As the awards season approaches, fans can’t get enough of RRR, the Telugu epic from director SS Rajamouli. While it is an official entry from India, the movie has applied for all major categories for the Oscars, and rightfully so. As we’re only beginning to truly appreciate all the facets that the story covers, the director has recently revealed that a sequel, in a very premature stage, is in the works.
The celebrated director was speaking at the screening of his movie in Chicago where he confirmed to Variety, “My father is the story writer for all my films. We discussed a bit about [‘RRR 2’] and he’s working on the story.” Given it’s in a very early stage, no further details were provided. The director’s father, director/screenwriter V. Vijayendra Prasad previously wrote the Baahubali franchise, which paved the path for international recognition of Telugu cinema by becoming the first Indian movie to bag five nominations at the Saturn Awards. In the past, he has written some very commercially successful movies in Bollywood and Tollywood, like the Salman Khan starring Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the Ram Charan-led Magadheera, helmed by Rajamouli, the Jr NTR-led Yamadonga, and more. The father-son duo has worked on many projects, co-writing successfully. Given RRR’s success, they just might deliver another blockbuster for the global audience.
In RRR, Prasad took the fantastical elements and emotions from Indian epics such as Ramayana and the Mahabharata and fused them with the elements from India’s struggles with its colonizers and its road to independence. Set in the 1920s, the movie follows real-life Indian freedom fighters Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR) and Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan), who becomes best friends surrounded by a common goal and enemy. Rajamouli directs with a flare to tell an action-filled, thrilling tale while keeping the emotional core of the story intact. Made on a $72 million budget, it easily stands among one of the costliest movies made in India, finished with amazing VFX, signature slow-motion action sequences, dance, and music numbers, and some outstanding sequences.
While the movie did a good job of bringing the audience back to theaters post-pandemic, its unprecedented success could only be attributed to its premiere on Netflix. As it gathered unexpected praise and love from non-Hindi or Telugu-speaking fans around the world who united in the simple pleasure of witnessing the spectacle that RRR is. With several premieres across the globe like in the US and Japan, the movie has grossed US$175.47 million worldwide box office. If RRR is any indication, we are not even ready for the success of the sequel.
RRR is streaming on Netflix. You can check out the trailer below:
