Authors:
Precious ‘Mamazeus’ Nwogu
You probably live under a rock if you haven’t stumbled on Netflix’s new trending title RRR.
Directed and written by Indian filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli with V. Vijayendra Prasad as co-writer, the record breaking epic drama continues to enjoy the admiration of film lovers across the globe.
Starring Ram Charan and Rama Rao Jnr., RRR (Roudram Ranam Rudhiram in Telugu and translated to Rise Roar Revolt in English) follows a fictional story about two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem (played by Charan and Rao respectively), who fought against the British Raj and Nizam of Hyderabad respectively.
If you have seen the mind-blowing blockbuster, here are five exciting facts we bet you don’t know.
- No, it’s not a Bollywood film
You might be tempted to class this film as a Bollywood film, you’ll be wrong! The movie is interestingly a Tollywood film (an acronym for the Telugu film industry in South India). Pretty much like how we have Kannywood and Nollywood, Indian also enjoys this wonder. The Telugu industry is, however, every inch as self-sufficient and successful.
Essentially, films from the industry are made in Telugu and translated to other Indian languages including Hindu. The industry also has its popular stars but ever so often, stars from Bollywood make acting debuts in Tollywood and the other industries in the Indian movie universe.
2. Some of RRR’s major cast learnt to speak Telugu and trained for over 15 months
Female lead Alia Bhatt learnt to speak Telugu specifically for the role. The British actress is a popular Bollywood actress. RRR marks her Tollywood feature debut.
In addition, co-lead Rama Rao was put on an 18-month training programme to build his body to play his character.
3. RRR is the 10th highest grossing movie worldwide!
Exactly! The movie has a top ten spot on the global box office chart. In India, it’s the third-highest grossing film and the second highest-grossing Telugu film.
The action-packed movie also holds the spot for the second-biggest opening weekend for an Indian film after Baahubali 2. RRR grossed $140 million worldwide.
4. The connection between RRR and Baahubali is…
They share the same Director. S.S. Rajamouli is, according to Indian media, the highest paid Telugu director with an estimated net worth of $20 million. He is also the ninth highest paid Indian actor.
5. RRR cost $72 million to make
The bulk of the film’s budget reportedly went to filming its mind-blowing action sequence scenes. At $72 million, RRR is one of the most expensive Indian films to ever be made.
