Why has the Indian film ‘RRR’ succeeded on Netflix?

The list of the best superhero movies has an unexpected entry in 2022 in the form of Indian excess that mixes musical, disproportionate CGI and a love for unbridled and impossible action that will delight (also) lovers of the most bizarre cinema but, what the hell is ‘rrr’? How an Indian mega-production has sneaked into the most watched Netflix movie catalog? Are there really more movies like ‘RRR’?

‘RRR’: Beyond Bollywood

Although it is generally used to designate any production from India, ‘RRR’ is not part of the brand we know as Bollywoodthe epicenter of its industry located in the north of the country and the best-known branch of its film culture.

The explosive current in which this gigantic epic is framed, already present among the best action movies on Netflix that you must see, fits better in the market known as Tollywood, that is, films that emerged from the southern statessuch as Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and the Yanam district, where Telugu is its official language and of which SS Rajamouli, director of ‘RRR’, is its highest representative.

Titles that have managed to cross borders, such as ‘Bharat Ane Nenu’ (Koratalla Siva, 2018) ‘Rangasthalam’ (Sukumar, 2018), ‘Saaho’ (Sujeeth, 2019), ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’ (Trivikram Srinivas, 2020) and the magnetic ‘Pushpa: The Rise – Part 1 ‘(Sukumar, 2021) They are part of his legacy.

SS Rajamouli, the director of ‘RRR’

SS Rajamouli is not exactly a newcomer. Since his directorial debut in 2001 with the romantic ‘Student No. 1’, it became more than clear that what he wanted was to shoot impossible action scenes and, little by little, his filmography turned into a collection of fantastic stories that, always With Telugu mythology as a background, they gave us moments as epic as they were impossible in the Western market.

This is how, in 2015, he achieved the largest budget ever granted for an Indian production and premiered the essential ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’, which would be followed by its closure in 2017, ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’, the two box office hits that, until now, topped the country’s historical film collection list.

And we say so far because, yes, Amareshwara’s James Cameron has broken all records again with ‘RRR’again India’s most expensive film and also the biggest box office hit thanks to some of cinema’s weirdest superheroes.

But what is ‘RRR’?

“A fearless warrior on a dangerous mission faces a fierce policeman in the service of British forces in this epic saga set in pre-independence India,” states the brief synopsis of ‘RRR’, acronym for “Rise Roar Revolt” (Rising Roar Revolution), which pits Bheem and Raju, the warrior and the policeman who will join forces before realizing that circumstances will force them against each other, in a superhero bromance.

Impossible colors, battles that would make Peter Jackson from ‘The Hobbit’ blush and some of the best fights in superhero movies populate this crazy wonder destined to be dismembered on social networks to become different viral memes via TikTok.

This is not marvel in Tollywood, as in Nollywood, the limitations are only set by the imagination, there is nothing that can stop continuity, a meeting of shareholders or the very technical limitations. If Rajamouli wants it, Rajamouli has it.