First Take: Is RRR SS Rajamouli's best work?

Are we making the same mistake that we often do when the West recognizes and acknowledges one of our talent ? We begin to value the talent more than we did earlier. It happened with Satyajit Ray and Mira Nair. Their maiden effort Pather Panchali and Salaam Bombay! were recognized by Western critics before their Indian counterparts reluctantly did the same. Applause Entertainment, known to do pathbreaking work since its inception, has now announced an ongoing docu-series entitled Grand Masters. The first to feature in the series is the newsy globetrotter SS Rajamouli who has definitely taken the song-and-dance tradition of Indian cinema to the West with _RRR_. The firangis love the anti-colonial bacchanalia. The let’s-show-the-colonists-the-middle-finger mood has caught on. Lets Naatu naatu! But as far as the commercial dynamics of Indian filmmaking go, is RRR a better film that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi. Is Rajamouli a better filmmaker than Bhansali? The answer to that is hovering in the populist culture that inveigles Indian cinema. Just because a film is popular it doesn’t follow that it is worthy of anointment. If that were so, we must immediately place Dada Kondke and David Dhawan in the Grand Masters series. These directors didn’t make great films. But they made popular films. RRR is not a great film. But it is a popular film. Very popular film. In Rajamouli’s oeuvre, RRR comes below his Magadheera and Eega . Both smart intelligent mass entertainers. Baahubali 1 and 2 got right the eclectic expressionism of comicbook narration. [caption id=“attachment_12023002” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] RRR[/caption] Baahubali was more kindred entertainer than RRR which suffers from performance anxiety. Every frame has to be the crest of captivity. Every shot has to end on an climactic exclamation mark.Every emotion is heightened to orgasmic peaks.It’s like watching a showreel of the most exhilarating moments from Gemini Circus’ existence. Of course, RRR is hugely entertaining. But does it really add up? Is Rajamouli one of our great filmmakers ,on a par with Raj Kapoor, K Balachander, L V Prasad, V Shantaram, Bimal Roy and Sanjay Leela Bhansali? Are we not over-estimating the merits of an capable efficient intelligent filmmaker who has brought the Bollywood formula on the world map? [caption id=“attachment_12022992” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] RRR[/caption] Sure, that is no mean achievement. But there is a difference between accessibility and excellence. I think RRR is high on the former, and a not so high on the latter. Of course I love RRR, just like the rest of the world. But it is the equivalent of junkfood for the soul. Sorry, RRR doesn’t give off the edifying vibes of Great Cinema. Personally, I feel Rajamouli’s Eega is a much more innovative work. It’s a fiercely original and engaging piece of cinema replete with special effects that endow human qualities on a fly, making it a cool tool of vendetta. Lest we forget, Rajamouli has made some terrible films in the past . His first film Student No. 1 is cringe-worthy. Rowdy Rathod is no better. In my opinion, Rajamouli’s best work to date is Eega. In it, the fly creates quite a buzz! Especially around the film’s antagonist Sudeep’s ears, as it tortures the yell out of the villain who had bumped off the leading lady’s angelic suitor, little realizing that he, the suitor, would be reborn as a fly. On paper, Eega must have sounded like a corny adventure saga about a fly’s vendetta spree against a man who would go to any lengths to win over a girl who rebuffs his every gesture. Sudeep’s effectual destruction by the fly has to be seen to be believed. To bring variations into the fly’s various means of torturing his adversary to death requires Herculean plotting and planning. Director Rajamouli excels in giving a human life to the fly. [caption id=“attachment_12023012” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Eega[/caption] In spite of the inherent repetitiveness of the concept (in how many ways can a fly…er, fly?) the narrative’s pace never slackens. The special effects are incredibly adept. Full marks to Kannada actor Sudeep for creating an exacerbated tension in a fight that is unequal from Round 1. Interestingly as the fly-hero’s vendetta intensifies, Sudeep’s character begins to appear comically vulnerable. By the time he gets unequivocally murderous, we share Sudeep’s sentiments completely. Aur nahin buzz aur nahin! In theory it’s a very shaky plot on which to build a whole film. Rajamouli’s sure-handed direction puts a zing into the buzz. There is no dearth of innovative moments in the script. The sharp clenched narrative doesn’t let go of a single occasion to allow the fight to finish between the fly and his killer. Honestly, who would expect a film entitled Eega to fly like a bird? Rajamouli’s ingenious idea and skilfull storytelling take us completely by surprise. Gutsy sly and original, this is the entertainer of the season. Not only is Sudeep in top form, even Samantha Ruth Prabhu, one of her earliest roles, as his object of adoration is sweetly effective. Another unmistakable plus is M M Keeravani’s music. The songs come on at opportune spaces in the storytelling. The background music nails the funny-sad-daring plot. This may not be the classic waiting to be re-discovered But Eega holds our attention right to the end. It is a conventional love story turned into a ferociously innovative saga by one masterstroke. By the end of it we no longer wonder, why a fly? We’re too busy cheering the fly which knows its mind better than Peter Proud ever did.Long live reincarnation. Speaking of reincarnation, Rajamouli’s Magadheera is one of the most successful Indian films on the theme. In an old interview Rajamouli had told me was inspired by Rakesh Roshan’s Karan Arjun to make Magadheera. Not quite the role-model for a director who is today looked at the most successful import from India after biryani and Priyanka Chopra, give or take the Jonas. I am Eega to see what Rajamouli does next. Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based journalist. He has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News,  India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and Instagram