr and Ram Charan are the actors selected by S. S. Rajamouli. After the direction the biggest success factor of the film RRR is the performance of NTR Jr and Ram Charan, both of them nailed it. Their chemistry and how they jointly performed is the highlight, their combination scene will give us a delightful experience. Their teamwork to make this film successful was apparent from the very beginning, both of them had given their best with lots of hard work and dedication. The different kind of emotion which passes through their combination scene is what makes the film appealing. For example sorrows, anger, friendship and brotherhood were pleasingly going through their entire performance and at the end, as a viewer, I was able to connect with their character. An emotional attachment was felt with the characters, their happiness, their needs, their anger and their relationship bonding will contrive us and I was easily able to get into their world. All this is because of their performance, NTR Jr and Ram Charan equally stood to make their character an unforgettable one.
NTR Jr as Komaram Bheem did an exceptional performance, his voice and it’s power was awesome to hear. We can see the real sensations through his voice, he passes the exact emotions through it and the manner he uses to express the feelings through the dialogue was surprising. The real aggression on anger and the soft way of conveying the emotional scenes was vigorously handled by him without any flaw. The kind of expression which we can see on his face was also intense, especially when looking into his eyes. NTR Jr’s eyes were crammed with anger, aggression, love, affection and care, his eyes and the looks with it was proving his excellence in acting. He also reliably performed the action sequences, his moves, and the style while doing the fight was interesting to watch. The chemistry he shared with Ram Charan was realistic, I didn’t feel any kind of dull moments, the paired action sequences were compelling me to make loud whistles. Ram Charan as Alluri Sitarama Raju delivered a career-best performance. The most interesting part of his character was the transformation of two shades, how he had adapted himself into it and how he performed with two different mannerisms proved his enormous acting skills. As a British officer and as a rebel who fought for freedom was genuinely undertaken by him, his commitment to the character needs a big thumbs up. His physical gymnastic body and the physical strength he showed was enthusiastic. The dialogue delivery was spontaneous, he also exhibited a natural way of expressing the anger, it was loud and showed the manner of a brave fighter. The emotional scenes with NTR Jr had also worked out, his acting was denoting the true friendship. His combination scene with Alia Bhatt doesn’t come out well because of the lack of depth in the relationship.
Alia Bhatt as Sitha was not having much to perform, someone could have done the role instead of her, still she does her acting well. Ajay Devgn appears with an extended cameo performance which was unexpected. His actions and stunts with guns were intriguing to watch, also his portions were filled with some important dialogues and he had presented it authentically. Shriya Saran also makes an extended guest appearance. She shared a great combination with Ajay Devgn, her emotional sequences looked rightful with satisfying dialogue delivery.
•MUSIC AND BACKGROUND SCORE:
The musical works for the film RRR are composed by M. M. Keeravani, which includes the background score and the total number of the songs in the soundtrack of RRR is six songs. The song “Naathu Koothu” is now on the hit chart from the time of its release. Rahul Sipligunj and Yazin Nizar’s vocals and singing style were fantastic with drastic strength and the lyrics of Chandrabose had spread the words of friendship and brotherhood. The dance moves of N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan were matching the song and their combination had made the song more glorious. The song “Naathu Koothu” sung by Anirudh Ravichander had reminded the vibe of Bahubali’s first part two song called “Siva Sivaya Potri” and “Deerane”. The lyrics of Madhan Karky were symbolising the courage of a powerful hero and the lyrics also pointed to the sides of trust and friendship. The beats of the drum and the violin notes at the end was mesmerising for the ears. The song “Uyire” is the soul anthem of RRR, the vocals of chorus and with the voice of M. M. Keeravaani had given the patriotic feel. The fights of freedom fighters and their sacrifices were shown amazingly and both the song and visuals have the power to make people emotional. “Komuram Beemano” is also one of the unique songs among the soundtrack, the vocals of Kaala Bhairava was like revolutionary storytelling, the braveness of the character ‘Komaram Bheem’ was shown ideally and one will feel his power and sacrifices. The song “Raamam Raaghavam” was entirely different from other songs, the electrical jazz beats and the classical touch with the western style of music had given an unusual experience. The vocals of Vijay Prakash, Chandana Bala Kalyan and Charu Hariharan were making the song dynamic, their sudden voice shift and the classical pitches and the high notes made the songs vibrant. The song “Etthara Jenda” was like a real tribute to the real freedom fighter, the vocals of Vishal Mishra, Prudhvi Chandra, M.M. Keeravaani, Sahithi Chaganti and Harika Narayan were good, everyone sang their part well.
The background score tuned by M. M. Keeravaani was a phenomenal work, his background tunes were dominating the entire film to maintain the proper sense and momentum. Depending on the type of scene M. M. Keeravaani had given the appropriate background music to set the premise. None of the background scores was incompatible, it retained the precision feel and an extra amount of depth was able to be given by the background score. The action scene was equalised by the fabulous background score, the mood of thrill and excitement was overflowing and the background score was also one of the reasons why the action sequences looked terrific. The fights of NTR Jr and Ram Charan were lifting the entire film to the high peak of success and those scenes were having the backup of some extraordinary background score. Here M. M. Keeravaani had clearly understood what kind of background score should be composed to make an impression among viewers so to influence the audience he had brought out various remarkable tunes. During some action moves by NTR Jr and Ram Charan he injects the scenes with the pertinent background score so it had given more impact and excitement for the viewing experience. The emotional scenes were also levelled with the sentimental tunes, there are many heart-rending scenes and every single emotional scene was holding the stirring weepy sad feel. The combination of scenes of NTR Jr and Ram Charan is tightened with various kinds of emotions, their sentimental scenes, brotherhood and the fight within them is what makes the movie forward. So to give the proper profundity about their relationship the background score had obtained the desired level to make an influence, in every scene with the help of the background score one will feel the intensity of their relationship.
•PRODUCTION DESIGN:
The production design of RRR is made by Sabu Cyril. We all know his calibre and how good he is in making production design, after the film Bahubali the director S. S Rajamouli had once again handed over the production job to Sabu Cyril, the trust of a director is what we can see. The budget of RRR is massive and like always S. S Rajamouli films are well known for their huge big creative sets. In RRR also the pattern follows, in this film we can see some tremendous artwork of Sabu Cyril. The constructed set of Aluminium Factory for the action sequences was remarkable, the fight was properly suited for the set. An 18 Crore has been spent for a set replicating an entire village, their tradition, loving style, their living houses and their living environmental habitat was genuinely created by the Art Department and the production designer. The set which was made to make the resemblances of Delhi looked exactly like the one in the 20th century. It was constructed appropriately, the surroundings were exact and the pattern of the building and the surroundings with the vehicles were matching the visuals of the 20th century. The large deep forest which made for the action sequences was also intriguing, the trees, the soil and the premise of greenery were exactly like a jungle. Another well-constructed set was made for the combination scene of Ram Charan and Alia Bhatt, the song had showcased the 1920s period with an adequate historical touch. The song “Dosti” was specially made by the production designer Sabu Cyril, Annapurna studio was perfect for the song. The firework arrangements and the lighting methods were unusual and the object in the set was a highlighting factor, especially the two big joining hands, symbolizing the bond between NTR Jr and Ram Charan.
•IMAX EXPERIENCE:
The experience I got through the IMAX screen is hard to explain because it was fascinating till the end. I was not able to believe my eyes, the visual quality and the detailed high resolution was giving some magical experience for my ears. The seventy mm high definition resolution and the Dolby sound effects were taking my mind and soul into the cinema like I am being a part of what I am seeing. The overhead speaker’s effect was awesome, the wall to wall screen was filled with visuals without any ratio, and till the end, I couldn’t take my eyes from the screen. For the price, IMAX offers the best incredible cinematic experience and I will highly recommend the IMAX version of RRR to everyone.
•TECHNCIAL ASPECTS:
RRR is a movie with spectacular technical brilliance, it’s an S.S Rajamouli so obviously how the movie will be perfect in terms of technicality is unquestionable. The cinematography, editing, CGI, production, art department, costumes, sound design, visual effects and locations had come out stunningly without any errors. The cinematography for the film is handled by K. K. Senthil Kumar which was truly fascinating. The frames and his shots were having a predominant power to carry the movie forward. The way the cinematographer captured the visuals will make us wonder, there were many unbelievable shots with many rapid camera movements. For the action sequences, the camera work was possessed with different kinds of shots and every shot was composed according to the plot. The wide-angle frames were flawlessly captured especially during the fight scene, in those fight sequences the body grace of the central characters while performing the stunts were swankily creating a charming atmosphere. There is a scene where Ram Charan on the ground standing with more than five hundreds of junior artists to beat them all was shot with wide-angle frames and close-up shots, that scene was epic. In that specific scene, the wide-angle frames were faultlessly snapping those huge countless junior artists. Also, in that scene the Ram Charan beating hundreds of junior artists with the lathy stick and the pains suffered by them was like a magical frame, a clear vision of a good cinematographer was able to be seen. The entire cinematography of RRR is like a visual treat, the periodical time with the tribal culture on a vast jungle and the thrilling fights for survival were contributing with the best visual elements for a must-watch theatre experience. Also how the cinematographer used the closeup frames to underhead the emotions of the various characters was nice to watch on the big screen. Their crying, their sorrow, the change of behaviour in them, their instinctive mind to fight for justice and the relationship of friendship and brotherhood was acted out amazingly so here the cinematographer had put more effort to showcase their acting skills. The intensity of the performance was seen luminously and their perfection in carrying out the facial expression was captured vividly by the cameraman. The beauty of the jungle and greenery was safer in the wide-angle shots and the outdoor locations of the palace and jungles were also shot precisely. The fast-paced track and trolley shot of NTR running in the jungle to hunt down the tiger was visually pleasing and the shots were extraordinary to create an impact. The same principle was also applied to the action sequences happening in the forest, the bike chase of British officials with the guns shot was superbly executed on the track and trolly method. The lighting methods organized by the cinematographer deserves huge applause, as a periodical film the old way of electricity and the lights of the lamp was used plenty so how did these lights tone with the artificial lighting for the indoor sequences had made me wondrous. The made-up artificial lighting conditions were exactly like the old period times and it had created an extra good appearance. The fight happening between NTR Jr and Ram Charan is undoubtedly brilliant, it will make every viewer thrilled and the style of their fight was captured stylishly and shots of their face to face fight will be unforgettable. The experience of A. Sreekar Prasad in editing is unmistakable, he is an example of a good classic editor. In RRR his whole editing work was top class, with no mismatches and the cuts were truly perfect. The duration of the movie is three hours and I thought why he didn’t trim the lengthy duration but like is said his experience is the answer. He was having thoughtful ideas on where to make a cut and what all needed to be avoided, I didn’t feel the duration was lengthy. His colour grading was also nice and the transition of the scene to the next was also on the right chain. The costume department’s work on bringing out the best costumes had worked out. As a periodical movie, the script is demanding the style and dressing pattern of the 1920’ so here the costume department had made the appropriate dresses for every character. The costume of British officials also looked real, their way of dressing, the stitching methods and the fit were precise to match their way of style. The graphical works and CGI were having the proper standard, a quality was retained on the demanding scene. The stunts and fights looked shinier because of the startling graphics, none of them felt cliched and was matching for the scenarios. The sound design was excellent, the Dolby sound system was giving an extra dazzling experience for the ears and the overheard speakers effect and also the 360 degrees sound format was gaining lots of attention for the ears.
•DUBBING:
Alia Bhatt’s character was average but her dubbing went steadily, lip-syncing issues did not feel like an issue. The dubbing artist who had given voice for the character of Ajay Devgn had done an incredible job, his performance was matching the vocals of the dubbing artist. The intense sound and the seriousness was brought properly by the dubbing artist and the voice was matching the personality of Ajay Devgn.
•CONCLUSION:
So overall to conclude RRR has given me a fabulous cinematic experience, this film is truly a great entertainer. The smart making of S. S Rajamouli had made RRR visually amusing, the top class production quality with the technical brilliance and the performance from Ram Charan and NTR Jr makes RRR one of the extraordinary films of this year. I will truly recommend RRR to everyone, the film itself is a big surprise and don’t miss this spectacular visual treat.
(Important: Try to watch RRR in a theatre having 4K Resolution with Dolby Sound Effects, you won’t regret.)
- VERDICT: A WORTH WATCH VISUAL TREAT.
- RATING: 4/5
