After rewatching the 2022 film “RRR,” the first Indian film to win an Oscar, for the category ‘Best Original Song’ and countless other awards and nominations, I continue to understand the well earned reputation.
The three hour Tollywood, a subsection of Indian cinema dedicated to the Telugu language, film at first seemed intimidating for many reasons; the length, language barrier and the quality of dubbing and/or not being able to fully be immersed due to cultural differences.
After being convinced by my brother to watch the movie, though, I found that I could
- not take my gaze off of the film and
- I had a newfound appreciation for a genre of films I had never seen before.
The film is set in 1920 India, when at the time, the country was under British rule. The movie follows the strenuous journey of Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju, with Bheem being a revolutionary against British Imperialism in search of his captive sister while Raju became a British soldier who sought to destroy the British from the inside after a massacre killed his father.
The two main characters face challenges, betrayals and dangers throughout their fight for revolution- even betraying one another, creating tense moments defying their found brotherhood.
When looking into the film to write this article, I found out that this story, although being entirely fictional, was inspired by the lives of real Telugu revolutionaries Bheem and Raju. The tale of these two men fighting for the independence of their nation is one that is truly inspiring, bringing another sense of standing for the film.
Although some parts of the movie may seem over-the-top in comparison to Western movies and shows, the intense action scenes, engaging songs and dance numbers and overall addictive storytelling convinced my Western gaze to branch out into other cinema locations.
Moreover, watching movies from different parts of the world gives an insight into the differences into the different norms among different countries, and a look into a different culture overall.
