It had earlier won a Golden Globe award for best original song, and both the song and the movie also won big at the Critics’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, Naatu Naatu, a catchy, exuberant musical number from the film, was nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars. But since its release, the movie – which features Telugu-language stars Ram Charan and Jr NTR, and tells the fictional story of two real-life Indian revolutionaries fighting against British rule – has pushed many boundaries. The song “Naatu Naatu” also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards, making it the first and only Indian song to win at the Oscars.
T. Rama Rao Jr and Ram Charan as fictionalised versions of Indian revolutionaries Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju, respectively. The boisterous energy on display – common for films with superstars in Indian theatres – is a rare sight in the US. Word about the film spread as people flocked to watch it in theatres, critics wrote rave reviews and A-list Hollywood directors – including Anthony and Joe Russo, Edgar Wright, Scott Derrickson and James Gunn – praised it. BBC Culture film critics Nicholas Barber and Caryn James included it in their top 20 films of 2022. It has been included in several prestigious lists of best films of 2022, including that of the British Film Institute and National Board of Review in the US. It has been 10 months since action-fantasy film RRR hit theatres in India, but the conversation around it hasn’t died down.
The film is a fictionalised tale of two historical freedom fighters, set in the Indian pre-independence era. It marks the Telugu film debuts of Devgn, Bhatt, Stevenson, Doody and Morris. S. Rajamouli, who co-wrote the screenplay with V. Vijayendra Prasad.
A reviewer from Deccan Chronicle gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, “RRR is a fantastic film that’s meant for the big screen”. Janani K of India Today gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, “RRR is a terrific film with brilliant performances and amazing set-pieces”. The original Telugu-language version of the film was premiered on television on 14 August 2022 on Star Maa, and registered a television rating point of 19.62 according to Broadcast Audience Research Council, becoming the 11th most viewed film.
Stutee Ghosh of The Quint gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote, “Parts of RRR seem Ridiculous and Reductive it’s also absolutely Ravishing and for that it deserves to be seen and enjoyed”. Prateek Sur of Outlook India gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, “The film’s grand representation is what makes this a Must Watch”. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, “The film casts not just one super-star, but two of them – Jr NTR and Ram Charan. The biggest super-star among them all is SS Rajamouli and the audience also saved the loudest ‘taalis’ (claps) for him”. Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, “RRR is just the kind of visual treat that will bring people back to theatres”. Latha Srinivasan of Firstpost gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, “Ram Charan and Jr NTR’s offscreen friendship and camaraderie seep into their onscreen performances, and the organic transformation from strangers to brothers-in-arms has been captured beautifully”.
A special Q&A session also took place on stage conducted by BBC Radio broadcaster and film aw33 home critic Ashanti Omkar, with director S.S. RRR became the second non-English language film to be screened at the Royal Albert Hall in London, receiving a standing ovation. Lahari Music distributed the soundtrack in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam versions, whereas the Hindi version soundtrack is marketed by T-Series.
Richard Brody of The New Yorker felt that the film is “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”. Reviewing the film for The Austin Chronicle, Josh Hurtado called RRR a “bromantic action nirvana”. Sukanya Verma of Rediff gave the film a rating of 2/5 and wrote, “A copious amount of blood, beating, crying, saving, sacrificing, nationalism fills up its staggering three hours running time. Emotions run sky high, but you feel nothing”. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film a rating of 2/5 and wrote, “The film rings hollow because it never pauses for breath and does not grant its two male protagonists anything akin to recognizable human qualities although they do constantly harp on love and longing”.
Rama Rao headed to the Modakondamma Temple forest area in the Paderu–Araku road to film for five days in December 2019. The film’s official social media handle tweeted that 70% of the film’s shoot had been wrapped as of November. In August 2019, the production headed to Bulgaria to film the second schedule where the crew shot crucial scenes featuring Rama Rao. After their recovery, an action sequence featuring Charan, Rama Rao and 2000 junior artists was shot, reportedly at a cost more than ₹45 crore (US$4.7 million).