RRR movie poster features Ram Charan and Jr NTR
Finally, the RRR Day is here! No other movie has more anticipation riding on it than SS Rajamouli's period epic starring two of Telugu film industry's biggest stars-- Jr NTR and Ram Charan. After the worldwide success of the Baahubali franchise, the director wields the megaphone after five long years. However, the movie has suffered several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the shooting was delayed for months due to the entire shutdown. Then the makers kept changing release dates due to the uncertain fate of the cinema halls. However, the team of RRR stood firm by Rajamouli and braved every challenge. Now as the release date is here, will RRR be worth the long wait? We analyse.
4 year of making period
RRR was announced back in March 2018. Since then, the talks around it have only gathered more steam. The production began in November 2018 and it was shot extensively in India and abroad for about nineteen months. The COVID pandemic delayed the filming period for about eight months. All in all, between announcement and release, there is a good four-year period that has gone into the making of RRR. This is a long time period by any standard, however, nothing new for the 'taskmaster' Rajamouli, who spent five years making two parts of his blockbuster Baahubali. The Prabhas-starrer had everything meticulously planned out and the box office paid off.
Will Rajamouli be able to recreate the same magic with RRR that seems to have taken more time and effort than Baahubali? Not just the director, the movie has taken an intense commitment from Jr NTR and Ram Charan, who have not been doing any other films with RRR. It is a test for the three personalities as the pressure of performing at the box office grows by the minute.
Rs 400 crore plus budget for RRR
RRR has been reportedly made at a budget of USD 55 million, as per Variety, which translates into Rs 418 crore roughly. For an Indian film, this is a mega-budget project. The two leading stars have reportedly taken home hefty salaries for their respective roles in RRR. Add to it the mammoth fees of Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn for their respective cameo roles and one will realise that there is huge money riding on this action film.
Rajamouli himself confirmed that RRR budget has surpassed that of Baahubali. Surely, for the director's vision to materialise, money should not be a restraint. But along with the budget, comes the box office rider. At this point, RRR has to set cash registers ringing. Not just in the regional markets of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, it has to do exceptionally well in the Hindi belt as well.
If this happens, Rajamouli, who is already the biggest star-director of Indian cinema, will not be looking back and his legacy will be cemented.
Ram Charan and Jr NTR's commitment to RRR
It would not be an understatement to say that the lead stars of RRR, Jr NTR and Ram Charan have given their blood and sweat to the film. Jr NTR said that his physical transformation for the movie took 18 months.
Charan too looks visibly transformed for the movie. After the long filming schedule during the uncertainty of the COVID period, the two actors kept at it with pan-India promotions. Even now, they are on a tour so that the hype surrounding the release maintains the momentum going into release. Such commitment from the actors will demand a payoff. If the movie succeeds, it will be a pan-India launch for the two regional stars like Baahubali was for Prabhas.
RRR is set to release on March 25 in Telegu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.
