Very few directors enjoy stardom like leading actors and actresses in the movie business, and Rajamouli is definitely one of those few.
Three years back on Rajamouli’s 44th birthday, Karan Johar called S. S Rajamouli the best Indian director, and he tweeted, “Wishing the BEST director of Indian Cinema @ssrajamouli, a very very happy birthday! Master storyteller and genius visionary!” (sic). With films like Magadheera, Eega, Baahubali series, Rajamouli has proven that cinema is a director’s medium. Today, very few directors enjoy stardom equivalent to leading actors and actresses in the business, and Rajamouli is definitely one of those few. In his film career of 19 years in the Telugu film industry, he has had a 100 per cent strike rate. He has delivered 11 back-to-back hits, including the two-part Baahubali saga. The two-part series was made on a budget of Rs. 400 crores, and earned a total of about Rs. 1,800 crores from India and abroad. Baahubali managed to destroy the film divide between North and South India. Today, people across the country eagerly await the release of a Rajamouli film. Rajamouli films are distinguished more by his name than the actors who star in them. He has single-handedly put Telugu cinema on the world map with Baahubali. He was honoured with the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, for his contributions towards the field of art.
Despite being the son of legendary K. V. Vijayendra Prasad (screenwriter and director), Rajamouli began his career with television. He used to direct Telugu soap operas under the guidance of another Telugu cinema legend, K. Raghavendra. Rajamouli’s journey into films began in 2001 with Student No.1, starring Junior NTR. He has worked with the brightest stars from the Telugu film industry, including Ram Charan, Prabhas, Anushka Shetty, Tamannaah Bhatia, Rana Daggubati, Kajal Aggarwal, Kichcha Sudeep, Ravi Teja, Genelia D’Souza, and Junior NTR.
Ever since the release of Baahubali: The Conclusion in 2017, Rajamouli is swamped preparing for his next film. Initially, he was rumoured to make Mahabharata. Later on, there were rumours of a pan India film, Garuda, at a budget of Rs 1,000 crores. All these rumours were put to rest when he announced RRR as his next. RRR is a fictional tale of two warriors from pre-independence era — Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. At a press meet, Rajamouli said, “The inception of RRR happened when I watched the film Motorcycle Diaries.” He has managed a huge star cast with the likes of Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, and Ajay Devgn for the film. The film is considered to be the most expensive Indian film ever, and will be released simultaneously in five languages across India. It was supposed to release this year, but is now pushed to 2021.
Rajamouli’s year began with a bang in January, shooting with Ajay Devgn. In March, he was ready to showcase the first glimpse of the film. RRR’s title logo and motion poster were dropped on March 25. A day before, Rajamouli took to Twitter, requesting all the fans to enjoy the video from the comfort of their home, and avoid social gatherings. The video set social media ablaze, garnering crores of views in just a few days. After two days, on Ram Charan’s birthday, Rajamouli released Alluri Sitarama Raju’s character promo, which exceeded the audience’s expectations tenfold. The shoot of the film came to a halt because of the lockdown. But as the year progressed, things went south for the director. In July, Rajamouli and a few of his family members tested Covid positive. After recovery, on October 6, the prolific director went back on the sets of RRR with all the necessary safety precautions, to complete the remaining shoot of the film. Resilient as ever. We can’t wait for the director to blow our minds once more, with RRR.
