Modern Masters: S.S. Rajamouli: After creating magnum opuses and masterpieces throughout his filmography, you would expect that S.S. Rajamouli was probably always born to do this. But in the first few minutes of the documentary, he narrates his first day as a director on a film set, and it was surprising to see that someone so celebrated today could also be someone I could relate with. On his first day as a director, he had no idea what to do. He got cold feet and sweaty palms and was nervous to the point where he didn’t know if he should even be there. It was humbling to see someone like him accept that and make you feel like believing in your dreams, even if it requires you to step out of your comfort zone.
Directed by Raghav Khanna and produced by Applause Entertainment and Film Companion Studios, the documentary showcases Rajamouli’s entire journey from being an AD to his father to making history with RRR. There are interviews with his family and industry friends, which introduce you to the person that he really is. What sets him apart is not just his filmmaking but also the fact that every important person on set is related to him in some way. For instance- his wife, Rama Rajamouli is his costume designer, his son, S.S. Kartikeya is his line producer along with his sister-in-law and his biggest cheerleader M.M. Srivalli. She is the wife of M.M. Keeravani, who composed Naatu Naatu and the BGM in all his films, and Rajamouli’s father is the screenwriter of all his movies. They’re a family of storytellers and this is all they do, while Rajamouli is the captain of the ship, it is also their immense contribution to his movies that it is what it is today.
The documentary features interviews from his lead actors Prabhas, Ram Charan, Jr. NTR and Rana Dagubbati. They give us an insight into what it is like to be on a S.S. Rajamouli film set. His first directorial Simhadri which came out in 2003 did not do well at the box office but it was just the beginning for him. In his second film, Magadheera, he wanted his VFX artist to make flowers in a scene but this could lead to continuity error. But Rajamouli was ready for that risk because he knew the aura that his film created just lured people right into the story. His film Eega is another example of how he can make us believe in a revenge story of a housefly. But everyone who has worked with him has the same thing to say, which is the fact that he is a perfectionist who overlooks every little detail on set. He is absolutely that guy in a group project who wants to do everything by himself because that is the level of perfectionism he brings to the table.
Anupama Chopra while interviewing him in the documentary said that "What you do for your heroes is what Yash Chopra did for his heroines, every actress wanted to be in a Yash Chopra film and every actor wants to be a hero in your movie”. I couldn’t have agreed to this more. In Rajamouli’s films the hero is the beacon of righteousness, he gives the people the justice they deserve from the powerful bad guys. He creates this larger than life aura around them. He said that in his films he puts his hero in a situation where he has no option but to be strong and find out what he is capable of doing in that situation. This is the reason why most of his films have so many whistle worthy moments and become that massy entertainer the audiences crave.
Coming back to three of his biggest films till date, it was rather interesting to know how the inception of Bahubali happened when Rajamouli was on a holiday in Bali with his family and he saw a statue of Karna and Ghatotkatch fighting each other, he instantly thought of making a film where a scene exactly resembles that statue. It is intriguing to see what his muses are and where he finds inspiration for his films. RRR then continued that streak by becoming not just a Pan-Indian film but a movie that became a global phenomenon. You get to see behind the scenes from the set and the kind of effort he has put in to make the story come to life. Like how he exactly enacts the kind of emotion he is expecting his actors to bring out.
James Cameron and Joe Russo who were highly impressed by RRR also gave interviews in the documentary. With what Rajamouli is capable of doing, they did not see why anyone in Hollywood wouldn’t want to collaborate with him. In the 10-15 years of his journey he went from just a Telugu audience to the biggest of icons from Hollywood giving him the recognition he deserves. As the documentary calls it, he truly is one modern master of cinema. While we get a glimpse into his personal life, his childhood through pictures from start to finish, what he lives, breathes and has on his mind is his movies and that is all he has ever known!
Modern Masters: S.S. Rajamouli is currently streaming on Netflix!
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