RRR

Plot

In 1920, during the British Raj, the tyrannical Governor Scott Buxton and his cruel wife, Catherine, visit a forest in Adilabad. There, they encounter Malli, an artistically gifted young girl from the Gond tribe, who sings folk songs while applying intricate Mehndi artwork to Catherine's hand. Fascinated by her talent, Catherine abducts Malli and takes her back to Delhi. Enraged by the injustice, the tribe's guardian, Komaram Bheem, travels to Delhi to rescue her, embedding himself in the city under the Muslim pseudonym "Akhtar." The Nizamate of Hyderabad alerts Buxton's office that a dangerous Gond guardian intends to reclaim the child. Undeterred, Catherine enlists Alluri Sitarama "Ram" Raju, an exceptionally ambitious and highly skilled Indian Imperial Police officer, to neutralize the threat. She promises a major promotion if he captures Bheem alive, or a hefty bounty otherwise.

Ram and his uncle, Venkateswarulu, attend a pro-independence gathering in disguise to locate the tribal leader. There, Bheem's close aide, Lachhu, attempts to recruit them into their anti-colonial cell. However, on the way to their hideout, Lachhu uncovers Ram's true identity as a police officer and flees. Shortly afterward, Ram and Bheem independently witness a young boy trapped beneath a burning train wreck. Working in perfect, unspoken synchronization, the two men execute a daring rescue. Unaware of their fiercely opposing allegiances, they develop a profound, brotherly friendship.

With Ram's assistance, Bheem courts Jenny, a compassionate Englishwoman who happens to be Governor Buxton's niece. Following a formal party where Ram and Bheem brilliantly out-dance the elitist British attendees, Jenny invites Bheem to her uncle's fortified residence. Inside, Bheem locates Malli by her singing and promises to liberate her soon. Meanwhile, Ram tracks down and apprehends Lachhu. During a brutal interrogation, Lachhu deliberately unleashes a highly venomous banded krait onto Ram. As he flees, Lachhu warns the officer that his death is imminent, as the British possess no antidote for the venom, which is known only to the Gond people. Bheem discovers a dying Ram and utilizes his tribal knowledge to successfully neutralize the poison. Deeply moved by Ram's vulnerability, Bheem confesses his true identity and his mission to rescue Malli, completely unaware that his best friend is the very officer hunting him.

That evening, a grand gala is held to honor Governor Buxton. Bheem and his revolutionaries breach the palace gates by driving a truck loaded with wild animals—including tigers, leopards, and bears—directly into the courtyard, unleashing chaos upon the British forces. As Bheem attempts to extract Malli, Ram intercepts him. A brutal duel ensues between the two friends. Bheem is ultimately forced to surrender when Governor Buxton holds a targeted gun to Malli's head. Bheem is arrested, and a conflicted Ram receives his long-sought promotion.

Production

Development

In October 2017, in an interview with Variety, S. S. Rajamouli announced two projects after Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) with producers D. V. V. Danayya of DVV Entertainment and K. L. Narayana. Rajamouli prioritised his work on the former, which was touted to be a social drama film, and which would be followed by Narayana's production with actor Mahesh Babu. In November 2017, Rajamouli shared a picture with N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan through his social media handles, hinting their inclusion in the film.

Rajamouli came across real-life stories about the lives of Rama Raju and Bheem and connected the coincidences between them, imagining what would have happened had they met, and been friends.

The film was announced in March 2018, with the tentative title RRR, an abbreviation for Rajamouli, Ram Charan, and Rama Rao. The tentative title RRR was later confirmed to be the film's official title as Rajamouli felt that a universal title across the languages was essential for a film of such scale. Principal photography of the film began in November 2018 in Hyderabad and continued until August 2021, owing to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was filmed extensively across India, with a few sequences filmed in Ukraine and Bulgaria.

Rajamouli's father V. Vijayendra Prasad gave the original story and Rajamouli scripted the film, which he worked on for six months. In September 2018, writer Sai Madhav Burra was signed for the dialogues for the film in the primary language (Telugu), whereas dialogues in other versions were written by Madhan Karky (Tamil), Varadaraj Chikkaballapura (Kannada), Mamkombu Gopalakrishnan (Malayalam), and Riya Mukherjee (Hindi). Rajamouli retained several technicians from his previous projects. The crew consists of M. M. Keeravani as the music director, K. K. Senthil Kumar as the director of photography, A. Sreekar Prasad as the film editor, Sabu Cyril as the production designer, V. Srinivas Mohan handling the visual effects supervision, and Rama Rajamouli as the costume designer. Nick Powell was the stunt director for the film, and handled the choreography for the climax action sequences in the film. Prior to the start of film production, both Rama Rao and Charan had attended a special workshop in mid-November 2018, in order to train physically and intensively for their roles in the film.

RRR is an entirely fictitious story incorporating the lives of two real-life Indian revolutionaries, namely Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, who fought against the British Raj and the Nizam of Hyderabad respectively. Charan plays Rama Raju while Rama Rao plays Komaram Bheem. The plot explores their stay in Delhi of the 1920s before they begin the fight for their country. Rajamouli stated that there had been a coincidence between the two Telugu tribal leaders and the events surrounding over them.

Casting

In March 2019, Rajamouli finalised the cast. The film marks the Telugu debut of Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt. Bhatt was paired opposite Charan in the role of Sita, while Devgn would have an extended cameo. Tamil actor Samuthirakani was roped in to play a crucial role. British actress Daisy Edgar-Jones was signed to be paired opposite Rama Rao, however, she left the project in April 2019 citing personal reasons, which later revealed to be scheduling conflicts to Normal People. Olivia Morris was cast as her replacement in November 2019. The same month, Irish actor Ray Stevenson was cast as the lead antagonist Scott, with Alison Doody joining in to play Lady Scott. Chakri, Varun Buddhadev, Spandan Chaturvedi and Twinkle Sharma were the child artists for the film.

In an interview with Deadline Hollywood, Rama Rao said that they had carried out major research to portray their characters on screen. He was put on an 18-month training programme to get the right physical appearance. The Hans India reported in March 2019 that Devgn will appear in the second half of the film during the flashback episodes. Reports claimed that Keerthy Suresh and Priyamani were approached for a role in the film, before Shriya Saran confirmed her role opposite Devgn in June 2020. Rahul Ramakrishna, Chatrapathi Sekhar and Rajeev Kanakala are cast in other supporting roles. Bhatt joined the sets in December 2020. She learnt to speak Telugu for the film.

Design

Sabu Cyril served as the production designer for RRR. Prior to starting the first shooting schedule, the team had constructed a set at an aluminium factory located in Hyderabad, for filming an action sequence. A manduva house was constructed for the film actors and technicians. The first schedule of the film's shooting was held at the Aluminium factory set for nearly 20 days. In June 2020, it was reported that ₹18 crore (US$2.43 million) was spent for a set replicating an entire village in Gandipet, where the team planned to film the sequences in this location post-COVID-19 lockdown. A set resembling the 20th-century Delhi was recreated at the Ramoji Film City, where the team had undergone an extensive action schedule for 50 days, which involved night shoots. Another huge set was constructed by the art direction crew for a song shoot featuring Charan and Bhatt. The promotional music video for the film titled "Dosti" was filmed in July 2021, at a specially constructed set at the Annapurna Studios designed by Sabu Cyril and photographed by Dinesh Krishnan.

Principal photography

The film's launch event with a puja ceremony was held on 11 November 2018, which saw the attendance of noted personalities from the Telugu film industry, including Prabhas and Rana Daggubati, who had worked with Rajamouli in the Baahubali franchise. Principal photography of the film commenced on 19 November 2018 in Hyderabad at a specially erected set at an Aluminium factory in the location. It is the first Indian film to be shot on Arri Alexa LF and Arri Signature Prime lens. Senthil Kumar told American Cinematographer that, he "avoided the use of overt stylization such as extreme color palettes and unrealistic camera moves, in favor of a more classical cinematographic approach". The filming schedule was completed on 6 December 2018. The team took a brief break before commencing the film's second schedule on 21 January 2019 at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. More than 270 days were spent shooting with a single sequence - in which the two friends fight it out amid wild animals and fiery explosions - occupying a total of 65 nights. An action sequence consisting of 1000 artists was filmed during February 2019. An extensive schedule was filmed in Vadodara for 10 days in March 2019. A few scenes were also shot at Siddhpur, Gujarat. Another schedule was planned in Pune, Maharashtra, however, it was called off following Charan's injury on the sets. Rama Rao too faced a minor injury on the sets, resulting the team to take a break during the schedule. Ram Charan's introduction scene was reportedly shot for 32 days.

After their recovery, an action sequence featuring Charan, Rama Rao and 2000 junior artists was shot, reportedly at a cost more than ₹45 crore (US$4.7 million). Introductory sequences of Rama Rao and Charan costed the production upwards of ₹40 crore (US$4.2 million), a sum considered higher than the total budget of many small Indian films. In August 2019, the production headed to Bulgaria to film the second schedule where the crew shot crucial scenes featuring Rama Rao. The shoot was stalled during October 2019 as Rajamouli had to attend a screening of Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

In November 2019, a song featuring Rama Rao and Charan was filmed at the Ramoji Film City. The film's official social media handle tweeted that 70% of the film's shoot had been wrapped as of November. Rama Rao headed to the Modakondamma Temple forest area in the Paderu–Araku road to film for five days in December 2019. In January 2020, Charan began a week-long night shoot in the Vikarabad forest region. Ajay Devgn joined the film's shooting schedule on 21 January 2020 and wrapped his portions during February. The film was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. After the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana granted permission to resume film shooting during June 2020, a 2-day trial shoot was planned, but it was halted following the spike in COVID-19 cases in Hyderabad. The filming was resumed in early October 2020 following the ease of the COVID-19 lockdown in India, and Rajamouli shot for the promotional teaser for the film, titled "Ramaraju for Bheem", during this schedule. Abiding to social restrictions related to the pandemic, the production unit was accommodated in a hotel in Madhapur and were barred from coming into contact with outsiders not belonging to the production.

Post-production

Post-production of the film began simultaneously with the wrapping-up and continuation of film production. The dubbing process began during April 2020, with Rama Rao and Charan dubbing their portions for the film from their homes, and thus being the first persons to do so. Both actors gave voiceovers for each other's introduction teasers. In June 2021, the film producers reported that both actors had completed dubbing for the film. On 26 August 2021, after filming was completed, the film entered into an extensive post-production phase. With three years already invested in the film, Rajamouli's decision to spend less time in post-production compared to his other films was due to future commitments, rising production costs, and filming postponements caused by COVID-19 restrictions. The dubbing works were completed by late October 2021. Both Rama Rao and Charan dubbed their lines for four languages, namely Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Kannada.

V. Srinivas Mohan is the visual effects supervisor of the film, along with Framestore and the Moving Picture Company (MPC), the film's principal visual effects studio. Alzahra VFX, Red Chillies VFX, NY VFXWaala, Redefine, Knack Studios, Makuta VFX, Digital Domain, Rhythm and Hues Studios, Method Studios, Rodeo FX, Technicolor VFX, Legend3D, The Third Floor, Inc, Clear Angle Studios, Halon Entertainment, 4DMax, and Cinesite, among others, are responsible for some of the other visual effects in the film. In an interview, Mohan discussed the utilisation of pre-visualization, LiDAR scanning, and light stage technology in the film. Extensive visual effects work took place for more than six months during the post-production process. The finishing work for RRR was performed at ANR Sound & Vision at Annapurna Studios, by colorist BVR Shivakumar.

The final copy of the film was ready by late November 2021, and was submitted to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that month. On 9 December 2021, the film received a U/A certificate from the Censor Board, with a finalised runtime of 187 minutes.

Themes and influences

According to Rajamouli, RRR is about an "imaginary friendship between two superheroes". He has said that the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, his home state, also had an impact in the conception of the film. "I had this thought that Komaram Bheem is from the Telangana region and Alluri Sitarama Raju is from the Andhra region. So, if I can bring those two heroes together, it's my way of saying we are one, we are not separate," Rajamouli told Variety following the film's release.

In a press meet, Rajamouli revealed that the film is inspired by Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009). After watching it he felt, "[If] we are making a fictional story, we don't need to stick to historical accuracies." He cited, "Inglourious Basterds is one of the biggest inspirations when it comes to my films, specifically RRR. I was shell shocked when Hitler dies in the film, and how the film brings it off as a big surprise." The core idea to make this film came in Rajamouli's mind from The Motorcycle Diaries (2004). He said, "The inspiration for RRR came from The Motorcycle Diaries. I was fascinated by how a character named Che transforms into a revolutionary called Guevara and have structured the characters of my protagonists around a common point, on similar lines".

Countercurrents.org's T. Navin notes

The friendship which develops between Ram and Bheem (as Akhtar) while attempting to rescue a child is one of human brotherhood. People cutting across all religions and regions are shown participating in their common fight against the Britishers. The film builds idea of love between religions, camaraderie of the struggling people and promotes the idea of inclusion.

Some viewers in India and the Western world viewed their relationship through a queer lens, arguing that they were a queer coded romantic couple on social media; however, others responded, claiming that Westerners assigning such readings had misinterpreted Indian culture and male friendships. Rajamouli reiterated that it was just a friendship, and how one should be unapologetic about showing men's friendship on screen. American filmmaker Joe Russo similarly found it to be "a really powerful story about brotherhood".

RRR borrows from India's two major Hindu mythological epics — Ramayana and Mahabharata. The two protagonists of the film, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, who are based on real-life personalities, are also modelled after their namesakes from the Hindu mythology. Rama Raju shares the qualities of the supple and skilled Rama of Ramayana while Komaram Bheem is equivalent to the muscular and immovable Bhima of Mahabharata. Like Rama Raju and Komaram Bheem, Rama and Bhima never met in mythology. The abduction of Sita, which is the central theme of Ramayana plays out in reverse in RRR, with Rama Raju being captured following a series of events. Komaram Bheem (who is also modelled after Hanuman), carries a message from Sita, and saves Rama Raju.

Music

Rajamouli's older cousin and regular collaborator M. M. Keeravani composed the score and the soundtrack of the film. The audio rights of the film were purchased for ₹25 crore (US$2.6 million), by Lahari Music and T-Series, which was a record price for a South Indian album. Lahari Music distributed the soundtrack in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam versions, whereas the Hindi version soundtrack is marketed by T-Series.

RRR became the second non-English language film to be screened at the Royal Albert Hall in London, receiving a standing ovation. The event featured a live performance of the film's score alongside the screening of the epic action film. A special Q&A session also took place on stage conducted by BBC Radio broadcaster and film critic Ashanti Omkar, with director S.S. Rajamouli, composer M.M. Keeravani, and lead actors N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan in attendance. The first non-English film to be screened at the venue was Baahubali: The Beginning, which was also directed by S.S. Rajamouli with the score composed by M.M. Keeravani.

Marketing

The filmmakers invited fans to enter a naming contest by submitting their suggestions for the title of RRR in various languages. On 25 March 2020, the titles for RRR in various versions were revealed: Raudraṁ Raṇaṁ Rudhiraṁ in Telugu, Rattam Raṇam Rauttiram in Tamil, Raudra Raṇa Rudhira in Kannada, Rudhiram Raṇam Raudhram in Malayalam (all of which translate to 'Rage, War, Blood') and Rise Roar Revolt in the Hindi version.

The official social media handle for the film was launched during the film's announcement. During the second wave of COVID-19, the movie crew converted the official handle into a COVID-19 helpline offering information regarding the availability of emergency services in Telugu-speaking states as well as safety tips. In October 2021, PVR Cinemas announced that more than 850 of its screens would be re-branded as "PVRRR" until the release and run of the film. That same month, Rajamouli and the PVR team unveiled the company's re-branded logo. After the song "Naatu Naatu" was released in November 2021, the hook step choreographed by Prem Rakshith and performed by Charan and Rama Rao in the music video went viral. Many people have recreated the hook step by recording themselves dancing to the song and posting their videos on social media.

On 22 October 2020, a teaser trailer was released, titled "Ramaraju for Bheem", coinciding with Komaram Bheem's 119th birth anniversary. A controversy was sparked over portrayal of Bheem's character. In the video, Rama Rao was seen wearing a skull cap, applying kohl on to his eyes and appearing dressed as a Muslim man. Members from the tribal community of Adilabad and a few netizens have opposed this representation of an Adivasi leader from the Gond tribe, as a Muslim man. In November 2020, during a by-election campaign at Dubbaka, Bharatiya Janata Party's Telangana president Bandi Sanjay Kumar warned Rajamouli, and threatened that his cadre will vandalise the theatres and his properties, if he intended to hurt the sentiments of Hindus. Later, in an interview with Film Companion's Anupama Chopra in July 2021, writer Vijayendra Prasad clarified about the Bheem's appearance in the film, saying, "He is being [hunted] by the British Raj. So, he is trying to escape the people from British police. So, what is the best camouflage? Simple. He is playing a Muslim boy in that time so that he won't be [caught]." The film's behind-the-scenes video, titled "Roar of RRR", was released on 15 July 2021.

The official trailer was initially scheduled to be released on 3 December 2021, but was postponed and released on 9 December 2021 in five languages, including Telugu. Trailer launch events were held for the five versions of the film in Mumbai (Hindi), Bangalore (Kannada) and Hyderabad (Telugu). Reviewing the trailer, The Times of India cited it as "Goosebumps overloaded". Praising the trailer cut, The Hindu stated "SS Rajamouli promises another epic for the ages". Praising Rajamouli's work, Hindustan Times called it "an epic theatrical experience". Roktim Rajpal of Deccan Herald noted that the film has universal storyline and also felt that it is a "perfect multi-starrer" while comparing it with 1957 epic film Mayabazar.

Release

Theatrical

RRR was scheduled to have special premieres across India and the United States on 24 March 2022 before its worldwide theatrical release on 25 March. Earlier, it was scheduled to be theatrically released on 30 July 2020. However, in February 2020, the release date was revised to 8 January 2021, a week prior to the Sankranthi festival (14 January 2021). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, which disrupted production, the film's release was put on hold. Rajamouli said that the new release date would be confirmed after the completion of shooting. On the eve of Republic Day (25 January 2021), a 13 October 2021 release date, coinciding with the eve of Dusshera weekend, was announced The release date was again deferred, citing theatrical restrictions across the world due to the second wave of COVID-19 and its aftermath.

In early October 2021, the theatrical release date was changed to 7 January 2022, ahead of the Sankranthi festival. However, a week before the release, the film producers announced that the film's release would be postponed indefinitely due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, fuelled by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. In mid-January, two tentative release dates were announced pending the pandemic situation: 18 March 2022 and 28 April 2022. Later, the producers finalised a 25 March 2022 release date. The film was intended to be released in Telugu along with the dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and other Indian and foreign languages in 2D, 3D and IMAX formats. It is the first Indian film to be released in Dolby Cinema format.

In January 2022, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Telangana High Court to restrain the film for being released, alleging that the film distorts the history of Alluri Sita Rama Raju and Komaram Bheem. The High Court quashed the petition in March, observing that the film did not tarnish the reputation of the two revolutionaries as claimed.

Following political and film industry backlash after reducing ticket prices last year, Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy issued a ticket price hike in Andhra Pradesh in mid-March 2022. As per Cinematography Minister Perni Venkataramaiah, the filmmakers received government approval to increase ticket prices by ₹75 (78¢ US) during the first ten days after the film's 25 March release.

RRR became the first film to be screened in Jammu and Kashmir, after the re-opening of cinemas in September 2022, which were closed in 1990s following the spread of terrorism and further incidents.

Screenings and statistics

In November 2021, The Times of India reported that RRR would premiere on over 10,000 screens worldwide, the "highest for an Indian film". In India, the film was estimated to show on over 2,300 screens, with the Telugu version premiering on over 1,000 screens. The Hindi version was reported to showcase on over 793 screens and the Tamil version on over 291 screens. The Kannada and Malayalam-dubbed versions were scheduled for 66 and 62 screens, respectively. The film was slated to screen at over 1,150 locations in the United States in around 3,000 theatres and 1,000-odd multiplexes across the country, which was claimed to be a record for an Indian film.

The film was planned to be released in IMAX, 3D and Dolby Cinema. According to trade sources, the film would screen in over 21 IMAX screens in India and over 100 IMAX theatres overseas, a first for an Indian film.

On 1 June 2022, RRR was screened in over 100 theatres across the United States for a one night event called "#encoRRRe". Speaking to Deadline Hollywood, Dylan Marchetti of Variance Films said that "With more than 250 films coming out of India annually, RRR could be a gateway drug". In his review of the film Nashville Scene's Jason Shawhan wrote about the event that "the nationwide encore of RRR is American audiences reaching with outstretched arms to something so exciting and rock-solid entertaining that its success already happened without insular traditional media even mentioning it. This isn't America dipping a toe in Indian cinema — it's a victory lap".

In June 2022, London-based Prince Charles Cinema announced that it will re-release the film on popular demand on 3, 5, and 29 July and 8 August 2022, with additional screenings that September. RRR was screened at the TCL Chinese Theatre on 30 September 2022 in IMAX as part of "From Tollywood to Hollywood: The Spectacle & Majesty of S.S. Rajamouli" program of 10th Beyond Festival organised by American Cinematheque in partnership with IMAX, Variance Films, Potentate Films and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

RRR was screened at the 53rd International Film Festival of India under the Indian panorama section, in November 2022.

RRR has been subtitled into 15 different languages.

Distribution

Originally, the film made a prerelease earning of ₹400 crore (US$42 million), but the revised prerelease deal was later revealed to be ₹890 crore (US$92 million). The domestic theatrical rights in the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions were reported to be under ₹165 crore (US$17 million). Lyca Productions acquired the film's theatrical distribution rights from Tamil Nadu for ₹48 crore (US$5.0 million). The following month, Pen Studios acquired the theatrical rights for North India under the Pen Marudhar Entertainment banner, in addition to electronic, satellite and digital rights for all language versions. The deal for the North Indian theatrical release rights were reported to be ₹140 crore (US$15 million). KVN Productions acquired the film's theatrical distribution rights from Karnataka, The Kerala theatrical rights were acquired by Shibu Thameens, with Riya Shibu presenting the film under the HR Studios banner. Thameens bought the film's distribution rights for ₹15 crore (US$1.6 million). The Arab world theatrical rights were sold to Phars Films for ₹70 crore (US$7.3 million). Dreamz Entertainment distributed the film in United Kingdom and Ireland. Shreyas Media Group's film distribution company Good Cinema Group has acquired the distribution rights for the entire African continent.

Home media

In May 2021, Pen Studios announced that the film's digital rights for Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada versions are acquired by ZEE5 while Hindi, English, Portuguese, Korean, Turkish and Spanish versions are acquired by Netflix. Zee Network acquired the satellite rights of the Hindi version and Star India Network acquired the satellite rights of the film's Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada versions. The combined deal of post-theatrical streaming and satellite rights were reported to be in the region of ₹325 crore (US$34 million). The film started streaming on ZEE5 from 20 May 2022 in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada languages while the Hindi version was released on the same day on Netflix.

The film was released on physical media with Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray versions in Japan on 21 October 2024.

Reception

RRR received universal critical acclaim from both Indian and Western critics who praised its screenwriting, direction, action sequences, VFX, characterisation, cast performances and musical numbers.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 104 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Intoxicatingly over the top, RRR pulls out all the stops to make the absolute most of its 187-minute runtime." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 83 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". In June 2022, the film was ranked 86th globally in the list of Rotten Tomatoes' "The 100 Best Movies 3 hours or Longer", making it the third Indian film to be on the list after Lagaan (12th) and Gangs of Wasseypur (66th). USA Today ranked the film #1 in their list of "Best Movies of 2022 so far" in June of the same year.

India

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film a rating of 4/5 and termed RRR as a solid entertainer that "doesn't make you restless, despite a marathon run time. The screenplay is wonderfully constructed, the twists and turns are attention grabbing and the nail-biting episodes as well as superbly executed action." Roktim Rajpal of Deccan Herald gave the film a rating of 4/5 and wrote, "The action-packed climax again hits the right notes as the visuals do the talking, the hallmark of good storytelling". Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "RRR is not perfection by any means (despite Rajamouli's best efforts) because after the way he pulls off certain scenes, you wonder if he could've done a better job in certain others. But watch this one this weekend if you've been pining for a good action packed drama".

Himesh Mankad of Pinkvilla gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "RRR has the best action sequences to offer in an Indian film with an unimaginable interval block and a roaring finale". Janani K of India Today gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "RRR is a terrific film with brilliant performances and amazing set-pieces". A reviewer from Deccan Chronicle gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "RRR is a fantastic film that's meant for the big screen". Latha Srinivasan of Firstpost gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "Ram Charan and Jr NTR's offscreen friendship and camaraderie seep into their onscreen performances, and the organic transformation from strangers to brothers-in-arms has been captured beautifully". Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "RRR is just the kind of visual treat that will bring people back to theatres". Bharathi Pradhan of Lehren gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "SSR rescues his adventure with a smorgasbord of skilfully choreographed, shot and performed action pieces that have you cheering lustily, the temporary boredom soon forgotten".

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "The film casts not just one super-star, but two of them – Jr NTR and Ram Charan. The biggest super-star among them all is SS Rajamouli and the audience also saved the loudest 'taalis' (claps) for him". Prateek Sur of Outlook India gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "The film's grand representation is what makes this a Must Watch". Stutee Ghosh of The Quint gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote, "Parts of RRR seem Ridiculous and Reductive it's also absolutely Ravishing and for that it deserves to be seen and enjoyed". Rahul Devulapalli of The Week gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote, "Visually stunning action sequences, exceptionally synchronised dance moves stand out".

International

Calling RRR "bigger than Ben-Hur", Deadline Hollywood's Stephanie Bunbury wrote: "RRR is one action crescendo after another, never dull but not exhausting either." In her review for Polygon, Katie Rife stated: "RRR is a busy movie, full of kinetic camerawork, bustling crowd scenes, elaborate set design, expensive-looking CGI, and loud sound effects." Siddhant Adlakha of IndieWire praised Rajamouli's work, M. M. Keeravani's music and acting performances of lead actors. He further wrote that RRR outshines even the director's previous venture Baahubali.

Reviewing the film for The Austin Chronicle, Josh Hurtado called RRR a "bromantic action nirvana". Hurtado stated that Rajamouli turned a "patriotic fantasy" into an "incredibly entertaining reality for fans of big action, big emotions, and big laughs." Joe Leydon in his review for Variety felt RRR was "bigger-than-life and bolder-than-mainstream action-adventure epic." Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times stated: "Rajamouli shoots the film's action with hallucinogenic fervor, supercharging scenes with a shimmering brand of extended slow-motion and C.G.I. that feels less 'generated' than unleashed." Screen International's Tara Judah wrote that RRR was "big, bold and bombastic", feeling the film was "big screen entertainment at its best". Writing for Rolling Stone, David Fear cited the film as "best and most revolutionary of 2022". He further wrote that "RRR is about the movies: the thrill of watching stories told at larger-than-life levels, the joy of watching stars collide, the effort of rendering lavish mythologies at whatever the digital equivalent of 24 frames per second is, the sensation of seeing manufactured movement via gleefully conspicuous special effects bump up against genuine physical effort". Praising the dance number "Naatu Naatu", he stated—"Seriously, the 'Desi Naach' dance sequence feels like a Gene Kelly number dialled up to superhuman levels".

Calling it a "dudes rock movie" Hannah Kinney-Kobre of Pittsburgh City Paper compared RRR with American English-language films and wrote that "the politics that power American blockbusters are milquetoast and/or incomprehensible – the only thing that justifies their plots is the studio executive's emphasis on recognizable intellectual property as a way to drive up box office totals. If our system can only produce movies that refuse to make the most of their astronomical budgets, why not look elsewhere? RRR is a good place to start". Richard Brody of The New Yorker felt that the film is "of shortcuts and elisions no less relentless than those of American superhero or superstar vehicles, but Rajamouli is an artist of a distinctive temperament and talent". On a final note, he further wrote "The movie's powerful sense of revolutionary virtue and collective purpose yields to nationalistic pride that's danced and sung with uninhibited joy". Nashville Scene's Jason Shawhan opined that "RRR, in addition to being a historical epic, political drama, action spectacle and bromantic telenovela, is a film that engages with history on its own terms. This isn't a case of Tollywood aiming for Western wallets". In his review of the film, The Atlantic's David Sims stated: "RRR serves as a reminder of how much modern action usually follows a formula. If wonder is to be consistently found on the big screen, then Hollywood has plenty of new lessons to learn from its best competitor". Praising the film, American screenwriter C. Robert Cargill called it a "craziest, most sincere, weirdest blockbuster".

International filmmakers

RRR received widespread appreciation from international filmmakers and actors, particularly in Hollywood. It has been recognised as a crossover film from India to the US, and has been compared to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Filmmaker Steven Spielberg praised the film, stating, "I couldn't believe my eyes – it was like eye candy...it was extraordinary to look at and experience." James Cameron praising the screenplay, direction and music direction of the film, said that he liked RRR so much that he watched it twice.

J. J. Abrams said that he loved the ‘fever dream madness’ of RRR as he introduced Rajamouli at Los Angeles' Chinese Theatre. Edgar Wright said that RRR was "an absolute blast" and said it was, "the only film I have ever seen where the intermission card itself got a round of applause." Christopher Miller praised RRR, describing it as "like Michael Bay and Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Chow teamed up to make a movie. It was 3 hours long but it could have been 4 hours and I would’ve still enjoyed it." Adam McKay publicly expressed support to RRR for the Oscar awards race. Filmmaker James Gunn said that he "totally dug (RRR)."

The Russo brothers have publicly expressed their appreciation for RRR and Rajamouli. Joe Russo mentioned, "I've seen RRR, and it's amazing." He further mentioned, "What I think is so amazing about [RRR] is the emotion it evokes, combined with the spectacle." Scott Derrickson tweeted, "to celebrate my birthday last night, my wife, kids and I watched @RRRMovie — what an awesomely outrageous roller coaster of a movie. Loved it." Joe Dante called RRR a brutal portrait that depicts the horrors of British colonisation and said that, "I bet you’ve never seen anything quite like it". Jason Blum expressed his appreciation for the movie & said that RRR could win Best Picture Oscar 2023. Daniel Kwan lauded the film, saying, "While a lot of the blockbusters we're making in the States tend to have self aware, cheeky characters trapped in self-serious filmmaking, RRR was all heart-on-its-sleeve sincerity wrapped up in the most ridiculous over the top execution. So much to love."

Box office

RRR is estimated to have grossed ₹1,300 crore worldwide. During its theatrical run, RRR became the third highest-grossing Indian film, the second highest-grossing Telugu film, and the highest-grossing film in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, surpassing Rajamouli's previous film Baahubali 2 (2017). K.G.F: Chapter 2, which released three weeks later, surpassed RRR's worldwide and India gross figures, which was again retained by RRR after several re-release shows outside India. As of 26 July 2022, RRR grossed over ₹1,125.9 crore (US$120 million) worldwide, with around ₹396 crore (equivalent to ₹420 crore or US$44 million in 2023) coming from the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. RRR grossed ₹83.40 crore from Karnataka, ₹77.25 crore from Tamil Nadu, ₹25.5 crore from Kerala, ₹326 crore from the Hindi Belt, ₹18.20 crore from the rest of India, and ₹206 crore from the overseas. The film amassed distributors' share of ₹613 crore as opposed to the break-even point of ₹451 crore, earning a profit of ₹160 crore from the theatrical revenue.

Taran Adarsh reported that the film had a worldwide gross of ₹223 crore (US$23 million) on its opening day. The Times of India mentioned that the film collected ₹240 crore (US$25 million) on its opening day worldwide, setting the record for the highest first day total earned by an Indian film. This record was previously held by Rajamouli's Baahubali 2.

In its opening weekend, it grossed ₹490.9 crore (US$51 million) worldwide, making it the second biggest opening weekend for an Indian film after Baahubali 2. RRR also stood as the top grosser at the global box office during the weekend of 25–27 March 2022. According to data from Screen Australia, the film collected A$2.43 million in its debut week from 133 centers. ABC Australia reported that it is a big debut at the Aussie box office for an Indian film and a non-English language film. RRR's Hindi version domestic weekend collected a net of ₹74.5 crore (US$7.7 million), slightly lower than the post-pandemic record held by Sooryavanshi (2021) in the Hindi film market. The film thus became the highest-grossing Indian film in Australia in April 2022.

In its first week, RRR grossed ₹696.5 crore (US$72 million) worldwide, of which ₹270.2 crore (US$28 million) is grossed in its home territory of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The film grossed ₹877.5 crore (US$91 million) worldwide in 10 days. The same day, the film entered into profit zone with a distributors' share of ₹497.4 crore (US$52 million) by reaching its break even point of ₹451 crore (US$47 million). RRR also became the first film to collect a distributor share over ₹100 crore (US$10 million) in the Nizam territory (Telangana). RRR's Hindi dubbed version netted over ₹200 crore (US$21 million) in India in 13 days, making the second dubbed film to do so after Baahubali 2.

Impact

The popularity of RRR in the US has led to an increase of Telugu-language movies in Netflix's stateside catalogue as much as 105 of 2024 - the most among many Indian languages and the ninth overall; other movies in related languages like Malayalam and Tamil have also seen followed increases in inventory. The OTT release of RRR had a massive impact on its global reach and popularity. Upon streaming, the film quickly became the most popular non-English film worldwide, breaking records on platforms like Netflix and Zee5. Its Hindi version especially resonated with audiences, securing a spot in Netflix's top 5 films in the US RRR trended in over 90 countries on streaming platforms, with more than 18 million watch hours globally. This digital success, coupled with global awards and critical acclaim, cemented RRR as a landmark in Indian cinema, showcasing the potential of Indian films on a worldwide stage.

Accolades

The film has received various awards and nominations. The film was considered to be one of the best films of the year by the National Board of Review, making it only the second non-English film ever to make it to the list. RRR became the third Indian film and first Telugu film to receive nominations at the Golden Globe Awards. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Original Song for "Naatu Naatu", winning the latter, made the song the first Asian nomination to win the award. The song "Naatu Naatu" also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards, making it the first and only Indian song to win at the Oscars.

Adaptations

In 2024, Takarazuka Revue's Star Troupe staged a musical production of the film, titled RRR x Taka"R"Azuka - √Bheem-.

Future

Before the film's release, Rajamouli said that he had no intentions of making a sequel for RRR nor turning it into a franchise. However, writer Vijayendra Prasad said that "they started exploring the idea of sequel and hope to make it happen sometime later." Speaking with Variety, Rama Rao expressed his hope that the world of RRR would be continued as a franchise. During a screening event in Chicago, Rajamouli said that his father screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad is working on the sequel's story. The director also hinted at a sequel to 'RRR' while interacting with fans in Japan in March 2024.