S.S. Rajamouli, director of the enormously successful “Baahubali” franchise, has restarted his next magnum opus “RRR” (Roudram Ranam Rudhiram) in Hyderabad with stars N.T. Rama Rao Jr. (“Temper”) and Ram Charan (“Rangasthalam”).
The film is a period action drama about Indian freedom fighters Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju. The cast also includes Bollywood stars Ajay Devgn (“Tanhaji: The Unsung Hero”) and Alia Bhatt (“Gully Boy”) and international actors Ray Stevenson (the “Thor” franchise), Alison Doody (“Muse”) and Olivia Morris (“The Turtles”).
The production, which was paused in March due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, has resumed with action sequences being shot first.
“It’s been a very long break and the time was only helpful in making things better for the film,” said Rajamouli. “The entire team is geared up to come back and restart the work we had begun before things changed. I am looking forward to showing the audience the film. Their support through these times has been never-ending and the entire team owes them one for their immense support.”
“RRR” is produced by D. V. V. Danayya for DVV Entertainments (“Bharat Ane Nenu”).
“Extraordinary times need extraordinary measures. Keeping that in mind, we have resumed work,” said Danayya. “All this, while keeping in mind the safety protocols that are absolutely necessary in these times. Every member of the cast and crew is sacrosanct and we’d like to ensure they are in a safe zone. Times have changed and the ways we work had to as well. But the passion for films and the excitement to get back hasn’t.”
“Baahubali: The Beginning” (2015) and “Baahubali: The Conclusion” (2017) together grossed $336 million. On its own, “Baahubali: The Conclusion” is India’s highest domestic grosser of all time. The franchise has spawned novels, graphic novels, an animated Amazon series, an upcoming Netflix live-action series, a video game and a VR experience.
The January 2021 release date of “RRR” is now pushed back because of the pandemic-induced delay. The film is being made in the Telugu language and will also be released worldwide in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam-language versions.