After the tremendous success of SS Rajamouli's magnum opus 'Baahubali' and 'Baahubali 2,' fans were excited to see what 'RRR' will unfold. Starring Ram Charan, Jr NTR, Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn, the film finally made it to the theatres on March 25 after several delays. However, even before the release of the film, many comparisons between the two grand projects started rolling out. Many started questioning whether the film will be able to beat the hit franchise, not just in terms of the box office collections but the mighty cinematic experience we were exposed to in 2015. There's no doubt about the fact that the collections are definitely record-breaking but was RRR really magical like Baahubali?
RRR was undoubtedly grand but this is what the mighty merchant of marathon fantasies Rajamouli is known to offer. Unlike Baahubali, the plot of RRR looked shoddy, haphazard and lacked a balance in its presentation. As compared to the narration of Baahubali, where the director covered the beauty of periodicity, RRR stumbled and was ordinary.
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The film is indeed filled with friendship, deceit and patriotism and a whole lot of tremendous action. The scale of visual splendour is definitely high-- be it spectacular forest visuals or beautiful moonlit nights. The way how ultra-wide zoom-out aerial shots are used to bridge two scenes makes the experience believable.
Ram Charan in RRR
Both Ram Charan and NTR have succeeded in giving some high-octane, adrenaline-pumping sequences, but it seemed like the whole attention was given to the two superheroes and not the storyline. The condition was very similar to that of Baahubali where the characterization of the protagonist was made superhero-like, even though it lacked logic at times. In Baahubali, the actor could climb huge walls using palm trees. In a similar fashion, the protagonist in RRR fought single-handedly with a tiger and handled the rampage of thousands of people.
Jr NTR in RRR
Another aspect that was disappointing was the portrayal of the female characters. Be it Alia Bhatt or the little abducted girl, everyone behaved like damsels in distress. Alia's role as Seetha was so brief that even if it would have been eliminated, the film would have worked just fine.
What seemed different was the concept of fire and ice. We are already aware of the forest element during the popular 'Kattappa killing Baahubali' scene but the addition of cold water took RRR a notch higher. Apart from this, RRR was all about unity between freedom fighters Komaram Bheem and Alluri Seetharamaraju whereas, Baahubali only spoke about just one figure - Amarendra Baahubali, played by Prabhas.
Ram Charan and Jr NTR in RRR
Another element that was extraordinary was the amazing dance numbers, shot beautifully through sky-shots. It seemed that Rajamouli went Sanjay Leela Bhansali's way and adopted not just some great dance styles but also commendable cinematography.
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All said and done, RRR is definitely a feast for the eyes but not for those who love meaty stories. The VFX and the action sequences were expected to be the highlight of the director, knowing that he is the master of making things look extravagant on screen. RRR is not new and does not live to the hype of 'what’s after Baahubali?' since we've just got one SS Rajamouli!
