The Man With A Million Likes: S S Rajamouli

The Man With A Million Likes: S S Rajamouli

   

Saumesh Thimbath          

As far as popularity of directors are concerned, it seems, no one beats the fanfare around S S Rajamouli. Few days back, he has become the first director from down south to get a million likes on his official Facebook page while his contemporaries in in the country hardly has anything close to that number.   

            

Rajamouli's elevation to the spot that he occupies now has been very gradual. He made 'masala' movies with bloodshed, gore and sleaze that never missed the mark, making him a director whom the producers felt secured to spend money on. His movies from Student No.1 to Vikramarkudu, were set in the contemporary milieu, but with Yamadonga, he was stepped in to a territory he had always wanted to work in – fantasy. In Yamadonga, the hero dies but his story does not, which is then continued in the 'yamalokam' (or netherworld). He went steps ahead in the next film, Magadheera, which mixed all the popular masala elements with fantasy storytelling and this movie made his name popular across borders.

After Magadheera, many speculations were in the air on what would be next for the director – Bollywood entry, bigger stars, and bigger budgets. Well, the mark of brilliance lies in doing the unexpected, atleast that is what Rajamouli did. He made Maryada Ramanna, with Sunil, a comedian and Saloni, a character actress, in the lead on a very small budget with a heartening story that parodied the gory and violent films set around Rayalaseema this time cleverly mixing humor to the proceedings. It went on to be another major grosser.

            

Then came Eega. It was the story of a house-fly who carried the spirit of a dead lover taking revenge on his killer. The story was not completely new and allegations of plagiarism was leveled against Rajamouli. The audience rooted for the fly like they would for a Rajnikanth or a Chiranjeevi – that was the masterstroke of Rajamouli which boasts originality. It was a creature movie that was true to our cinematic culture and sensibilities. The movie made it to the Fantastic Film Fest where a handful of the best fantasy films from around the world are screened. Though the animation of the movie was not the best that could be achieved, its small budget and the emotions it evoked made it one of the top draws in the festival.

            

Rajamouli occupies a space that is unique is many sense. When the whole of the industry celebrated might and power, Eega and Maryada Ramanna celebrated the rise of the underdog – a tiny fly in the former and a weak man in the latter. When many other directors try to find a secure spot under formulas, Rajamouli dares to take risk, not to create something that stands out on the sole merit of its novelty but also to make it a commercial phenomenon.

            

The director's next is a historical fantasy Baahubali, the shooting of which is currently in progress. A few videos of the making of the movie has been released and is getting tremendous response from people. With the date of releasing fixed for 2015, the movie will have a lengthy post-production, which is a comforting thought knowing that one man is going at it full throttle to give us another exhilarating time at the movies.

watch 'A Journey Into The Making of Baahubali'