Review: 'RRR' delivers the signature theatrical experience inspite of an oddly small story

'Most-awaited' is a term used too liberally these days for any other presentation coming out. But if there is one film that deserves the tag to its absolute merit, it has to be RRR. A film by visionary director S.S. Rajamouli, who returns to direction after the Baahubali franchise has actually been the 'most-awaited' film for almost two years now. Having had the chance to watch this magnum opus, here's what I thought of it-

The Story

Set in the pre-independence period, it all begins with one little girl, Malli. This girl is bought by a wealthy British woman against her will and this sets the course for over 3 hours of a film. On one hand, we have Rama Raju (Ram Charan), who is a police officer serving for the British and surprisingly loyal to them. And on the other hand, we have Bheema aka Akhtar (Jr. NTR), a commoner who only has one mission - rescue Malli and get her back home. How these two worlds collide ignites a tale of love, betrayal, revenge, drama and most importantly - friendship.

The Good

Adjectives and terminologies like grandeur, scale, massive etc. are a given when it comes Rajamouli films. The glimpse and trailer of RRR was enough to suggest that all the spectacle that you saw was going to be the main highlight and it surely is. While it is a given but even then you cannot help but marvel at Rajamouli's sheer vision and execution of what is on display. What might seem outlandish in every possibly way, Rajamouli is able to make it possible for the big screen.

The action sequences (and there are plenty) are as fabulous as action can get. Yes, some of them are way over the top but that qualifies for all the whistle-worthy moments indeed. However, my personal favorite ones were the ones that involved good-old hand-to-hand combat. Charan and Jr. NTR's characters are involved multiple scenes of such nature and those are brilliantly choreographed.

When you have everything else sorted from scale to action - there is one factor that is needed to make the viewer feel it in their veins - music. The music and sound design is absolutely fantastic. Yes, the background score is, at times, a little too much and too loud for no apparent reason but the sound design of the grand scenes is impeccable. The music certainly helps given there is an action and large-scale sequence almost every 15-20 minutes coming in. A special mention to the VFX here as well. India hasn't had a good tryst with VFX earlier in multiple films but here, it is undoubtedly the best any Indian film has seen. One sequence, that involves multiple caged animals unleashing does have some shoddiness but the entry scene involving Jr. NTR and a tiger is expertly done.

The Not-So-Good

As I mentioned, I am all for the over-the-top and unrealistic actions scenes. A massy entertainer should be full of those and RRR is. However, the place where I couldn't help but chuckle (not intended) was the bizarreness of a few situations. For instance, a character is shown brutalised to an extent where he has almost escaped death for a long 7-8 minutes of footage. But in the timeline of the movie, he is able to start moving, running being scarless in the next few days. The film has a few instances like these and it obviously bothered.

Baahubali was a fictional world but in the world of warriors where the story - even if unbelievable to many had the leeway of being excused for. However, in this fictional world, we are talking about a realistic setting of two very real characters and hence the story and screenplay is rather thin to hold the 3 hour long movie. There is constantly predictability and too much of going back and coming forth to keep you invested enough.

The Performances

Interestingly, Ram Charan can be said to have a more-leading character than Jr. NTR even though both of them are the leads. But it is Charan's character of Rama Raju who has an entire arc and pretty much constant development. Charan is impactful with his action, dancing, macho physique but does falter with his acting chops on a few occasions. I do give him the benefit of doubt that having seen this in Hindi, his dialogue delivery might be better in the actual language but falters a bit here. My favorite, however, was Jr. NTR. The man is a phenomenal actor and it was proved here in the best possible way. As Bheema, he is shown to be innocent, naive and extremely sweet but has his side of rage and machismo and both these factors are expertly portrayed by Jr. NTR. Alia Bhatt is dependable as always with her short but important role. Ajay Devgn was also absolutely brilliant with his cameo role. It was a role that demanded a lot and Devgn did a stellar job in emoting it.

For a change, the English actors cast here have done a decent job as the track record of Indian films and the characterisation of English actors playing British officials has been embarrassing. Here, the actors do a good job and while it is too one-toned, it is indeed a step ahead.

The Verdict

In the end, RRR might be devoid of all the critique to quite an extent because it is a festival film that needs to be enjoyed on the big screen with a group of people. And is it worth it? Absolutely.

Rating - ***1/2 (3.5/5)