RRR director S.S. Rajamouli knows how to save movie theaters

Directors are the best-loved director among all blockbuster movie releases in 2022. S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR. Since its release in March, the rhapsodic Telugu-language action drama, which fictionalizes the triumphs of Indian revolutionaries Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem in superheroic fashion, has become the fourth-highest-grossing Indian film of all time and a breakthrough hit around the world. It has been a huge success in America, Europe and Asia. The film’s unique mix of dance routines and fight scenes, as well as the star performances, have captivated audiences all over the world. There’s nothing quite like RRR, evidenced by sold-out screenings, roaring audiences, and questions from the industry on how to siphon the movie’s energy. It’s no surprise that earlier this year, Rajamouli was signed by an American agency with an eye toward a Hollywood project.

RRR justifies the big-screen experience at a time when the big-screen experience’s future has never been less clear. What will the movie and theater industry look like in 10 years’ time? They will survive.

To celebrate Polygon’s 10th anniversary, we’re rolling out a special issue: The Next TenA look at what entertainment and games will be in the next decade, from some of our favourite authors and musicians. Rajamouli shares his thoughts on the great success of RRR, The importance of theatre exhibition and how to make an auditorium a showplace.

The movie theatre is like a temple. My last visit to Chicago’s Music Box Theatre almost brought me to tears. It was an amazing feeling. It was something I had never imagined. RRRIt was, however, exactly as I had hoped.

The theater is my first priority. However, what is the future for cinema theaters? I would like to think they will thrive and prosper, even though at present time, it doesn’t seem so. When you watch a film in a theater, it’s not just about the film itself, and it’s not even about the great-quality picture or the surround sound. It is about a communal experience — you’re experiencing a particular emotion with a lot of other people. There is a kind of synergy that exists in a theater that doesn’t happen in your home or on the go on a personal device. The experience can’t be replicated, and while OTTs can offer competition, they will strive because there is no other option.

Everybody is afraid of the cinema closing down. We have witnessed a decline in theater attendance post-pandemic. This is not only in America, but also in India. We are seeing an increasing number as fears of pandemics subside. Still, there are kids who are growing up watching entertainment on their personal devices, and bringing them to the theater Is a challenge — but the global industry has to accept that it isThis is quite a task. You have to really think about how you can bring them to the cinemas. It is important to consider the role of directors. It is important for exhibitors to look at ways to attract people to the movies. These exercises are essential. Just hoping won’t help.

Image: DVV Entertainment

American and Indian cinemas have almost the same number of seats these days. One thing that makes my movies stand out is the intermission. The film is divided into two sections. And every film, whether it’s small or big, has an intermission in the middle that allows people to go out, rest awhile, then come back to finish the rest. That doesn’t happen in the U.S. and many places across the world, yet there are many advantages of having an intermission: Yes, people can go out and stretch their legs, go to a washroom, buy a soda or popcorn, but what also happens is that when you go out with your friends or family, you talk about what happened in the first half of the film. If there are any things that you did not see, you’ll be sharing them with your friends and having a conversation about the events of the first half. The audience is more likely to watch the second part again because they are engaged.

Movies don’t have to be long to be worthy of the theater. My shortest film, Maryada RamannaThe film, which lasted approximately two hours and ten minutes, was intermissioned. You have to give the rights. The characters, story and setup all require it. It is our job to cut down the filmmaking process. It would be great if all the information I have on paper could be put onto film. RRR would have been a three-hour-and-45-minute movie instead of just three hours.

While there are fears that the theater will be gone forever, to be honest, I have never been worried about people coming to my movie theatre. RRROr you can choose to ignore it. It was unfounded. We’ve had movie stars for 35, 40 years going back and in the Telugu industry, we have made many movie stars since then. As a group, we knew people would flock to the theater because of its setting and two stars Ram Charan (and Jr. NTR), joining forces. The theatres are still crowded with movie stars.

Let me talk about myself: If you just give me one shot of Tom Cruise in some kind of action sequence, I’m going to go and watch the film, whatever it is. Whether it’s the Mission: Impossible series or the Top Gun series. That’s star power and big-scale action. These two factors are sufficient. Tom Cruise’s action is sufficient. And I’m pretty sure that is the case for many, many people across the world. We need movie stars.

However RRR also offers slightly different action than what we’re given today. Hollywood has become more sophisticated over time. Each skill is well-developed. But what’s lacking is the emotional involvement for the audience when the action is happening. If you take BraveheartOr GladiatorYou can even get it! Black PantherThe big action sets-pieces are full of drama. You can even get a glimpse of the other side. ThroughWe see action and drama. This is what Hollywood movies lack today. It has been mastered to an amazing level. This is one of my favorite aspects about the technique. Maverick: Top GunThe reason I love the character is because it makes me feel emotional. Tom Cruise is what brings me to the cinema, but Maverick has me feeling for him.

Some of these thoughts were going through my head as I was developing the project RRR. As an example, we had been planning for the crucial scene in which Bheem emerges from a truck with an armful of caged animals. That scene is the moment when the two friends realize that they’ve been pit against each other and are going to fight. We have built up to that moment from the start — within two or three scenes we know these two heroes are traveling in opposite directions. They became friends, but they do not know who they are. This ticking time bomb is what the audience anticipates. It will explode when we realize our heroes are being pitted against each others. With the proper cinematic grammar, this action sequence could be very good.

Image: DVV Entertainment

I always believe the action enhances the drama and the drama enhances the action — each helps one another. So everything is set up for me up until this point — now I just need to get into a position where I create an explosive moment visually.

I thought about it like this: Bheem has come to Delhi, not his natural place, and he’s going to go against a very strong enemy. It is urgent that he gets help. Since he’s a tribal person who lives in the jungle and keeps animals, he should know how to catch them. He is able to bring in animals and cause havoc. That’s how we can have an action sequence, but we need to visualize it. The first encounter between animals should start with a bang. We don’t want the first tiger to come up sneakily, then we show number two, number three. This is an entire movie. The dam needs to be broken. That kind of moment is what I want.

Musical sequences aren’t that different. Indian cinema has had long-standing traditions of singing and dancing, which is why people are more inclined to listen. However, in the case RRR, even I had a hurdle: I’m talking about two freedom fighters. While this fiction story tells the tale of two freedom fighters we are still referring to Komaram Bhheem (lucid Rama Raju) For them to do a dance number is not easy — they can’t just dance together. This must be established. The guys should feel obliged to complete this task. In my head, there should be an action piece. And because they can’t reveal their identities, the action piece can be fun. So even though it’s a dance number, it’s also a competition they are having with the Britishers, so it doesn’t feel odd. It has a story. It is a party scene, Bheem’s coming there to befriend the girl so that he can get on with his job, he gets humiliated, his friend helps him, and so for the audience it isn’t odd at all.

Is this possible in Hollywood? What do people think of the Avengers? couldn’t dance? Would you like to watch the Avengers perform?

This thinking is possible everywhere. I’m pretty sure if we have a fantastic comedy film, and you have a laugh every five minutes, even if it has a very small budget for them and no stars in it, people are going to come to the theaters and watch the film. We need these films. If people only see a handful of movies, the film industry will not survive.

For all of my thoughts, I have many things that Hollywood can teach me. Any director around the globe would love to direct Hollywood films because of its reach. Hollywood movies reach the greatest audiences. Any storyteller would love that. Since the 1990s, movies have always been done in one way. Perhaps I learned something in a specific way. So I’m exploring to see how I can learn the methodologies or technologies or technical skills of the Hollywood process, to see if I can make my films better and make myself a better filmmaker. That’s what we all have to do.

One thing will never change is this. If I’m thinking about a scene, the first thing that comes up is a question: What makes me excited? As the scenes start to emerge, and as they start to form in my mind, I simultaneously imagine that scene in a theatre, with lots of people. It will never cease to amaze me how I can imagine a specific scene, sequence or fight. AnythingThe audience will be entertained. That’s our job.