RRR, one of the most talked about foreign movies in 2022, just got an exciting update. Director S.S. Rajamouli confirmed he is working on the script for a sequel alongside his father, accomplished Indian screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad.
RRR was released in the United States in March, collecting a respectable $14.5 million at the box office. However, it wasn’t until Netflix acquired the streaming rights that the film became more popular thanks to the over-the-top action it depicted in its fictionalized Indian history setting. That RRR is a Telugu language film from Tollywood as opposed to the more known Bollywood only makes its success story more interesting, and it's that fact that seems to have convinced Rajamouli to change his mind about turning it into a franchise.
As reported by Variety, Rajamouli admits a sequel was never on his mind when he made RRR. “With the initial success of it, we discussed a little bit and threw out some good ideas, but we didn’t feel there was a great idea that was worth pursuing,” he said. However, the movie’s reputation abroad made them reconsider the thought. The director says his cousin and collaborator M. M. Keeravani "gave an idea which we felt like, 'Oh my God, this is a great idea. This is the idea that is worth pursuing.'" All that is known at this stage is that both N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan will return as Bheem and Raju, respectively, to continue their fight against the British Empire.
With a budget nearing the $70 million region, RRR is one of the most expensive and successful Indian movies of all time, with another of Rajamouli's action franchises, Baahubali, right there at the top. RRR's 3-hour runtime and musical numbers have not turned off non-Indian moviegoers. RRR has been particularly popular among critics and YouTubers, collecting several awards and two Golden Globe nominations for Best Original Song and Best Non-English Picture, where it will compete against All Quiet on the Western Front.
Rajamouli's father is working on the next story for these two Indian superheroes, as the director has referred to his action heroes. While he may not have foreseen a sequel, the idea will fulfill his desire to continue using film to popularize pieces of Indian history. RRR's insane brand of action has prompted many to ask Rajamouli if he’d ever be interested in directing a Marvel movie. However, he has always been committed to staying close to home and continuing to make films in South Indian languages, whose impact abroad has usually fallen behind Hindi movies.
Referring to Netflix only streaming the Hindi version of RRR, Rajamouli wished for all the dubs to be available. However, he understands the company may have only wanted to allocate funds to one version, and he’s pretty happy with the film's success since RRR stayed in Netflix's global top 10 for several weeks.
RRR is now available on Netflix.
Source: Variety