The truth is that RRR has to be seen to be believed. Set in British-occupied India in the early 1920s, RRR (standing for Rise, Roar, Revolt in English) follows two historical revolutionaries who fought against British rule in India. In reality, Alluri Sitarama Raju (played by Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (played by N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) had never met. But coincidentally, there was a period in the early 1920s where both of their lives remained largely undocumented. Director S. S. Rajamouli presents a fictional tale of what might have happened had they met during this period. And he does so through the lens of a legendary epic rather than a boring historical biopic.
For an audience that watches nothing but Western entertainment, RRR will be unlike anything they've ever seen. But for audiences familiar with Indian cinema, it showcases the potential of what their blockbusters can achieve with bigger budgets and untethered ambition. And RRR certainly goes big. On a budget of $72 million, it is currently the most expensive film to come out of India, and across its epic three-hour runtime does so much more than most Hollywood blockbusters do with $200 million and more.
Additionally, despite its big budget, it's refreshingly traditional in its production ethos. It doesn't wholly rely on blue screens and computer-generated spectacle, instead meshing the new with the old, having lavish sets with hundreds of extras and some of the best model work put to film. Indian cinema is old-fashioned in that the industry still runs on star power rather than intellectual property. It allows original films to flourish over big franchises. In fact, the title of RRR was reverse-engineered from the three stars of the film finally working together (Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charam and director S. S. Rajamouli).
RRR is a triumph on all fronts. It's not just a movie -- it's an experience. It achieves what it sets out to do perfectly, without compromise. It gives Western audiences the chance to experience something new, the biggest and best of Indian cinema. And that's not even taking into account that the film has one of the best and most energetic dance numbers put to cinema in the film's Naatu Naatu sequence and has a man punch a tiger out of the air with fire. For these reasons alone, RRR is the best blockbuster of 2022, and nothing else has a chance of coming close.
RRR is available to experience on Zee5 in Telugu and dubbed in Tamil, Malayalam, & Kannada. It is also available to stream on Netflix worldwide.