Directors who call themselves “maximalists” S.S. Rajamouli, the Indian filmmaker best known for epics like Baahubali and RRR, met with Joe and Anthony Russo for a Netflix-sponsored discussion. A Netflix release assisted the film’s popularity, and the Russos emphasised the benefits of digital distribution. RRR, a Telugu-language film starring Ram Charan and Jr. NTR, depicts the narrative of Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju, two Indian independence warriors who fought against British colonial rule in the 1920s. Produced on a budget of roughly $70 million, the film is now the second-largest Indian film of 2022, behind K.G.F: Chapter 2.
After its premiere on Netflix, it was made available to a wider audience in the West (in the Hindi language). Captain America: The Winter Soldier director Joe & Anthony Russo is most recognised for his work on four of Marvel Studios’ most popular films, including Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. The Gray Man, a Netflix original series, is the most recent of their productions to hit the streaming service. Aside from directing an adaptation of the Prince of Persia video games, Rajamouli also commented about his intention to direct an adaptation of the Prince of Persia video games. The moderator invited each of the three directors to pick a recent film or television show that made them wish they had created it themselves.
After talking about Stranger Things 4 and The Boys 3, Anthony Russo praised Jon Favreau for his direction of the first Iron Man movie. Joe was more excited about Stranger Things 4.
Rajamouli cited a few classics in his native Telugu, but he also admitted to having seen Ben-chariot Hur’s race “thousands of times.” As he put it: “Bajrangi Bhaijaan is one of the flicks.” I really wish I had been able to direct it. I had the option of stifling the narrative for myself, but I chose not to. My apologies for not… Prince of Persia was a video game that I used to like playing. 15 years ago, that game had me completely engrossed. I had the grand idea of penning a tale about that figure and adapting it to the screen. Later, Disney produced it.”
As the title suggests, Rajamouli was alluding to Jake Gyllenhaal’s Prince Dastan in the 2010 Disney blockbuster Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The film also starred Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley. According to reports, the movie’s claimed budget was $200 million, however, it only made $300 million worldwide thanks to director Mike Newell. A year later, in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Gyllenhaal expressed regret over the film, mostly in response to criticism that it was whitewashing.
Due to mixed reviews and a general lack of enthusiasm among the general public, the studio decided to scrap its sequel plans. As a result, a new season of the show is possible. And Rajamouli is now clearly on Hollywood’s radar, as the Russos (who dubbed RRR “wonderful”) and his colleagues Marvel Cinematic Universe filmmakers James Gunn and Scott Derrickson have also shown interest in working with him. He’d join a select few Indian directors who have made it to Hollywood if Rajamouli, the most successful mainstream filmmaker in India, was able to land an American movie. Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth, Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Tarsem Singh (Immortals, Mirror Mirror), Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake), and Ritesh Batra (The Namesake) are some more famous instances (Our Souls at Night, The Sense of an Ending). Rajamouli, on the other hand, is the only one with the ability to pull off epic sword and sandal battles like none of the other directors. And if a sequel to Prince of Persia is ever created, he’d be an excellent candidate to play the title character.