SS Rajamouli’s RRR is a hat tip to diversity, thumbs down to hate

Categories: FILM INDUSTRY

                             Director SS Rajamouli usually mines basic human emotions to whip up unapologetic, out-and-out commercial entertainers. The typical premise of a Rajamouli movie is made up of a man instinctively trying to do the right thing. He then he creates a knock-on effect, with almost all characters reacting to the ensuing incidents with their lizard brain, which is responsible for a person’s fight or flight decision. His movies don’t typically give us something to think about. The relationship we share with the director is mostly transactional: we pay for tickets and Rajamouli delivers a bang for our buck.

                            Ram Charan’s Rama Raju and Jr NTR’s Bheem represent two opposing forces of nature: fire and water, respectively. The scene where they join forces for the first time is set near a river, which is on fire. Rajamouli gets blatantly allegorical by combining the visuals of fire and water.After rescuing a young boy from the inferno, Ram extends his hand to Bheem in friendship and gives his true name (not true identity though). And Bheem reciprocates the handshake with a false name, “I am Akhtar,” he says (but he warmly extends his true nature). Bheem is living in Delhi disguised as a Muslim man as part of a personal mission. Ram and Akhtar become best of friends as they break bread at each other’s house and become brothers not in blood, but in bond. They accept each other without any pride or prejudice.

                           When Akhtar expresses his interest in a British girl Jennifer (Olivia Morris), Ram helps his friend in his romantic endeavour. As Jennifer invites Akhtar to a party, Ram also tags along with his friend. At the party, when a group of British bullies insult a brown-skinned Akhtar, cinematographer K. K. Senthil Kumar’s camera zooms in on a black drummer grimacing at the ill-mannered people. That uncredited black character can understand the horrors of being subjected to racist behaviour. Judging by the look on his face, he empathises with Akhtar and feels the pain along with him. That single shot speaks volumes about the global nature of racism.