A little over a year ago, RRR became a rare hit in India, a country whose film output far outstrips that of anywhere else in the world. Director SS Rajamouli became a global icon when Hollywood started taking notice of the Telugu filmmaker. Netflix’s new documentary on the director examines his rise and labels him a “modern master.”
MODERN MASTERS: HH RAJAMOULISTREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The essence: After RRR Following the success of the film, which became a global sensation (even in hard-to-reach markets like Japan), journalist Anupama Chopra speaks to director SS Rajamouli about the impact of the film’s success. She also delves into his previous work to chart the trajectory of his career, with help from personalities such as his collaborators and even the great James Cameron.
What will it remind you of?: Rajamouli’s documentary is flanked by personalities who are mainly from his inner circle, something like Smriti Mundhra. The romantics He did so in his account of Yash Chopra’s film empire.
Performance worth watching: Rajamouli’s wife, Rama, appears throughout the film, sharing details about their life together as a couple and as collaborators (Rama is the costume designer for his films). When she recounts their relationship and his discreet proposal, it’s the best way to understand who this man is in the entire film.
Memorable dialogue: “In Indian cinema, I don’t think there is a bigger filmmaker than SS Rajamouli. There isn’t, and I don’t think there will be for a while.” It’s notable that this praise comes from Hindi filmmaker Karan Johar, arguably a more prolific and well-known name than Rajamouli, which helps to focus the status of the filmmaker in question in Indian circles and abroad. It also doesn’t hurt that James Cameron also appears in the film, calling him “an icon of world cinema.”
Sex and skin: None.
Our opinion: SS Rajamouli rose to global fame in 2022 after the release of the critically acclaimed RRRand the success of that film has led many to revisit his previous films and look at them with renewed respect. Modern Masters: SS Rajamouli This is a documentary that sets out to trace his rise from young son of a dreamy father to pioneering director, without delving into any of the thorns stuck in his legacy.
Accompanied by his inner circle, which includes his son, wife, cousin and nephew, who work as collaborators on his film, Rajamouli’s story is always framed in a positive light. His beginnings in film are genuinely interesting and hearing his rise from his own mouth is an inspiring story. Rajamouli is depicted as a creative workhorse, a director who has his hands in every cookie jar with an eye toward perfection. This depiction, coupled with humble comments about his place in cinema history, make him an endearing subject to cover.
Anupama Chopra, a well-known film journalist, appears alongside Rajamouli, probing him with the questions that frame the film’s narrative. But her appearances don’t add another dimension to the film, and she’s more of a friendly face than a presence that prompts his answers or digs deeper. In a scene where she asks him about the public reaction that labels his films as casteist, Rajamouli doesn’t have a good answer. He rambles, and Chopra doesn’t press him for clarification on his statements, which don’t exactly refute that label. It’s a disappointing moment that questions why Chopra is there in the first place, and reinforces the idea that this film was directed with few expectations of pushing boundaries.
Of course, in a film that has already hailed him as a “master”, it’s foolish to expect anything critical about Rajamouli. The romantics Before that, the film was constructed to showcase his rise as an ambassador of Indian cinema without examining the drawbacks of some of his work.
Most of the time is spent talking about the popularity and success of the awards. RRRshowing clips of the actors learning the “Naatu Naatu” dance that transcended the film and the crew winning everything from a Golden Globe to an Oscar. But for those tuning into this film, that part of the story is already public knowledge, and the screening time would have been better spent delving into their earlier works that laid the groundwork for their current practice.
It seems that Modern Masters: SS Rajamouli It’s just a small glimpse into a complex man. For fans of the decorated filmmaker, perhaps a nuanced view isn’t exactly what they’re looking for, but for everyone else, the documentary falls short of showing us anything truly remarkable about the filmmaker.
Our calling: OVERLOOK IT. SS Rajamouli is a fascinating filmmaker, but the documentary on his career is very shallow in its approach and execution.
Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer living in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in Vulture, Teen Vogue, Paste Magazine, and more. At any given moment, she can muse at length about Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You can call her Rad.
