SS Rajamouli’s RRR did wonders in Indian cinema and also the west, particularly in the United States. Upon its digital debut there, the movie received praise from viewers, critics, and even other filmmakers. It has even been predicted by many to be an Oscar front-runner. In response to the Western audience's enthusiasm for his movie, Rajamouli has stated that he was caught off guard.
The director recently spoke at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) about a variety of topics, including his future movie starring Mahesh Babu and his prior successes, RRR and the Baahubali. The director spoke about the reception his films have gotten internationally in a video from his TIFF Industry Session that was posted on Twitter by the festival's official account.
Talking about Baahubali, SS Rajamouli said, “We have Indians spread across the world and when we make films, we make them for Indians, including the diaspora. Baahubali was the same. The additional mileage we got for Baahubali was in Japan. It did good to an extent. Even though I believed my stories can go beyond the borders of my states, I never thought they will go beyond the borders of India. So when Baahubali did well in Japan, I thought maybe our sensibilities are similar.”
Talking about film’s impact in the West, Rajamouli said, “Never ever [had] I expected RRR to do well with the Western audiences. I didn’t even have an inclination for that. When RRR released [in the West], I started getting the responses, I thought maybe there are a few. Then few became hundreds and hundreds became thousands and film people from different fields were talking highly of RRR, I realized something that I never knew about myself or my films. I am still trying to understand to be very honest.”
