India’s RRR’ is an unlikely underdog at the Hollywood Awards Race
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood’s awards season has found an unlikely underdog in “RRR.”
S.S. Rajamouli’s three-hour maximalist action epic is one of India’s most expensive and top-grossing films of all time. It pairs two of the country’s biggest stars, N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan and the show topped Netflix streaming charts this summer.
It’s been showered with praise from the likes of J.J. Abrams and Jessica Chastain. It won the award for best original song at The Grammys Golden Globes for the exuberant “Naatu Naatu” and has five Critics Choice Awards nominations, including for best picture.
However, the Academy Awards does not usually award foreign films or action movies in certain key categories. And “ RRR” can’t win the international feature film Oscar because India submitted Pan Nalin’s much quieter “Chhello Show” instead. It’s still a distant possibility that the Oscars will nominate best picture.
Rama Rao Jr., Charan and their film received a final push by traveling to Los Angeles to walk on the Globes grey floor, meet Cate Blanchett at parties and attend packed screenings to give potential award voters a chance to vote, including one at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. featured a riotous dance party During the “Naatu Naatu” scene.
They sat down with The Associated Press for a joint interview to talk about their real-life bond, Rajamouli’s discussions of a sequel, and building bridges between the world’s film industries.
These responses have been edited to be concise and clear.
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AP: The movie was a big success when it opened in India but it’s been a slow burn in terms of Western audiences catching on through word-of-mouth and watching it on Netflix. How did you experience this?
RAMA RAO JR.: You really don’t get to know what’s actually happening in the audience’s mind when people are watching movies on Netflix. We were able to see Mr. Rajamouli at the TCL in September. That was our breakthrough. And the response — he got a standing ovation. I think that was the opening for how we started knowing that the West has taken “RRR” into their hearts. And I wish that we could have both been there. But I think that was our first breakthrough — and the social media.
CHARAN: It’s so satisfying to see every reaction. Every effort we made was appreciated. Reactions were simply priceless. It was slow, but it was worth it. This is just another feather in our cap.
AP. Ram Charan, at least a part of the time you were in production on your next film. How were you sort of staying in touch with your “RRR” brothers?
CHARAN: The “RRR” journey started in 2018, and this is 2023 now, and we are still in touch. Because we were so passionate about each other, I believe we took a consensual vacation.
RAMA RAO JR. said: We were so infatuated with each other. We were like each other.
AP: Rajamouli’s talking about a sequel, but you guys are both probably booked up?
CHARAN: No. We’d clear the calendar.
RAMA RAO JR.: We’ll clear the calendar. Unfortunately, we don’t know anything about it. We have no clue about “RRR 2” until he spoke about it. So if you interview him, you should actually get the clarity from him so that we know when it’s starting, so that we can keep our calendar free.
AP: Did it come up in discussions after the movie was over?
CHARAN: No. Nothing. When he spoke to you, we all heard it for the very first time. I mean, we’re not kidding on this. We have never spoken about it.
RAMA RAO JR.
CHARAN : It’s a complete surprise.
RAMA RAO JR.: I would say it’s a bad thing. Surprises are what I loathe. Charan may like them.
CHARAN : He knows that we keep the calendars clear whenever he calls. That is what he takes as a given. (Laughs)
AP: How important do you think the political message and timing of the film’s release are?
CHARAN : It was more about the brotherhood and less about nationalism and patriotism. It was there in the background. Obviously, it’s the era that we have selected, the director has chosen had the sense of nationalism running under the water, like under the carpet. What you see is a fully-fledged fiction story.
RAMA RAO JR. Bromance
CHARAN: Bromance is a combination of two legends and historical characters. But end of the day, we’re not playing part of the history. It is Mr. Rajamouli’s interpretation and his fictional thoughts and writing with his father.
RAMA RAO JR.: Rajamouli as such, I really don’t think he makes movies because he wants to send out a message. For him, it’s just storytelling and it’s about making entertainment … To tell this story, he’s picked up a time frame where India was being ruled by the British Empire. Yeah, simple. There was no message. But yes, it was more about two friends — their egos, their understanding of the world, each other, how they grew together, how they were apart, how they came together. How they separated, how they got back together, and how each of them grew in strength.
AP: And how much does that sort of “get together, push apart, come back together,” mirror your own real-life relationship between the two of you?
RAMA RAO JR. : I don’t think we ever acted in the film. That is what I believe.
CHARAN : We have never had such bad misunderstandings or separations when we were fighting. We are still very close. Our characters were very similar. On all the good, good parts of the movie, it’s pretty much what we also share in real life.
AP: What goals do you have in Hollywood? What do you desire to do as a star, for example, in a Quentin Tarantino movie.
CHARAN: Absolutely. I mean, it’s always there. It wasn’t our goal to move to LA, but it did happen. We are just going with the flow. Of course, we want the opportunity to meet the great directors of LA/Hollywood, but I also want them as actors to be able to experience us and share cultural ideas between the East-West. Of course, I would love it to be explored. I love (Tarantino), and it is my favorite director.
RAMA RAO JR. It was a very unfortunate accident. It was just by chance that we were here today, discussing films in L.A. So, yeah, we are actors who I think with “RRR” we have crossed the boundaries of those imaginary lines of Eastern film industry, Western film industry. I think we’ve somewhat erased that. And it’s a big good crossover. There’s so much talent here. There’s so much talent there. Everybody should get together. “Avatar 2” is doing phenomenal numbers down in India. So did so did the “Avengers: Endgame.” So I think it’s high time we all have to collaborate and start making films for the global audiences.
CHARAN: We are waiting for the day when all the “woods” get burned and there’s one global cinema.
AP: Did you find it odd that most people saw the film through the Hindi version of Netflix?
CHARAN It was us.
RAMA RAO JR.: So Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, whatever — it was our voice. We were glad that it was. It should have been available in Telugu, but I think it was a good idea. That’s now, that’s me being, being very, very, very emotional about being a Telugu person. But other than that, “RRR” resembles India and whatever language it is, I’m happy that it’s reached out to the audiences.
AP: What have your family members said about this weird journey that you’re on with “RRR”?
CHARAN: They are happier than we, I believe.
RAMA RAO JR. : I wish my grandfather could have witnessed this. Of course he’s not there anymore. However, his family has been supportive and very excited. Everybody’s excited. Who wouldn’t be?
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ryanwrd