After Baahubali, SS Rajamouli delivers another power-packed but EXAGGERATED action extravaganza!
Read RRR Movie Review:
Director: SS Rajamouli
Cast: Ram Charan, Jr NTR, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Olivia Morris
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 3h 6 minutes
Storyline:
RRR (Rise, Roar, Revolt) is inspired by the pre-Independence Indian revolutionaries Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem and their fight against the British. However, it is a fictional story so don’t set your expectations for anything historically accurate.
The plot in itself is quite simple – Bheem (Jr NTR) is on a rescue mission to bring back Malli, a Gond tribal girl that the British forcibly take away when the Governor’s wife takes a fancy to her singing.
Along the way, he becomes a jigari dost of Rama Raju (Ram Charan), ekdum Jai and Veeru style! What Bheem doesn’t know is that he’s been fraternizing with the enemy coz… Rama Raju is a police officer under British rule. He is absolutely relentless in his ambition to rise in the ranks, crushing even the Indian protestors standing in his way.
Also Read: (RRR Movie BUDGET: ‘XXX’ CRORES!)
And when the opportunity to become a special officer strikes, Rama Raju takes it – he’s tasked with capturing Bheem alive. Except, he doesn’t know what Bheem looks like since all this while Bheem has been masquerading as the Muslim Akhtar in disguise.
Hmmm, so these two friends are TOTALLY oblivious to the fact that they’re both ACTUALLY each other’s enemies. Dost dost na raha? Rama-Bheem are like the 2 sides of the same coin but what happens when all the chips fall in place?
Watch RRR to find out!
What Do We Think?
RRR is a larger-than-life story of freedom and fraternity, and a hella melodramatic one at that. But it does get the emotion right and visually, it is a grand spectacle to behold. Meant to be viewed on a big screen.
But it demands a suspension of disbelief in some moments to be entertaining. Remember the coconut tree catapult scenes in Baahubali 2? RRR has plenty of over-the-top action sequences where the protagonists seem almost superhuman. Like Ram Charan single-handedly defeating a huge-ass mob… almost dying from a fatal snakebite yet bouncing back in no time at all! Or Jr NTR overpowering a ferocious tiger in a display of brute strength…
Ram Charan and Jr NTR’s chemistry as the ride-or-die friends is quite convincing and sweet. There’s also a slight side of comedy as the conversation between Bheem and his British love interest Jenny (Olivia Morris) gets lost in translation.
Coming to our Bollywood biggies – Alia Bhatt makes a very brief cameo appearance as Ram Charan’s ladylove Sita. Her role is not substantial enough to be talked about since she’s sobbing for like 70% of her screen time.
Ajay Devgn has a slightly heavier role than Alia, as the fierce village head training the youth for revolution with his angsty ‘Load, Aim, Shoot’ motto.
The performances are overall good, but RRR is meant to be viewed as a COMMERCIAL ACTIONER epic in all its testosterone-fueled glory. So, don’t go around trying to scrutinize the plot too closely.
Hit Or Miss?
It is an entertaining one-time watch. While the period-drama is quite predictable in its storytelling, there isn’t a dull moment in the over-the-top action. We only wish the songs were as good as the Baahubali franchise because this time none of them really stuck.