RRR

[Drunk Monk]

It's been a while since I've indulged in any Bollywood, and man, I missed it. 

But to be specific, RRR is Tollywood - it's a Telugu film, not Bombay (or Mumbai as it's really called), not Hindi. But y'all don't care about that. You want to know if you should check out the biggest budget Indian film made to date. It's also the 3rd highest Indian grosser domestically and the 2nd globally.

Let's cut to the chase - I totally D00M recommend this even though it is a whopping 3+ hours long and has lots of cultural baggage you won't understand. It's got some eye-popping stuff in it - panoramic crowd sequences, ridiculously absurd action, delicious dance numbers, sappy nationalism, and the sort of karmic plot twists so prevalent in Indian cinema that it's well worth the watch. It's deep Tollywood but a good taste of how this genre works. 

But let me let you in on a little secret. I've often said that if you set the gratuitous slo-mo so pervasive in Indian cinema to a normal speed, they wouldn't be so freaking long. Netflix lets you do this. There's a function that lets you increase your play speed to 1.5 or 2 (you can also slow it down if your watching it on percoset or something). I bumped it up and hardly noticed, except for a frantic dance number that became almost Benny Hill level frenetic and increased my enjoyment of it tenfold. 

Also, if you're white, well, the Brits are total assholes in this. It's about rebels against the empire. Oh wait... yeah, just don't think about this part too much, any of you. There's one nice Brit. And she's hawt. Focus on her.

This imagines that two of India's historic freedom fighters in the 1920s were friends - Rama Raju and Komaram Bheem. But Rama is a deep cover cop tracking Bheem, who is also in deep cover, disguised as a muslim to rescue little girl kidnapped by those asshole Brits. They bond over the most absurd rescue of a fisher boy, trapped under a bridge where a randomly exploding train is spilling fire everywhere. It's an insane sequence that hardly makes a lick of sense, but it is glorious in its unabashed defiance of logic and physics in pursuit of cinematic action. 

There's a dance off against the Brits that is exuberant and explosive. Explosive describes so much in this film - the battle scenes take an almost Michael Bay level of digital explosions and flying bodies. But yeah, great dance scene - it delivers like great Indian cinema should. 

Then there's the action. I have this ultravi chuckle when I see something fresh. This got me a few times. The action is so absurd that I loved it, gratuitous slo-mo and all. It's brutal, balletic, sanguineous, and I daresay tongue-in-cheek in some of the coup de graces. That's what yanked me in. Bodies fly in every direction. The first crowd fight - one man against thousands - works astonishingly well. The palace raid had me at the surprise opening charge - like WTH? Are they reallhy going there?!? Dang. I'm all in. The prison break scene reminded me of El Topo in a good way. The action is so over the top that I just revelled in how beautifully and unapologetically dumb it was - almost to the level of high art. 

There's one cultural thing to keep in mind that might help you digest this. Rama and Bheem are named after two mythic characters from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata respectively. At a certain point in the film, these historic characters become incarnations or avatars of these gods. This helps to explain their godlike powers as well as many nods to those classic legends. It's kinda like Thor in the MCU. You just got to accept that or it won't make sense. Despite its historical allegory, it's better viewed as a park your brain outside movie. 

So yeah, D00M recommended with the caveat to bump up the speed a notch or two. Eager to hear if this works for anyone else here. 

[Greg]

I'm currently reading The Anarchy about the history of the East India Company so don't really need the heads up about the Brits.

This will have to wait until tQ departs. She would not be a fan especially at 3+

[Drunk Monk]

Use that Netflix function and speed it up. I luv Indian flix but I felt this was vastly improved when sped up.

tQ would hate the subtitles. A lot is in English, because you know, those asshole Brits, and there are several scenes where one person is speaking English and the other is speaking Telugu and somehow they communicate. The language barrier only comes into play with the flirting with Bheem and the nice Brit hawtie. 

I just remembered the dance sequence kept repeating the chorus 'nacho nacho'. At least, that's what it sounded like. 



SPOILER ALERT - this dance number is vastly improved at 1.5 or 2 speed.

[Greg]

I feel the need. The need for speed.

[cranefly]

Started watching this, ran into the slow-mo stuff (almost immediately), paused out of it to look for the speed setting.  Couldn't find find a settings area in Netflix.

I was watching on TV.  Do you watch on a laptop, where there's more controls?  I'll kick around online for info in a bit.  For now, I need to prepare for a horror documentary covering the last five years (possibly to be continued).

[Drunk Monk]

I watch Netflix on an AppleTv box. That’s a bummer if it’s not a universal thing.

[Greg]

I'm watching Netflix on the Apple Box now because of the problems with the Smart TV. RRR is on the queue for the upcoming week.

[Drunk Monk]

Sep 20, 2022 10:43am PT
‘RRR’ Team Reacts to India Not Selecting It for Oscars, Urges Academy to Vote for It in Other Categories
Variance Films will launch a full awards campaign and will seek the best picture nomination
By Clayton Davis





[color=var(--color-brand-secondary-50)]
[color=var(--color-brand-secondary-50)]DVV Entertainment[/color][/color]

India has selected Pan Nalin’s “Last Film Show” (“Chhello Show”) to represent the country in the best international feature category at the upcoming 95th Academy Awards, but it’s not going over well in social media circles. That’s due to the popularity and love for the historical epic, “RRR” from S.S. Rajamouli, which has been a fan-favorite and box office hit stateside. 
The good news is the U.S. distributor for the film has opted to launch a full awards campaign for the action drama and is calling on the 10,000 Academy members to consider voting for the film in all categories.
“RRR” will be submitted for best picture, director (S.S. Rajamouli), original screenplay (Rajamouli and V. Vijayendra Prasad), lead actor (for both N.T. Rama Rao Jr and Ram Charan), supporting actor (Ajay Devgn), supporting actress (Alia Bhatt), original song (“Naatu Naatu”), original score (M.M. Keeravaani), cinematography, production design, film editing, costume design, makeup and hairstyling, sound and visual effects.
The film is not yet available on the Academy Streaming Room, which is part of a strategy to get as many voters to see it on the big screen in order to highlight its epic scale and breathtaking visuals.
“Over the last six months, we have seen the joy that S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ has brought to global audiences,” says the president of Variance Films, Dylan Marchetti. “We have seen the film gross over $140 million worldwide to become one of India’s highest grossing films of all time and become the first film in history to trend globally on Netflix for over 14 weeks. We have seen the film fill up theaters with cheering audiences months after its initial release, including the historic TCL Chinese IMAX theater in Hollywood, where it will play next Friday to an audience that sold out of one of the largest theaters in the country in just 15 minutes. Most importantly, we have heard fans from around the world tell us that they believe this is one of the best films of the year from any nation.  We agree. We proudly invite the Academy to consider ‘RRR’ in all categories.”
The three-hour action epic follows two patriotic but philosophically opposed men (Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr.), who team up to rescue a girl from British colonial officials in 1920s Delhi. A global smash with huge box office receipts, the film found a pathway to the American cultural zeitgeist with consumers discovering it on Netflix. The film, distributed by Variance Films in the U.S., has been one of the most popular titles of the year, becoming a trending topic on social media over the past few months.
With ₹240 crores (US $30 million) worldwide on its first day, “RRR” broke the record for the biggest opening day collectively earned by an Indian film.
Spoken in the Telugu language, it would have represented the first “Tollywood” film to enter the Oscar race, but politics can play a role in what the country has submitted over the years. In Oscar history, only three Indian films have been nominated for best international feature — ”Mother India” (1957), “Salaam Bombay!” (1988) and “Lagaan” (2001), and none have won.

Full disclosure: I haven’t seen “Last Film Show,” a partly autobiographical drama set against the backdrop of Indian cinemas witnessing a massive transition from celluloid to digital — a story that seems to be fitting with a common trend of humanity’s love for cinema with films like “The Fabelmans” and “Empire of Light” in the Oscar mix.
As we’ve seen with nearly every Academy Awards ceremony, it’s not always about “what is the best” but rather “what they’ve seen.” So India’s missteps of not selecting “The Lunchbox” (2013) or “The Disciple” (2020), which many presumed to be “slam dunk” choices, fit their most recent move.
With the film out of the running for international feature, the studio is hopeful that Academy voters will be more inclined to check it off. In addition, Variance Films is hoping it can make waves like other non-English language films not representing its countries, such as “City of God” (2003), which was nominated for directing, or last year’s “Parallel Mothers,” which nabbed mentions for Penelope Cruz and original score.

I just got tapped to interview the director S.S. Rajamouli. He also did Bahubaali - http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=3565

---

And there's more...

Sep 22, 2022 8:46am PT
‘RRR’ Filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli Signs With CAA, Sets Action-Adventure With Mahesh Babu

By Naman Ramachandran
Plus Icon





[color=var(--color-brand-secondary-50)]
[color=var(--color-brand-secondary-50)]DVV Entertainment[/color][/color]

Entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) has signed Indian filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli. 
Rajamouli’s “RRR,” starring NTR Jr and Ram Charan, has been making waves around the world since it released in March and has collected some $150 million, making it the fourth highest grossing Indian film of all time. 
The Hindi-language dubbed version of “RRR,” a film originally made in the Telugu-language, is the only non-English-language film to trend globally for 10 consecutive weeks on Netflix.    
Another film by Rajamouli, 2017’s “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion” is the second highest grossing film of all time in India with $278 million. Next up for Rajamouli is an as-yet-untitled film staring Mahesh Babu, which he has described as a globe-trotting action-adventure. The film will commence production in the spring of 2023.
Rajamouli’s credits also include “Magadheera,” “Eega” and “Maryada Ramanna.” 
“RRR” was recently snubbed as India’s entry in the Oscars’ international feature category in favor of Pan Nalin’s “Last Film Show.” 
An action-drama set in the 1920s, the historical fiction story by Vijayendra Prasad and Rajamouli imagines real-life Indian freedom fighters Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (NTR Jr) meeting and becoming fast friends. The occupying colonial British are their common enemy.
Variance Films, the film’s U.S. distributor, will launch a full awards campaign for “RRR” and is calling on the 10,000 Academy members to consider voting for the film in all categories.
“RRR” will be submitted for best picture, director (Rajamouli), original screenplay (Rajamouli and Vijayendra Prasad), lead actor (for both NTR Jr and Ram Charan), supporting actor (Ajay Devgn), supporting actress (Alia Bhatt), original song (“Naatu Naatu”), original score (M.M. Keeravaani), cinematography, production design, film editing, costume design, makeup and hairstyling, sound and visual effects.
“Over the last six months, we have seen the joy that S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ has brought to global audiences,” said the president of Variance Films, Dylan Marchetti. “We have heard fans from around the world tell us that they believe this is one of the best films of the year from any nation. We agree. We proudly invite the Academy to consider ‘RRR’ in all categories.”

Interview is scheduled for Zoom at 3:30 today.

---

He also did Eega, which was retitled as Makkhi in Hindi (SS is Tollywood, so his films are in Telugu and have to be dubbed into Hindi)
http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=3776

[Drunk Monk]

The film is not yet available on the Academy Streaming Room, which is part of a strategy to get as many voters to see it on the big screen in order to highlight its epic scale and breathtaking visuals.
“Over the last six months, we have seen the joy that S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ has brought to global audiences,” says the president of Variance Films, Dylan Marchetti. “We have seen the film gross over $140 million worldwide to become one of India’s highest grossing films of all time and become the first film in history to trend globally on Netflix for over 14 weeks. We have seen the film fill up theaters with cheering audiences months after its initial release, including the historic TCL Chinese IMAX theater in Hollywood, where it will play next Friday to an audience that sold out of one of the largest theaters in the country in just 15 minutes. Most importantly, we have heard fans from around the world tell us that they believe this is one of the best films of the year from any nation.  

I was invited to the TCL Chinese IMAX screening next Friday. There's also a sidecar theatrical screening of Eega. 

If only I lived in Hollywood...

[Greg]

Road Trip!

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Started this last night. Will finish tomorrow night. Man, those Brits are Eeeeeeevil!

[Drunk Monk]

Except for the British hawtty. She's nice. And hawt...

How far did you get?

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

British Hawty just introduced

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

“Have you ever heard of…Desi Naach?” and the dancing begins!

[Drunk Monk]

NAACHO NAACHO!!!