For those planning a film with Indian director S.S. Rajamouli, this may sound uneasy as he said recently that it’s his dream to work in Hollywood. Currently in Los Angeles, meeting Hollywood honchos, Rajamouli’s dream may come true soon.
Last Monday, his magnum opus ‘RRR’ turned Los Angeles’s colossal TCL Chinese IMAX into a dance party, with hundreds of audience members rushing the screen. On Tuesday, Rajamouli’s epic musical drama won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song, triumphing over such nobodies as Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
Later in the week, directors like Steven Spielberg and James Cameron fawned over the filmmaker casually known as ‘SSR’, praising him in public.
“I don’t have words to explain the kind of exhilaration that we are having,” Rajamouli, 49, told EW’s Awardist podcast. “It’s why I make films – to extract that kind of joy, to give that kind of joy to an audience.”
In a wide-ranging conversation, the director touched on his own favourite films, how he cuts an action sequence, and his preference for screenwriting over other phases of production.
Will he come to America to make a movie?
“I think it is the dream of every filmmaker across the world to make a film in Hollywood,” he said. “I am no different. I’m open to experimentation.” But, he also admits, the decision is causing him a “bit of confusion.”
At home, Rajamouli enjoys final cut and an unusual amount of creative power: “Back in India, I am the dictator. No one tells me how to make a film.”
Modestly, he speculates that a Hollywood project might be an opportunity for a co-credit. “Very probably, my first step will be collaborating with someone,” he said.
The song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from the Indian film ‘RRR’ directed by S.S. Rajamouli was named the Best Original Song in Motion Picture bringing laurels for the RRR team from all corners.
Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’ won Best Picture, Drama and ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ bagged the Best Picture, Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes Awards.
The film bagged the Best Original Song in Motion Picture creating waves in India.
‘RRR’, which is also competing in the Best Non-English Language Film, stars NTR Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, and Olivia Morris.
Telugu flag flying high: Jagan
The Telugu flag is flying high, said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in his reaction to blockbuster movie ‘RRR’ winning Golden Globes award.
On behalf of the people of Andhra Pradesh, he congratulated music director M.M. Keeravani, director S.S. Rajamouli, actors Junior NTR and Ram Charan and the entire team of ‘RRR’ on bagging the award for the best original song for ‘Naatu Naatu’.
“We are incredibly proud of you,” reads a tweet from the chief minister’s official Twitter handle.
As the Golden Globe for the number ‘Naatu Naatu’ has made headlines, the Indian attire sported by the ‘RRR’ family too grabbed eyeballs at the prestigious event.
‘RRR’ brought home the Golden Globe for Best Original Song in Motion Picture for the song ‘Naatu Naatu’, however, the film lost out the bigger share of the pie — that of the Best Motion Picture Non-English award to the Argentine film ‘Argentina, 1985’.
RRR women team in saree attire
It was Ram Charan, his wife Upasana, M. M. Keeravaani, his wife Srivalli S. S. Rajamouli and his better half Rama Rajamouli, who unlike any other global star chose to flaunt the Indian wear at the ceremony.
Ram Charan looked every inch dapper in an all black Kurta paired with straight pants and sunglasses. His wife Upasana dolled up in a printed saree.
Rajamouli chose a black kurta, red dhoti pants and a crisp red dupatta while his wife Rama, a costume designer, opted for a green and orange Kanjeevaram saree.
Keeravaani seemed to join the gang with a black kurta and straight pants. His wife chose a bright yellow and orengish-red nine-yard wonder.
Jr. NTR looked every inch handsome as he opted for a black suit paired with a bow-tie and a white shirt.
‘RRR’ centres around two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, their fictional friendship and their fight against the British Raj.
Set in the 1920s, the plot explores the undocumented period in their lives when both the revolutionaries chose to go into obscurity before they began the fight for their country.
Shah Rukh Khan’s reaction
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan woke up and started dancing to ‘Naatu Naatu’ to celebrate ‘RRR’ team’s win at the 80th Golden Globes Awards.
Shah Rukh took to Twitter, where he replied to filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli appreciation tweet for the trailer of his upcoming film ‘Pathaan’.
“Sir just woke up and started dancing to Naatu Naatu celebrating your win at Golden Globes. Here’s to many more awards & making India so proud!!,” SRK wrote.
‘RRR’, which has become an international phenomenon with a collection of over Rs 1,200 crore (approximately) worldwide, stars Ram Charan and Jr NTR in the lead roles.
‘RRR’ centres around two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, their fictional friendship and their fight against the British Raj.
Set in the 1920s, the plot explores the undocumented period in their lives when both the revolutionaries chose to go into obscurity before they began the fight for their country.
Actor Ranbir Kapoor on Wednesday tried out a tasty south Indian meal along with ace director S.S. Rajamouli and Telugu superstar Nagarjuna, on the sidelines of promotion of Ayan Mukherji’s upcoming film ‘Brahmastra’.
Ranbi tried the south Indian meal typically served on a plantain leaf in the traditional way. Earlier, at a press conference called by the ‘Brahmastra’ team, Ranbir said, “I am so happy to share our vision of ‘Brahmastra’ with you. All of you are from a state that is so rich in culture, in music and performing arts. It is my privilege to be here.”
Brahmastra Promotional tour in Chennai
Ranbir remembered that “Brahmastra started for Ayan and me in 2013. We were doing a film called ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ and during one of the schedules in Manali, he came and told me that he had this idea of two friends (this was before ‘RRR’) one of whom had the power of fire and the other the power of water. Of course, the film didn’t turn out the way he thought at that time and it has turned out the way you guys are seeing it right now.”
He thanked his co-actors and said, “I had the honour of working with legends such as Amitabh Bachchan sir and Nag(arjuna) sir in this film.” Thanking Rajamouli, who is presenting the film, he said, “Never in my wildest dreams have I thought that I would have a poster with S.S. Rajamouli’s name and my face on it. That is such a big privilege. Thank you so much for this.”
Talking about Alia Bhatt, his wife and co-star in the film, Ranbir said she is one of the best actors he has ever worked with and he had the good fortune of finally marrying her.
“Alia is somebody whom I met on this film. Our romance started on this film’s set but by the time the film got over, we are married and expecting a baby also. So, you can really understand how long this journey has been,” the actor said, adding, “It is really an emotional moment for all of us.”
Ashwin Gangaraju, who assisted S. S. Rajamouli in ‘Eega’ and ‘Baahubali’ and recently known for directing ‘Aakashvani’ is all set to direct the magnum opus ‘1770’, which will be based on Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Bengali novel ‘Anandamath’.
The producers of the film — Shhailendra Kumar, Sujayy Kuttiy, Krishna Kumar B and Suraj Sharma — released a motion poster of the film on Wednesday to mark 150 years of ‘Vande Mataram’.
“This subject was a huge challenge for me, but with legendary V Vijayendra Prasad sir writing the adapted story and screenplay, I think what we have on paper is a blockbuster cinematic experience,” says director Ashwin Gangaraju.
This year also marks 150 years of Vande Mataram, the song that appeared first in Bankim Chandra’s novel ‘Anandamath’, which almost shook the roots of the British Empire.
India’s most celebrated storyteller V Vijayendra Prasad who penned the screenplay said, “I feel that Vande Mataram was a magical word. It was a mantra that was given by Maharishi Bankim Chandra for a nation to unite against tyranny and injustice. In 1770, we dealt with the story of unknown warriors who ignited the fire of the freedom movement.”
Shhailendra Kkumar from SS1 Entertainment collaborated with Suraj Sharma from PK Entertainment and former Zee Studio head Sujayy Kuttiy and producer Krishna Kumar B to make the film.
Producer Sujoyy Kuttiy, known for making historical sagas like ‘Manikarnika-The Queen of Jhansi’ and many other prestigious films under Zee Studios, collaborated in ‘1770’ because he could see the potential in the narrative.
The film will be made in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Bengali. The team will lock the main lead before Dussehra, and by Diwali, they will announce the cast of the film. Ashwin along with his team has started researching the period and is trying to create a visual that is unique.
After 8 days of Swachhata Hi Seva Campaign, 201 Districts are ODF now. Swacchata Hi Seva campaign has fostered collaborations, across the country, to fight against the evils of open defecation. In a major milestone, the rural sanitation coverage has increased with 4 districts being declared ODF today taking the total tally to 201.
After a week of the Swacchata Hi Seva campaign, the movement received support from Bollywood. Superstar Rajinikanth responded to the government’s call by committing to extend full support to Swachhata. Filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli also extended full support to the Swachhata Hi Seva Campaign.
In Balasore, Odisha scientists and staff members of Interim Test Range (ITR) Chandipur, picked up brooms and cleaned roads. As a part of on-going Swachhata Hi Seva programme, several activities have been taken up across Assam.
In response to the government’s invite to be a part of the Swachhata Hi Seva campaign, famous breast cancer expert, Dr P Raghu Ram (Director City Based KIMS-Ushalakshmi Centre, President Association of Breast Surgeons of India), stated, “ I have Decided to conduct the Swachhata Iniative in Ibrahimpur, my adopted village, in remotest part of Telangana State”.
The students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Bihar garnered support to the Swacchata Hi Seva campaign, by undertaking cleanliness drive in their school. The young mascots of Swachhata Hi Seva andolan, undertook numerous activities.
India Tourism, along with Gujarat Tourism, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) Gandhinagar, Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Hoteliers and Approved Guides organized a cleanliness drive at the Shaking Minarets, a world heritage site.
Bahubali director SS Rajamouli has revealed in a TV show that he would be making a film with the most-sought-after Telugu actor Mahesh Babu but has given enough indication that it won’t be his next film but later.
Rajamouli has made films with almost all the top Telugu heroes from Jr NTR, Prabhas, Nani and Sunil but remained choosy about his heroes till now. As there were several requests from Mahesh Babu’s managers, the combination would be the most acclaimed one and the movie has to be par excellent by any measure.
In his live interaction on TV with host Rana Daggubati in the “No.1 Yaari” TV show on Sunday the ace director said he would do a movie soon with Mahesh Babu, releasing enough bytes for the TV media for the next two years.
Otherwise, Rajamouli has his hands full on his next film with producer DVV Danayya, which he has repeatedly said will be without any VFX techniques and instead employ more human emotions, a film that may NOT go well with Mahesh Babu in view of his recent debacle over the failure of “Brahmotsavam”.
For all probabilities, it could be Jr NTR, with whom Rajamouli worked in two big hits in the past and it was said that Rajamouli was behind the sugggestion made to Jr NTR to become slim. He had also ruled out Pawan Kalyan who is already busy with his films and possible political career next.
That leaves a film for Mahesh Babu with in producer KL Narayana’s next film employing VFX, strong story line and even a huge budget making it possibly the “Bahubali 3” with ‘Prince’ Mahesh Babu in the lead role and the only question remains unanswered is the storyline.
If the plan for ‘Bahubali 3’ gets through, it would be another Prince who would take the centre-stage and Rajamouli will be keen to rope in the Prince for maximum effect of his next magnum opus.
The satellite rights of “Baahubali: The Conclusion” (Telugu version) starring Prabhas and Rana Daggubati has been sold to Zee Network for a whopping Rs.26 crore, said publicists for the film.
“satellite rights have been acquired by Zee Network for a whopping price of Rs 26C, which would surpass the record of “Baahubali,” said #Mahesh, publicist for the film.
Ever since the shocking leak of 8-minute climax war scene leak of director S S Rajamouli’s “Baahubali: The Conclusion” (Bahubali 2), the post-production has gone into utmost secrecy in Hyderabad and 60 other digital studios all over the country.
The curiosity value is so high that if any leak over the country-wide question of “Why Kattappa killed Baahubali?” is still keeping the momentum on the public pulse. “The producers and director SS Rajamouli are huddled together about the next move. All post-production has been halted until a method to prevent further damage is found,” said a source to Deccan Chronicle.
Bahubali publicist Mahesh S Koneru has denied that there is any delay in post-production work over the leak but conceded that security has become more strict over the post-production process. He said, “Access has become more strict and more security measures are in place.”
It is unlikely that the storyline will be leaked as it was written by SS Rajamouli’s father KV Vijayendra Prasad and kept secret throughout the shooting period of the film.
Otherwise, S.S. Rajamouli is content that the film has come off well. In a latest twitter message he said it was 25 years after that the VR technology is being used. “After 25 years in film industry venturing into VR for the first time. First shooting day of SWORD OF BAAHUBALI,” he said.
After 25 years in film industry venturing into VR for the first time. First shooting day of SWORD OF BAAHUBALI. pic.twitter.com/9OK3GsZrFb
