We had a great time with Baahubali so it was always likely that we would this grander and better known epic in the same vein. It really is a bombastic film as we can see from the title itself which are the initials of the director S. S. Rajamoulin and the two male leads. Since it’s set in the modern era instead of far in the mythological past, the nationalism is more off-putting. I’d say it’s not too bad as throwing off British rule is a worthy cause and the action scenes are worth it. It’s ridiculously over the top in the characteristic style that India has forged for itself and the focus is on the brotherhood between the two heroes with the female leads having only a secondary role. I think I still like Baahubali more but this is a decent action epic too.
While visiting a village, the British Governor Scott Buxton and his wife abduct a little girl named Malli for her musical talent. The tribe’s protector Komaram Bheem travels to Delhi to rescue her but the police are aware of him and are searching for him. Meanwhile A. Rama Raju is a police officer who is determined to rise to the rank of Senior Officer. After helping to put down a mob, he volunteers to hunt for Bheem. The two meet each other without each knowing who the other person is when they team up to save a boy from a train wreck. They instantly become best friends and Raju even helps Bheem approach a British girl who he is attracted to. Naturally the two clash when Raju narrows down the suspects and Bheem proceeds with his rescue plan. What Bheem doesn’t realize that Raju is secretly a revolutionary who joined the police only to gain access to modern firearms in order to distribute them to his village.
The story relies on some silly tricks to prevent Raju and Bheem from realizing they each are, even to the point where the film itself makes fun of it. The drama of friendship, betrayal and regret, over and over again is really overwrought but such is the style of Indian cinema. This gives them plenty of opportunities to fight each other and really those are the best fights in the film. Of course once they team up against the British, they totally roll over them so badly it’s not even close. I’d rate this below Baahubali as an action spectacle because the film doesn’t even try to establish anyone else as elite level fighters on par with these two and there is no battlefield-scale mass combat. I did appreciate how expensive and high quality the entire production is, including palaces at the height of the British Raj and throngs of poor Indians by the river. I really have to wonder how they pulled off those wide shots. There’s a good reason this is the most expensive Indian film ever made to date.
Most such nationalist propaganda films can be tough to swallow and indeed RRR paints characters like Governor Buxton as literal mustache-twirling villains who are pointlessly cruel. On the other hand, it seems carefully targeted towards the injustice of British rule and tries not to make it a matter of race. It’s shallow how they use the character of Jenny as a white woman who is sympathetic to their cause, but it’s some effort at least to show that it’s not a war against white people. It’s hard for us non-Indians to discern the difference, but it matters too that Raju and Bheem are meant to be from completely different ethnicities. Furthermore, the film isn’t all over resentment and rage against oppression all the time. There’s plenty of joy and positivity as well as the characteristic Indian song and dance routines. This actually does help make it more palatable compared to for example the nationalist films coming out of China.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean it’s a great film. It’s a lavishly made action spectacle and the distinctiveness of Indian cinema still gives it some additional appeal to me. I’m also more inclined to view it kindly as it makes some effort to represent the many different parts of India, even the Muslims, which is especially significant given the current state of politics in India. It has all of the usual foibles of its genre but is probably one of its better exemplars.