NEW TO NETFLIX! S. S. Rajamouli’s epic, RRR (which stands for Rise Roar Revolt), brings two legendary revolutionaries of Indian independence together in Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. Though the two never crossed paths in real life, the action flick imagines what such a friendship and brotherhood would look like on the big screen.
It’s 1920, and the citizens of India live under harsh British rule. In the Adilabad forest, British Governor Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson) and his wife, Catherine (Alison Doody), are visiting the Gond tribe. Katherine is enamored by the young Malli, who is serenading her with a beautiful song. Katherine decides to take Malli as her own child/possession, giving her parents a few pennies and a brutal log to her mother’s head for their trouble. When tribal leader, Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.), learns of the abduction, he travels alone to Delhi to bring Malli back.
Upon hearing that Bheem is coming after Governor Buxton, newly promoted Officer A. Rama Raju (Ram Charan), also known as Ram, volunteers to hunt down the tribal leader to show the Governor that he is a team player. If successful, he’ll earn the highest rank in Buxton’s guard. The resourceful Ram goes undercover, attending an independence meeting to flush out Bheem. Also, hoping to blend in, Bheem has changed his name to pass off as a commoner while looking for a way into the Governor’s mansion. This is when the beautiful Jenny (Olivia Morris) enters RRR.
“…Ram goes undercover, attending an independence meeting to flush out Bheem.”
At some point, the heel undercover cop Ram has to meet the babyface rebel Bheem, which happens during a fiery train crash on the overhead bridge. A young boy is trapped surrounded by fire forcing the two to work together to rescue him. Now Ram and Bheem become brothers forging an invincible bond of friendship. Ram helps Bheem sneak into a party at the Governor’s Mansion, where a dance-off takes place to win the heart of Jenny.
RRR is a three-and-a-half-hour film, and that plot synopsis barely covers the end of the first act. Not to spoil anything, but of course, Ram and Bheem learn of one another’s true identity and become bitter enemies. Then in the third act, Ram’s true purpose in the British Guard is exposed.
I know almost nothing about the hostile relationship between Great Britain and India in the late 1800s, but based on the comments we’ve received on the Film Threat YouTube Channel, it was terrible… oppressively bad. Ironically, I would liken the movie to Braveheart as it’s an epic tale of Indian independence. The battles are bloody and gory, and the set pieces are absolutely massive in scale.
"…pulls no punches in its political messaging..."
[…] dance numbers sprinkled throughout. It’s not quite the epic we fell in love with regarding RRR, but it’s a slick action film that used to come out in the 80s and 90s, ala […]
Good review. I’m a Telugu person (the original language of the film). Regarding the Second Amendment part. Here, guns are for fighting against colonialism and oppression. Not about gun rights in a free, democratic society. I’m emphasizing this because some might misinterpret its message as pro-Gun rights in an American context.
India has two film industries. Tollywood and Bollywood. This is a Tollywood film, and it’s brutal. After hearing Chris Gore rave about this film I thought I’d search it out on Netflix, as they have a large amount of Indian content. This film is well over 3 hours long, but it doesn’t feel it. In fact I couldn’t stop watching it. The title card doesn’t even appear until the 45 minute mark.
Be aware that this is revisionist history. There is no record of the two main leads ever meeting in real life, but the Indian citizens have imbraced this film to make it a major box office hit there.
Sad that the reviewer felt the need to warn that there is no Woke content. What matters is a compelling story well told.
I won’t give anything away. Seek out this film! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
A movie that simply tells a story is a lost art these days.
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