RRR (2022) Review: Maximalism as a Love Language

Is RRR worth watching?

Yes. RRR is a gloriously over-the-top action epic, a film that treats every scene as a chance to top the last one and somehow keeps succeeding for more than three hours. S. S. Rajamouli builds its spectacle around a sincere, almost operatic friendship between two heroes, and N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan play it with total conviction. The reservations are its broad, cartoonish colonial villains and a nationalist fervour that some viewers will find overpowering, but as pure cinema of excitement it is hard to beat.

What is RRR about?

In 1920, during British rule in India, a young girl is taken from a tribal community in the forests of the south by a colonial governor and his wife. Komaram Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.), the community’s fiercely loyal protector, travels to Delhi in disguise to bring her home. Meanwhile, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan), a formidable officer in the colonial police with his own hidden purposes, is tasked with finding the man the British fear is coming. The two meet by chance, become the closest of friends, and neither knows who the other really is.

RRR is directed by S. S. Rajamouli, who wrote it as a fictional adventure imagining a meeting between two real Indian revolutionaries. It is an Indian production in Telugu, runs just over three hours, and co-stars Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn, Olivia Morris and Ray Stevenson.

Set pieces with the logic of legend

Rajamouli, who made the Baahubali films, does not stage action so much as mythologise it. A rescue on a bridge in the film’s early stretch introduces the two heroes with a burst of absurd, exhilarating invention, and from there each sequence escalates: a chase, a fight against an entire crowd, an interval set piece so outrageous it has to be seen to be believed. The physics are optional, but the staging is clear and the build-up to each moment is expertly timed.

The film’s most famous scene is not a fight at all. “Naatu Naatu”, the dance-off at a colonial party, turns friendship and defiance into choreography, and its infectious energy made the song a global hit. It won the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, the first Indian feature film song to win the Oscar.

Two heroes, one heartbeat

What keeps RRR from becoming merely loud is the relationship at its centre. N. T. Rama Rao Jr. brings a gentle, open-hearted warmth to Bheem, a man whose strength is matched by his innocence, and his physical performance is extraordinary. Ram Charan plays Raju with a burning intensity that hides layers the film reveals slowly, and his scenes of inner conflict give the story unexpected emotional weight.

Their bond is written as a grand romance of friendship, full of vows, grief and reconciliation, and both actors commit to it without irony. That sincerity is what makes the spectacle land: the audience cares about these two men, so the outlandish action feels earned.

Where the excess becomes a burden

RRR’s broad strokes do not suit everything it attempts. The British characters are pantomime villains, cruel without nuance, and while that fits the film’s mythic register, it flattens the history it draws on. The women, including Alia Bhatt’s role, get little to do beyond supporting the heroes. The final act also leans heavily on heroic and religious iconography, which some viewers will find thrilling and others heavy-handed.

Who should watch RRR?

It is essential for anyone who loves big-screen action, for newcomers curious about Telugu cinema, and for viewers who enjoy films that aim for pure spectacle and sincere emotion. Set aside more than three hours; it moves fast enough to justify it. The violence is frequent and sometimes brutal, including scenes of torture and colonial cruelty, so it suits older teenagers and adults.

If you want more:

• Baahubali: The Beginning, the first part of Rajamouli’s fantasy epic, which established his taste for mythic spectacle.
• Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, which raises the scale further and completes that story.
• Pushpa: The Rise, another Telugu blockbuster built around a larger-than-life hero.

The verdict

RRR is a film of exuberant invention, where friendship, rebellion and song collide in some of the most memorable action scenes of the century. Its villains are thin and its patriotism unrestrained, but few films deliver this much joy and spectacle in a single sitting.

Rating: 4.5/5