RRR

 

S.S. Rajamouli's Bollywood epic RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) is unlike anything Western cinema creates -- probably because of the enormous costs associated with such productions. The movie's large cast, period costuming and sets, complex musical numbers and action set pieces and the many CGI stunts are estimated by IMDB.com to have cost 3.5 billion rupees (36 million U.S. dollars).

Currently streaming on Netflix, RRR, which runs a bit over three hours, is set in pre-independence India where maniacal and blood-thirsty British colonialists terrorize the Indian population -- killing, imprisoning and impoverishing millions. The villains are truly villainous. The heroes, practically Olympian.

The story, which was written by Rajamouli and his team, stars Ram Charan and N. T. (Tarak) Rama Rao Jr. as two friends who are insurgents working separately and unknown to the other to overthrow the British occupation. One, Charan, within the British army, and Tarak in the Indian forests where he has become a kind of druidic spirit.

A bit of a bromance is suggested in the two men's attraction and devotion to one another. Their first meeting, during a spectacular train explosion and derailment, contains all of the movie's production values in one 10-minute segment that sets the standard for the film's action, as does the friends' dance number -- the Oscar-winning "Naatu Naatu."

Rajamouli does not spare the audience scenes of graphic brutality and mayhem; the death toll is high, with many women and children, usually exempted from Western film carnage, prominently featured among the dead.

To my mind and eye, RRR does an admirable job of balancing style and substance, although the elaborate nature of Indian film tips the scale in favor of fire and fury -- which makes for a riveting viewing experience.