SS Rajamouli: RRR is about emotions, culture unique to Indian soil

RRR, the historical fiction drama, filmmaker SS Rajamouli's magnum opus, starring Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, Olivia Morris, Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran in lead roles, is hardly 10 days away from a grand release in five languages across the globe. After a grand promotional tour in Mumbai, the film's team came together for a pre-release event in Chennai yesterday. Udhyanidhi Stalin, Siva Karthikeyan were the special guests at the event, where SS Rajamouli elaborated at length about the making of the film.

"Regardless of how much you grow or succeed in life, there's a fear when you meet your headmaster back in your school again. Chennai is that school and the headmaster for me and it has made me what I am today. The producer DVV Danayya gave me an advance nearly 13 years ago to make a big film in his banner. I had to make many films in this phase - Eega, Maryada Ramanna and Baahubali - but he was patient about the project and was sure that he would want a monumental film. That's the reason why RRR happened and I'll remain indebted to him for the faith in my abilities," Rajamouli said.

"Thank you Subaskaran for backing RRR's Tamil version and I hope it will be a crowning glory among his achievements with Lyca. You see the world by sitting on the shoulders of your parents and brothers in childhood. And that's what my father V Vijayendra Prasad and brother MM Keeravaani are doing to me - holding me high and introducing me to the world - even as I'm nearing 50 years. Every film has five Pandavas, who are its pillars. For RRR, it was production designer Sibu Cyril, cinematographer K Senthil Kumar, costume designer Rama, editor Sreekar Prasad and VFX supervisor Srinivas Mohan," he added.

Rajamouli shared that the film has another pan-Indian dimension too, with respect to its crew. "While Senthil is a Tamilian residing in Hyderabad, Sreekar Prasad and Srinivas Mohan are Telugu-speaking people living in Chennai. Sibu Cyril may be based in Kerala, but he travels around the country for work. It's only my better half Rama Rajamouli, who stays with me in Hyderabad. RRR is about emotions and culture unique to Indian soil. We're showcasing that in a magnified perspective on the big screen."

Talking about the film's stars, Jr NTR and Ram Charan, he said, "I needed two canons to bring this film to life, whose presence will hit audiences like a thunderbolt. RRR needed two stars who trust me as a friend, filmmaker, go through a lot of pain and difficulty over a span of three years. Jr NTR is always the one who keeps fighting with me. He tells me that he's my student but I too learn from him, the same goes with Ram Charan as well. If the film is able to generate pre-release sales of over $ 2 million in the US, it's all because of Jr NTR and Ram Charan and not me."

"Jr NTR is a child at heart and is extremely energetic on sets. We understand each other so well that we don't even need to communicate about shots. Indian film industry must be pleased to have an actor like him now. I am thankful that he committed three years of his life to RRR. Also, I haven't met an actor who's so secure as Ram Charan in my life - he's like a blank paper on sets, in a near-meditative space, surrendering to the director completely. Both of them want to reach a particular stage in life but the two are poles apart, tread contrasting paths. As a director, I couldn't have asked for anything more."

Before signing off he mentioned, "Madhan Karky worked on this film as if it were his home production and I'm grateful to Samuthirakani for being a humble artiste on sets despite being such a big director in Tamil."