S. S. Rajamouli | |
|---|---|
 Rajamouli in 2021 | |
| Born | Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli (1973-10-10)10 October 1973 (age 52) |
| Other names |
|
| Occupations |
|
| Works | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Father | V. Vijayendra Prasad |
| Family | Koduri family |
| Awards | Full list |
| Honours | Padma Shri (2016)[1] |
Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli (/ˈrɑːdʒəmaʊlɪ/RAH-juh-mow-li; born 10 October 1973) is an Indian filmmaker who works inTelugu cinema. Known for hisepic,action drama andfantasy genre films, he is one of the most prolific and the highest grossing Indian directors of all time,[2] as well as the highest-paid director inIndian cinema.[3] Rajamouli is a recipient of variousnational and international honours including aNew York Film Critics Circle award, aCritics' Choice Movie Award, twoSaturn Awards, fourNational Film Awards, and fiveFilmfare Awards. In 2016, theGovernment of India honoured him with thePadma Shri, for his contributions in the field of art. In 2023, he was included on theTime's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[4]
Rajamouli has been described by film trade analystKomal Nahta as "the biggest Indian film director ever" and bySOAS professorRachel Dwyer as "India's most significant director today".[5][6] He has directed twelve feature films, all of which have been box office successes.[6][7] Three of his films—Baahubali: The Beginning (2015),Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), andRRR (2022)—rank among thetop 15 highest grossing-films in India. Each of these films was themost expensive Indian production at the time of its release.Baahubali 2 became the first Indian film to gross over₹1,000 crore and held the record as the highest-grossing Indian film. It also sold over 100 million tickets, the highest for any film in India sinceSholay (1975).[8]
The 2009 fantasy action film,Magadheera was thehighest-grossing Telugu film ever at the time of its release.Eega (2012) won nine awards at theToronto After Dark Film Festival, including the Most Original Film.Baahubali films have received sixSaturn Award nominations withBaahubali 2 winning theBest International Film.RRR received variousinternational accolades including anAcademy Award and aGolden Globe Award for the song "Naatu Naatu", and aCritics' Choice Movie Award forBest Foreign Language Film.
Rajamouli's films are typically characterized by their epic grandeur, stylized action sequences, unbridledheroism and larger-than-life characters with historical and mythological references. His films have been noted for their integration ofCGI withpractical effects. With hisBaahubali films, he has pioneered thepan-Indian film movement.[9] He is also credited for expanding the market ofTelugu cinema andSouth Indian cinema intoNorth India and international markets.[10]
Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli was born on 10 October 1973 in aTelugu family[11] toV. Vijayendra Prasad and Raja Nandini.[12][13] His parents were staying in Amareshwara Camp inRaichur district ofMysore State (present-dayKarnataka) at the time of his birth.[14] Both his parents hail fromAndhra Pradesh — his father fromKovvur nearRajahmundry and his mother fromVisakhapatnam.[15][16][17]
Rajamouli's father is aKamma and his mother belonged toKapu caste.[18][19] Vijayendra Prasad is opposed to thecaste system and dropped the initial 'K' from his name, as he felt it was an indicator of his caste.[20][18]
Rajamouli's parents are ardent devotees ofLord Shiva. He was born after his mother had a dream when she visited the pilgrimage site ofSrisailam. Hence, he was named Srisaila Sri Rajamouli.[21] He has one elder sister who now lives inAustralia.[22][23] Rajamouli grew up in ajoint family — his father and his five brothers lived in the same house with their families.[24][25][26] Prasad's family had lands in Kovvur, which were lost when the railways lines were laid through them.[27] Then, Prasad and his family moved to Karnataka from Kovvur in 1968. Prasad, along with his elder brother K. V. Sivashankar, bought sevenacres of paddy fields inHirekotikal village nearManvi in Raichur district. Their family moved back to Kovvur in 1977.[28][29]
Rajamouli was educated in Kovvur till fourth standard and then shifted toEluru where he studied tillIntermediate first year. He then took a break of two years and finished hisIntermediate second year in Kovvur. After that, he did not pursue any further formal education.[30]
Rajamouli was passionate aboutstorytelling right from his second standard.[31] When he was seven years old, his grandmother introduced him to theepic storyRamayana,Mahabharata, andBhagavata.[24] At the same age, his father introduced him toAmar Chitra Katha comics that featured stories on Indianhistorical figures, religious legends andfolktales. It had a huge impact on him and developed his penchant for larger-than-life characters.[32][24] He would remember those stories and the films he watched and then re-tell them to his friends in his own way.[32][31][21] His mother was keen on him learningEnglish and would take him to watchEnglish-language films in the nearby towns. She encouraged him to readcomics andstorybooks in his free time and never pressured him in academics.[24][33] His father recollecting about Rajamouli's childhood noted, "he was not an ambitious child. For a long time, we did not know what interested him. He showed some inclination towards films. He played the role of young Krishna in a film I directed."[34]
Rajamouli's paternal grandfather was a wealthy landlord who owned 360acres of land. By the time Rajamouli was 10 or 11 years old, they lost much of their wealth.[35][36][37] As his father Vijayendra Prasad and uncleSiva Shakthi Datta were passionate about filmmaking, they sold most of their remaining assets and shifted toMadras to make films. They started many films that went unfinished. They faced financial losses and started working asghostwriters to make ends meet.[38][22][39] Thirteen members of his extended family started living in a two-room apartment in Madras. Rajamouli recollects his family sitting together and making fun of themselves and their condition at the time, but they were never sad about it.[35][36]
Later Prasad established himself as a screenwriter with films likeBobbili Simham (1994) andGharana Bullodu (1995).[27][40] Wanting to make another film, his father then co-produced (along with Katragadda Prasad) and directed a film calledArdhangi (1996) with his life savings.[22][41][30][42] Rajamouli recalls about that film:
I was very actively involved in the project as an associate director. I felt that film was my child, even though I didn't direct the film. It was a miserable failure. My family went into a debt trap. It took us years to pick up and put the pieces together. All of that strongly stayed in my mind. That was a very low period for me. I then decided to never take anything for granted. It imbibed in me the work ethic to make everythingperfect and interesting for the audience, no matter how small or unimportant thatscene orshot might be. That lowest phase of my life taught me how I should work later on in my career.[39][30][41][42]
Rajamouli started his film career as anapprentice to the veteran film editorKotagiri Venkateswara Rao and worked with him for six months.[43][22] Rajamouli recollects, "Even in my early 20s, I didn't know how to plan for my future. My father would constantly scold me for doing nothing. I joined films just to get away from his nagging. Slowly, I found my love for direction."[34] He worked atAVM recording theatre inChennai for a few days. He also worked as an assistant director toKranthi Kumar for some time.[44][45] Then, he assisted his father Vijayendra Prasad for six years.[30] He started writing for films but was always disappointed by the execution of his stories by other directors. His frustration as a writer motivated him to become a director so that he can bring out his vision as a writer perfectly onto the screen.[46]
He then shifted toHyderabad from Chennai and worked with his relative,Gunnam Gangaraju, from whom he learnt about the practical aspect of filmmaking.[30][22][47] Later under the supervision ofK. Raghavendra Rao, he directed social message-oriented commercials. He also directed a fewadvertisements for theTelugu Desam Party.[22][47] He then worked for one and a half years as the director of the Telugu TVserial,Santhi Nivasam, along with Vara Mullapudi, which was produced by Raghavendra Rao. It aired onETV.[22][47] In an interview in 2005, Rajamouli called it the most arduous period in his life as he used to work for 17 hours a day.[30] He recalled:
"My main aim while working in television was to get Mr Rao's approval. During my TV days, I didn't have much of an idea of what I was making. The good thing was that I was a hard worker, and I earned the nickname work devil."[37]
In 2001, Raghavendra Rao offered Rajamouli the chance to direct afeature film for his production house titled,Student No: 1, which the latter accepted.[22] Raghavendra Rao provided the screenplay in addition to supervising the direction. Rajamouli later regretted not working for a longer time as an assistant director. "When I made my first filmStudent No: 1, I didn't know how to use acrane because I never used a crane while I was doing my TV serial."[48][49]Student No:1 was acoming of age romantic action film and was the second film ofJr. NTR in a lead role. Rajamouli would go onto collaborate with Jr. NTR in three more films. Released on 27 September 2001, the film marked the official debut of SS Rajamouli as a director; the film went on to become a critical and commercial success, and was Jr. NTR's first successful film.[50]
Rajamouli's second film wasSimhadri (2003), again with Jr. NTR. After his first film, he realised that the kind of films he wanted to make had more drama and action, and so he madeSimhadri, anaction film.[47] It marked Rajamouli's first collaboration with his father Vijayendra Prasad who provided the story.Simhadri was also the first film penned by Rajamouli. The film emerged as a blockbuster and became one of the highest grossing Telugu films ever at the time.[51]
In the two-year gap betweenStudent No.1 andSimhadri, Rajamouli planned his first mythological film with Malayalam actorMohanlal, but the film eventually got shelved.[52] In 2015, Assistant art director Manu Jagath, who later worked as the art director forBaahubali, released several sketches he had drawn for the shelved Mohanlal project.[53] During the same period he was also supposed to direct a fantasy film withPrakash Kovelamudi as the lead but the film was shelved due to financial reasons.[30][22][27]
Rajamouli's third film wasSye (2004), starringNithin andGenelia. He recalls, "I got plenty of offers after the success ofSimhadri. But I deliberately made a decision not to make an emotionally charged mass film likeSimhadri immediately. I don't want to get branded as mass director. Hence I didSye, which is radically different compared toSimhadri."[30] It was a first-of-its-kind film inTelugu cinema, in that it was based on the sport ofRugby. This film was also the first instance where Rajamouli collaborated withK. K. Senthil Kumar who would eventually work with him on seven more films.[54]Sye was commercially successful and won fourNandi Awards.Sye made a huge impact on the Telugupopular culture through its popularisation of Rugby to the masses.[55]
His next venture wasChatrapathi (2005), an action drama set in Vizag dealing with the plight of refugees.Chatrapathi starredPrabhas in the lead role with music composed byM. M. Keeravani and cinematography by Senthil Kumar. It was Rajamouli's fourth consecutive hit and became one of the highest grossing Telugu films of the year.[56]
In his next projectVikramarkudu (2006), Rajamouli worked withRavi Teja andAnushka Shetty. Rajamouli was attacked during the shooting of the film nearNanakramguda in Hyderabad. He suffered a hairline fracture on his hand and was admitted into a nearbyApollo hospital.[57][58]Vikramarkudu was abreakthrough film for Anushka Shetty. This is the one film that people believedRavi Teja dominated the direction of Rajamouli. The film was screened at theInternational Film Festival of India in the mainstream section.[59] The film was a big success and was remade into several Indian languages includingKannada asVeera Madakari (2009), Tamil asSiruthai (2011), andHindi asRowdy Rathore (2012).[60]
He then directedYamadonga (2007), a fantasy action comedy film starringJr NTR,Priyamani,Mohan Babu, andMamata Mohandas. The plot follows Raja, a thief who is killed by his rivals. Raja's soul travels toNaraka (hell) to face the trial for his sins byYama, the Hindu god of death and justice. The film was successful at the box-office and became one of the highest grossing Telugu films ever at the time.[51][61]
Rajamouli started his ownproduction company Visvamithra Creations named after the ancient Indian sageVisvamitra. Prabhas acted as Visvamitra for the logo shoot of the company.[62]Yamadonga was produced under the Visvamithra Creations banner but the producers were Cherry and Urmila Gunnam withRama Rajamouli presenting the film.[63]
Rajamouli's next venture was the fantasy-action filmMagadheera (2009), starringRam Charan andKajal Aggarwal. Made on a budget of₹35–44 crore (US$7–10 million), it was the most expensive Telugu film at the time.[a] It was the first Telugu film to list a "visual effects producer" in its credits.Magadheera became one of the biggest commercial successes inTelugu cinema and was the highest-grossing Telugu film at the end of its theatrical run.[67][68] ForMagadheera, Rajamouli won theNandi Award for Best Director andFilmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu. The film also won theNational Award forBest Choreography andBest Special Effects at the57th National Film Awards and a total of sixFilmfare Awards South and nineNandi Awards.[69] The film's success catapulted both the leads into stardom.
Magadheera was dubbed intoTamil asMaaveeran and intoMalayalam asDheera: The Warrior and was released on 27 May 2011.[70] Both the dubbed versions were successful and earned a good fan base for Ram Charan inTamil Nadu andKerala.[71] TheJapanese-dubbed version of the film released in August 2018 and became one of the highest-grossing Indian films ever at the Japanese box office.[72][71]
In 2010 he directed the action comedy filmMaryada Ramanna starringSunil andSaloni. Rajamouli watched the 1923 silent comedy filmOur Hospitality and liked it immensely. He wanted to re-tell the same story in his own way. He tried to contact the original creators but found out that the original writers of the film were long dead and that the film'scopyright had expired as it had been over75 years since the film's release. His cousin S. S. Kanchi and him then adapted that story with aRayalaseema backdrop focusing on the factional violence and hospitality that co-existed in the region.[73][74] Regarding his decision to make a small film likeMaryada Ramanna he remarked, "I decided that my next project would beMaryada Ramanna duringMagadheera shooting itself becauseMagadheera is a one and half year project that demands lot of physical labour and mental strain. I didn't want to commit another physically exhausting film immediately afterMagadheera."[75]
Maryada Ramanna opened to favourable reviews from critics. It became one of the highest grossing Telugu films of 2010.[76][77][78] It received fourNandi Awards, includingBest Popular Feature Film.Maryada Ramanna was remade in Hindi asSon of Sardaar and into other languages like Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, and Malayalam.[75][79] In 2012 Rajamouli stated in an interview with Maa TV thatMaryada Ramanna was his personal favourite among all the films he had directed.[80]
His next project was thefantasyaction filmEega (2012). The film was produced bySai Korrapati'sVaaraahi Chalana Chitram with an estimated budget of₹30–40crore (US$6–7 million). It was simultaneously filmed inTamil language with the titleNaan Ee (transl. I, the Fly). The film starsNani,Samantha, andSudeep. The idea ofEega originated in the mid-1990s in Vijayendra Prasad's mind. At that time, he was joking about a housefly seeking revenge on a human in a conversation with his son Rajamouli.[81] After completingMaryada Ramanna, Rajamouli reconsidered the concept after thinking of directing a film that was distinct from any other.[82] He explained it thus:
When I started making films, I stuck to formula films for a while which did well at the box office. After a while, I was getting too comfortable with what I was doing, so I wanted to experiment with something completely different. I wanted to take the audience by surprise and that is when I went back to the story I had heard 16 years ago.[83]
Upon release, the film received widespread critical acclaim including for Rajamouli's direction. It became one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of all time. The Tamil versionNaan Ee and Malayalam versionEecha were also big hits at the box office.[84] The Hindi dubbed versionMakkhi underperformed at the box office which Rajamouli attributed to a poor promotional strategy. But the satellite rights ofMakkhi were sold at a price of₹8 crore to Star Gold, by far the highest price ever paid for the Hindi dub of a Telugu film at the time.[85]
Eega was screened at various international film festivals including the2013 Cannes Film Festival.[b] The Telugu version won nine awards, including Most Original Film at the8th annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival.[86]Eega won twoNational Film Awards (Best Feature Film in Telugu andBest Special Effects) and fiveSouth Filmfare Awards includingBest Telugu Film andBest Telugu Director. Speaking at an event, filmmakerShekhar Kapur said regional cinema is surpassing Hindi cinema in content and story, and citedEega as an example. Kapur said he was impressed with its story and use of technology, and called it "no less than a Hollywood superhero film".[87]Eega was listed among "The 25 Best Foreign Films of the Decade" byThe Ringer.[88]
In 2015, he directed theepic action filmBaahubali: The Beginning starringPrabhas,Rana Daggubati,Anushka Shetty,Ramya Krishna,Sathyaraj, andTamanna.[89][90] The film was shot usingArri Alexa XT camera, marking Rajamouli's first film shot using a digital camera.[91][92] Rajamouli's work was lauded byThe Hollywood Reporter,The Guardian andThe Huffington Post.[93][94] It became the secondhighest grossing Indian film of all time, and the highest grossing Indian film of all time within India.[95][96][97] Its Hindi dubbed version also broke several records. It was the first dubbed film to collect over 100 crore nett at the Hindi box office and became the highest-grossing dubbed film in Hindi of all time. It was screened at various international film festivals including the2016 Cannes Film Festival.[c] The making of the film was featured inBBC's documentary on 100 Years of Indian cinema, directed bySanjeev Bhaskar.[98][99][100]
Baahubali: The Beginning receivedseveral awards. It won theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film and became the first Telugu film to win the award. It also won theNational Award for Best Special Effects. At the63rd Filmfare Awards South, the Telugu version won five awards from ten nominations, includingBest Film andBest Director award for Rajamouli. It became the first Indian film to be nominated forSaturn Awards, receiving five nominations at the42nd ceremony, includingBest Fantasy Film.[101]
In 2015, Rajamouli was named as theCNN-News18 Indian of the Year in Entertainment.[102] In 2016, he was honoured with thePadma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour for his contributions towards the field of Art.[103]
His next project wasBaahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), which served as both asequel and aprequel toBaahubali: The Beginning.[104] The film was premiered at the British Film Institute.[105][106] It was made on an estimated budget of₹250 crore ($37 million)[d] and was themost expensive Indian film ever made at the time.Baahubali 2 was released on 28 April 2017 and later dubbed intoHindi,Malayalam,Japanese,Russian andChinese. Released in conventional 2D and IMAX formats,Baahubali 2 was the first Telugu film to also release in 4K High Definition format.
Grossing₹1,810 crore worldwide ($267 million),[d] the film surpassedPK (2014) to briefly become thehighest grossing Indian film of all time, collecting approximately₹800 crore worldwide within just six days of its release. It became the first-ever Indian film to gross over₹1,000 crore, doing so in just ten days. Within India, it set many film records, becoming the highest-grossing film in Hindi, as well as in its original Telugu language. It stands as thehighest-grossing film in India,[108] thesecond highest-grossing Indian film worldwide and the39th highest-grossing film of 2017. The film sold over 10crore (100 million) tickets during its box office run, the highest estimated admissions for any film in India sinceSholay (1975).[109][8]Baahubali 2 released to positive reviews from critics. It won theSaturn Award for Best International Film and threeNational Film Awards:Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment,Best Special Effects and Best Stunt Choreographer.
The exceptional success ofBaahubali films across different Indian languages, regions, and states kickstarted what has been termed thepan-Indian films movement where a film is simultaneously released in multiple Indian languages and is made to appeal to audiences across the country, cutting across the linguistic and cultural barriers.[110][111] Several filmmakers and film analysts have credited Rajamouli for almost single-handedly expanding the reach and market ofSouth Indian cinema to Northern India and beyond.[110][112][113]
Rajamouli's subsequent filmRRR (2022) is an epic action drama based on the lives of Indian revolutionaries,Alluri Sitarama Raju andKomaram Bheem. Made on a budget of est.₹550 crore (US$72 million),[114] it is themost expensive Indian film ever made. The film starsNTR Jr,Ram Charan,Ajay Devgn, andAlia Bhatt.[115]RRR opened to positive reviews from critics with praise for the performances, particularly Rama Rao and Charan, and screenplay by Rajamouli.
With ₹240 crore (US$31 million) worldwide on its first day,RRR broke the record for the highest opening-day collection earned by an Indian film.RRR emerged as the highest-grossing film in its home market ofAndhra Pradesh andTelangana, grossing over ₹400 crore (US$52 million) and surpassing Rajamouli's previous filmBaahubali 2. The film grossed 1,200 crore (US$175 million) worldwide, setting several box office records for an Indian film, including thesecond-highest-grossing film in India and thethird-highest-grossing Indian film.RRR is nominated in three categories at the47th Saturn Awards including aBest Director nomination for Rajamouli. It was also nominated inBest Action / Adventure Film andBest International Film categories.[116][117] Rajamouli won theNew York Film Critics Circle Award forBest Director for the film.[118] The film also won twoCritics' Choice Movie Awards.[119]
In September 2022, the director signed with the American talent agencyCreative Artists Agency (CAA) in a move that has been described as a "coup for the agency".[120]
In January 2025, Rajamouli began production ofVaranasi with actorMahesh Babu in their maiden collaboration.[121] The film is touted to be a jungle adventure set inAfrica.[citation needed] While attending the2022 Toronto International Film Festival, Rajamouli revealed more details about the project: "My next film with Mahesh Babu will be a globetrotting action adventure. It's going to be a kind ofJames Bond orIndiana Jones film with Indian roots."[122][123]
There were also reports of him planning an animated film rooted in Indian content.[124] In August 2022, he revealed that he was working on a couple of scripts that would be suitable to be made asanimation films.[33]
Rajamouli frequently speaks about his intention to make a film based on the Indian epicMahabharata in the future.[125][126] He thinks it will be at least a four-part project requiring a time period of six to ten years.[127][128][129] In May 2017 he noted, "I don't want to compromise in making it and the huge project is going to take 10 years perhaps. I am apprehensive as to whether I will be able to execute such a technically-superior project (in the immediate future)." He had also revealed that the film series may not feature establishedmovie stars. "This is the kind of film that will not work out if I rope in stars. Once the different characters are designed, I would have to hunt for the right artists and mould them accordingly," he said.[125][130] In July 2022 he said, "Mahabharata has been my long, long, long dream project, but it will take a long time for me to step into that ocean. Before I step intoMahabharata I want to make, maybe, three or four films."[42] In May 2023, he said, "If I get to the point of making Mahabharata, it would take me a year just to read the versions of Mahabharata that are available in the country. At present, I can only assume that it would be a 10-part film."[131]
He also expressed his wish on several occasions to make films on the historical rulersSri Krishnadevaraya,Rajaraja Narendra,Kakatiyas andRani Abbakka.[132][133][134][135]
My personal opinions, my thoughts, and my lifestyle have nothing to do with my profession. I keep that completely separate. Professionally, I am different. I don't try to rub my thoughts on to my characters, or on to my storytelling.
Rajamouli marriedRama,sister-in-law of his cousinKeeravani in 2001.[22][47] After their marriage, Rama worked as acostume designer for many of Rajamouli's films. He adopted Karthikeya, Rama's son from her previous marriage. The couple also has an adopted daughter Mayookha.[137][138] Karthikeya is married to Pooja Prasad, niece of Telugu actorJagapathi Babu.[139]
Rajamouli's cousin,M. M. Keeravani has worked as themusic composer for all of his films. His other cousinsKalyani Malik andM. M. Srilekha are also music composers.[140][141][142] S. S. Kanchi, a screenwriter and actor known for his role in thesitcomAmrutham is also one of his cousins.[143] He collaborated with Rajamouli as ascript doctor on many of his films and also acted in four of his films.[75][114]Raja Koduri, an Executive vice-president atIntel is also a cousin of his.[144] Rajamouli considersK. Raghavendra Rao as his guru and mentor.[145][146] He calledGunnam Gangaraju his philosopher and guide who made an impact on hisworldview.[47][21]
Rajamouli is nicknamedJakkanna after the legendaryc.12th century sculptorJakanachari (known in Telugu as Jakkanna) who is credited with building numerous temples during theHoysala reign. The moniker was coined by actorRajeev Kanakala during the making of the TV serialSanthi Nivasam (c. 2000) directed by Rajamouli and was in reference to hiswork ethic andperfectionism like the famed sculptor.[147][148]
Regarding his religious views, in a March 2022 interview, Rajamouli stated that "I don't believe in God or religion the way it is portrayed now. But if you ask me 'Do you believe in the existence of God?' I'd say 'I don't know'."[149] AtBeyond Fest 2022 inLos Angeles, Rajamouli said that he is not a Hindu in the religious sense, but considering it asDharma, he is 'very much' aHindu. "I am a follower ofHindu dharma", he said.[150][151][152][153]
A self confessed "film freak",[154] Rajamouli's penchant for filmmaking is best captured by the word "emotion". He often stated that his films are based on stories driven by human emotions.[155][156] Revenge is a recurring theme in his films.[157] Several of Rajamouli's films featureflashback episodes where the protagonist's backstory is revealed, typically in the second half of the film. This narrative style is used inSimhadri,Vikramarkudu,Magadheera,Baahubali: The Beginning, andRRR.[14]
I’m very loyal to my action sequences. I just won’t put them in for the sake of it. I believe that human endurance and physical capabilities are unimaginable when they are emotionally charged. There are things that real people have achieved that we can’t imagine, but they happen once in a lifetime … The only thing is they happen quite a number of times in my films.
Describing his films as “big-scale action movies driven by hard-core emotion”,[159] Rajamouli considers himself to be a magnifying glass that enhances the various emotions of the characters on screen, and sees the presence of violent action as an integral factor that engages the viewer with on screen proceedings.[160][161] "For me, the character being emotionally charged up at that moment to go into that action sequence is very, very important," said Rajamouli about action sequences in his films.[162]
Rajamouli's films typically, arevisual effects-heavy and he is one of the pioneering filmmakers in India in integratingcomputer-generated imagery (CGI) withlive action. He mentions his preference forpractical effects over CGI and likes to capture as much footage as possiblein-camera.[162] Rajamouli's craft in CGI has improved with time. The CGI in the underwater shark-fighting sequence inChatrapathi was considered ambitious, but choppy. The CGI sequences inMagadheera,Eega,Baahubali, andRRR are more polished with each film improving upon the previous one.[68]
While scaling up his work with "larger-than-life" themes over the years, Rajamouli maintained his signature style of filmmaking that allows audiences to simmer in the thrills and emotions of the story with less dialogue.[163][164] All his films end with a print of his trademark circular stamp stating: "an S. S. Rajamouli film".[165]
Film criticBaradwaj Rangan opined that Rajamouli is a "great storyteller" who takes up common concepts and develops them in a novel acceptable way.[166] Production designerSabu Cyril, a four-time National Award winner for Best Art Direction and who worked for theBaahubali duology, said his team came up with as many as 25,000 sketches to design the various grand sets for the film in order to satisfy the rigorous visualisation standards of Rajamouli, which were grand and at the same time gone into very minute details ensuring that every pillar and wall had the right design. Cyril said, "Rajamouli makes no compromises."[167]
In 2022, Rajamouli participated in the British magazineSight & Sound film polls of the year 2022. Held once every ten years, the magazine asks popular contemporary writers and directors to name their ten personal favourite films.[168] Rajamouli listed the following ten films in order:Forrest Gump (1994);Mayabazar (1957);Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981);Kung Fu Panda (2008);Aladdin (1992);Braveheart (1995);Apocalypto (2007);Ben-Hur (1959);Django Unchained (2012) andThe Lion King (1994).[169]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Student No. 1 |
| 2003 | Simhadri |
| 2004 | Sye |
| 2005 | Chatrapathi |
| 2006 | Vikramarkudu |
| 2007 | Yamadonga |
| 2009 | Magadheera |
| 2010 | Maryada Ramanna |
| 2012 | Eega |
| 2015 | Baahubali: The Beginning |
| 2017 | Baahubali 2: The Conclusion |
| 2022 | RRR |
| 2025 | Baahubali: The Epic |
| 2027 | Varanasi† |
| Year | Title | Budget (est.) | Box-office (est.) | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide Share[e] | Worldwide Gross | ||||
| 2001 | Student No. 1 | ₹1.80 crore ($392,000) | ₹12.09 crore ($2.54 million) | — | [170][171] |
| 2003 | Simhadri | ₹8.5 crore ($1.8 million) | ₹25.7 crore ($5.6 million) | — | [170][171] |
| 2004 | Sye | ₹10.2 crore ($2.2 million) | ₹11 crore ($2.4 million) | — | [171] |
| 2005 | Chatrapathi | ₹12.5 crore ($2.8 million) | ₹22 crore ($5 million) | — | [170][171][172] |
| 2006 | Vikramarkudu | ₹11 crore ($2.4 million) | ₹23 crore ($5.1 million) | — | [173][174][172] |
| 2007 | Yamadonga | ₹18–20 crore ($4.3–4.8 million) | ₹29 crore ($7 million) | — | [170][175][172] |
| 2009 | Magadheera | ₹35–44 crore ($7–10 million)[a] | ₹73–78 crore ($15–16 million) | ₹150 crore ($31 million) | [170][172][176] |
| 2010 | Maryada Ramanna | ₹12–14 crore ($2.6–3.1 million) | ₹29 crore ($6.35 million) | ₹40 crore ($8.75 million) | [170][172][78][177] |
| 2012 | Eega | ₹30–40 crore ($6–7 million)[f] | ₹54 crore ($10 million) | ₹130 crore ($23 million) | [181] |
| 2015 | Baahubali: The Beginning | ₹180 crore ($28 million) | ₹302 crore ($47 million) | ₹650 crore ($101 million) | [182][183][172] |
| 2017 | Baahubali 2: The Conclusion | ₹250 crore ($38 million) | ₹831 crore ($128 million)[g] | ₹1,810 crore ($278 million) | [184][185][186] |
| 2022 | RRR | ₹550 crore ($72 million) | ₹624 crore ($82 million)[h] | ₹1387.26 crore ($164 million) | [187][188][189] |
| 2025 | Baahubali: The Epic | ₹40 crore ($4.5 million) | ₹36.15 crore ($2.51 million) | ₹72.31 crore ($5.02 million) | [190][191][192] |
Rajamouli is a recipient of several awards including fourNational Film Awards, fiveFilmfare Awards, and five stateNandi Awards. In 2015, Rajamouli was namedCNN-News18 Indian of the Year in Entertainment.[102] TheGovernment of India honoured him withPadma Shri in 2016, for his contributions to the field of Art.[193]
His films have been screened at various film festivals such asCannes Film Festival,Shanghai International Film Festival,Busan International Film Festival,Sitges Film Festival among others.[b][c] A retrospective of Rajamouli's films was held from September 26 to October 10, 2022, in a special program titled "From Tollywood to Hollywood" as part of the 10th edition of Beyond Fest, the highest attended genre festival in the U.S.[211][212]
Rajamouli was cited as an influence by directorsPrashanth Neel andAyan Mukerji.[213][214] Filmmaker and actorRahul Ravindran thinks Rajamouli alone has a foresight to predict the success of a script.[215]Matt Groening, creator of the television showsThe Simpsons andFuturama, while discussing his inspiration forDisenchantment mentioned that Rajamouli made some of his favourite films of the last decade, especiallyMagadheera. He added that the show hashomages to Rajamouli.[216] FilmmakerMani Ratnam mentioned that the success ofBaahubali inspired him to work onPonniyin Selvan.[217][218]
Rajamouli has redefined the reach of regional cinema consistently through his films, starting with Eega [2012] to the Baahubali series, and now with RRR. The entire concept of pan-Indian films came from him when he succeeded with Eega across many Indian languages. This opened up this concept. Thanks to his vision, today, a lot of films are able to be made on a bigger budget targeted at a pan-Indian audience. Rajamouli stands tall among all Indian filmmakers for his vision, innovation, and expansion of the regional language market at a global level.
Through hisBaahubali films, Rajamouli is credited with pioneering thepan-Indian films movement.[110][111] Gautam Jain of Ormax Media, a media and entertainment consulting firm writes, "Before the release ofBahubali: The Beginning (2015), the term 'Pan India film' did not exist in film media or audience lingo." He also called him the 'original Pan India filmmaker' and the 'most successful Pan India filmmaker'.[112]Vijay Kiragandur, the producer of theKGF films credited Rajamouli for makingBaahubali films and giving him the confidence to takeKGF: Chapter 1 to audiences across the country.[113]
Rachel Dwyer, professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema atSOAS University of London remarked that Rajamouli is India's most significant director at present who can make a film in a south Indian language that becomes apan-Indian film which can also be enjoyed overseas audience.[219]
Film trade analystKomal Nahta, citing the successful track record of Rajamouli called him the "biggest Indian film director ever".[6] Manoj Kumar R ofThe Indian Express wrote, "It's a rarity to find a director who sells more tickets than the leading stars of a movie. And in that respect, he has monopolized that space."[50] Sagar Tetali ofFilm Companion noted, that the success of Rajamouli's films is the triumph of directorial ambition over the actor-star image — centered film culture inTelugu cinema."[40] At the95th Academy Awards, "Naatu Naatu" fromRRR became the first song from an Indian film to win theAcademy Award for Best Original Song. He was invited to join theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2024.[220]
He's the highest grossing Indian director and also the director to secure the highest theatrical share.
In 2023, S.S. Rajamouili, known for films like Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2, was the leading director in India whose charge for a single project grossed about two billion Indian rupees.
It catapulted Rajamouli into becoming India's most expensive director, commanding about $13m to direct a film.
DNA also reported that the director SS Rajamouli, took home a mammoth profit share of Rs 100 crore. This is probably the most any director has earned from a movie, yet.
SS Rajamouli is perhaps India's most significant director today. He can make a film in a south Indian language that, when dubbed, becomes a pan-Indian film that can also be enjoyed overseas.
"Rajamouli has an impeccable track record. Every film of his has worked … It would not be wrong to say that he's the biggest [Indian film director] ever," Komal Nahta, an Indian film trade analyst, told Al Jazeera. Since his film-making career began in 2001, Rajamouli has directed 12 films – all box office hits.
And he has never failed — he has not had a film which was unprofitable at the box office, and ...... At what he has set out to do — whether or not it's to the taste of the art film aficionado or the film critic — he has never yet failed.
He is perhaps singlehandedly responsible for the rise of the pan-Indian film.
Before the release of Bahubali: The Beginning (2015), the term 'Pan India film' did not exist in film media or audience lingo.
Producer G Dhananjayan says, "Rajamouli has redefined the reach of regional cinema consistently through his films, starting with Eega [2012] to the Baahubali series, and now with RRR. The entire concept of pan-Indian films came from him when he succeeded with Eega across many Indian languages. This opened up this concept. Thanks to his vision, today, a lot of films are able to be made on a bigger budget targeted at a pan-Indian audience. Rajamouli stands tall among all Indian filmmakers for his vision, innovation, and expansion of the regional language market at a global level."
As audiences lapped up 'Why did Katappa kill Baahubali?', a market was not just created in the North for theatrical releases of Hindi-dubbed south Indian films, but it also paved the way for them to hammer Hindi films in their home turf. Clearly, Rajamouli has sown the seeds of south Indian cinema's dominance of Indian movie theatres across the country, with others following in his footsteps.
SS Rajamouli is perhaps India's most significant director today. He can make a film in a south Indian language that, when dubbed, becomes a pan-Indian film that can also be enjoyed overseas. SS Rajamouli is now widely regarded as one of India's greatest directors. Rajamouli's impact on Indian cinema is yet to be assessed, but he is perhaps primarily responsible for galvanising the interest in south Indian cinema that is now being watched all over India.
Rajamouli and his last film RRR may have single-handedly prompted not just Indian audiences but also cinephiles worldwide to look beyond Bollywood while seeking entertaining Indian blockbusters.
my mother tongue is Telugu and I was born in Karnataka
Very early in his career, he dropped 'K' from his name, KV Vijayendra Prasad, because "it was an indicator of my caste". "The caste system is at the root of most problems our country faces. I want it eradicated but it's not enough to preach without practising it."
The director grew up in a joint family spilling over with uncles and cousins.
Ours was a big joint family and we were 13 cousins.
Right from class two, my passion was telling stories. On Saturdays, we had an extra-curricular class, where it was always Rajamouli telling stories. I don't remember what I studied in school, but I remember each and every comic I read of Amar Chitra Katha. I used to mix and mash the characters from Amar Chitra Katha to tell stories to suit my liking.
I was fascinated by the forts, the battles, the kings, I not only used to read those stories but I kept telling those stories to my friends in my own way.
We were failed producers that ate away all the resources that my grandfather had accumulated as a rich landlord. We hit rock bottom and did not have any money for even my further education after intermediate. All of us were living in a two-room apartment. Even though they were hard days, it was fun together. Today, talking about those days, it looks as if we were poor; but at that time, we were happy and were sure that good days lay ahead.
My father, who then had no money to produce films, became a ghostwriter just for money. At home, he used to talk about his stories and I used to give him inputs and he took me as his assistant. He then established himself as a writer in films and we graduated to becoming lower middle class with each of his brothers living in separate houses.
After my father earned a little money as a writer, he went to his first love of producing films but the film was a miserable flop. I was 23 years old and everything we had was gone. Also, since he had become a director, no one gave him writing assignments; so we had no source of income for a year. We were scared of even paying our TV installment of ₹630 and were scared of the humiliation when the guy would come and take it away. This was the time I lost my innocence and the harsh reality of life hit me.
To escape from my father, I thought I should stay away from home and said I will become a director. So he put me as an apprentice under an editor and basically I did nothing except fooling around. But I read a lot of books.
I started writing for films but was always disappointed by the execution and thus wanted to become a director to bring out what I envisioned as a writer. My frustration as a writer was the reason for my becoming a director.
Rugby did not even skirt the periphery of our consciousness as kids. We'd never watched it on TV or live at a ground. But they had just watched Rajamouli's new sports drama, Sye, and were in the grip of the viscerality of the sport.
When Rajamouli wanted to design the logo of Viswamitra Creations, he needed a model for Viswamitra photo. He requested Prabhas as his physique is very good. Prabhas obliged for a photo shoot. The designer cut the physique of Prabhas and inserted in the logo of Viswamitra creations.
After Magadheera, which became the highest-grossing Telugu film of all time, .....
And his latest movie Magadheera became industry hit in all areas across India and overseas by breaking previous records by miles.
SS Rajamouli said, "Rayalaseema is known for factionism and violence. But is also known for hospitality. Maryada Ramanna is about a man who is torn with his two extremities of factionism and hospitality."
In one area of Andhra Pradesh family feuds that persist for many generations is a reality. That's what I showed in Maryada Ramanna. I saw families that were perfectly cultured and courteous, killing each other. I don't think this peculiar contradictory culture of the co-existence of violence and hospitality exists in Punjab.
Top director Rajamouli's Maryada Ramanna starring Sunil and Saloni collected about Rs 30 Crores.
Although Makkhi (Eega in Telugu) was traded for Rs 8 crore, it can be treated as a straight film because of the theatrical release of the Hindi version.
Released in 2015, Baahubali: The Beginning set the pace with an impressive lifetime gross of 500 crore in India to become the country's highest-grossing movie at the time.
He is perhaps singlehandedly responsible for the rise of the pan-Indian film.
Producer G Dhananjayan says, "Rajamouli has redefined the reach of regional cinema consistently through his films, starting with Eega [2012] to the Baahubali series, and now with RRR. The entire concept of pan-Indian films came from him when he succeeded with Eega across many Indian languages. This opened up this concept. Thanks to his vision, today, a lot of films are able to be made on a bigger budget targeted at a pan-Indian audience. Rajamouli stands tall among all Indian filmmakers for his vision, innovation, and expansion of the regional language market at a global level."
Before the release of Bahubali: The Beginning (2015), the term 'Pan India film' did not exist in film media or audience lingo.
"It's all thanks to Rajamouli and Yarlagadda for making pan-India films and giving us the confidence", says Vijay Kiragandur, Co-founder of Hombale Group, which produced the KGF movies. It was a meeting with Rajamouli in Bengaluru two months before KGF1's release that set the ball rolling. They showed him an 8-10-minute show-reel cut of the film on an iPad, and he asked them to go pan-India. "People in Karnataka were saying we are spending more on marketing than production in KGF1. [His words] gave us the confidence to spend that much. Otherwise also we would have gone all out, but would not have taken that much of a risk unless we heard it from the horse's mouth", says Kiragandur.
Rajamouli said, "I have a subject in mind. It is an idea evolving for years. The story has the Vijayanagara Empire as its backdrop during Sri Krishnadevaraya's rule."
I am a film freak since I was a kid.
Over the course of my career I learned that the stronger the emotions or more basic the emotions, the more people tend to like your movie," Rajamouli said. "That's what I have been doing. [...] I realised that if films are based on stories driven by basic human emotions, they will have a wider reach.
When I start writing a story, for me, it is the emotion I should be moved by. [...] I might not believe in God, but I connect to the emotion of a devotee and a God. And, I connect to the emotion that drives masses: devotion and submission to a greater self. I understand the power of that emotion, the power of a mass emotion, and I too feel that emotion. I might not believe in God, but I believe in the emotion, and if it moves me, I write it.
Says Rajamouli, an agnostic whose tales are replete with mythological themes of reincarnation and revenge
"When humans are under the grip of emotion, they tend to behave in a superhuman way and are pushed to do anything and that is what I tap," he said, describing his films as being "big scale action movies driven by hard-core emotion".
Yes, violence is part of my storytelling but not in a negative way. Each and everything, whether it is violence, softness, or any kind of emotion, I like to call myself a magnifying glass. I like to enhance my emotions. And I feel the same kind of emotion will enhance much more if you have action, if it has something just running around, It will just explode. It gives a larger-than-life effect. So that is my way of storytelling. That is how I like to see films, that is how I like to make films.
Instead of relying on action to only drive an adrenaline rush, SS Rajamouli uses action to drive various emotions. This leads to higher engagement with the proceedings on screen during action set-pieces.
:223 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).I generally like larger-than-life, pushing-the-boundaries sort of canvases [...] I believe entertainment to be a very serious business. It takes a lot for the audience to spend their hard-earned money and effort to come watch our films. They don't come to my movies for a history lesson, they come for thrill and emotional thrust. That's what I try to deliver. [...] I try to tell my story through visuals. [...] I try to put in as little dialogue as possible
Rajamouli had said at an event, "A pan Indian film does not mean that actors from different languages come together. A pan Indian film means a story that connects to everyone irrespective of the language. While creating a story, I think 'If I switch off this dialogue portion, will the audience still connect to my movie?' Many times, the answer is a yes."
SS Rajamouli is a brand in Tollywood. Literally. He's even got a stamp for himself. No Rajamouli film is complete without this
"Rajamouli is a great storyteller. He knows people expect something new with every film. He takes up familiar concepts and develops them in an unfamiliar and acceptable way," says Baradwaj Rangan
"His visualisation is grand and, at the same time, goes into very minute details," says Sabu Cyril, [...] "He ensured that every pillar and wall had the right design. He makes no compromises," Cyril adds.
With his films, he brought immense recognition toSouth cinema and he is a big source of inspiration to all of us.
Every time someone tells me during a script discussion that doing this or not doing that will make the script a hit film, I always say… how can you be sure, nobody can be, except Rajamouli sir.
In a given show there might be homages to Buster Keaton and to an Indian filmmaker named S. S. Rajamouli, who has made some of my favorite films of the last decade. I particularly recommend a movie called Magadheera.
I want to thank Rajamouli garu. In a way, he has opened a door for all of us and has shown us that this kind of film can be made. You can tell stories in two parts and be successful. It has become possible because of Baahubali, so I really want to thank him.
SS Rajamouli is perhaps India's most significant director today. He can make a film in a south Indian language that, when dubbed, becomes a pan-Indian film that can also be enjoyed overseas.
