[krama]

Who cares if they used Blender or Maya. As an Indian (and a South Indian at that), I must say I’m embarrassed at the level of attention this movie is getting for its over the top use of cringey special effects. There are so many other worthwhile Indian films to watch and enjoy.

[akritrime]

Why? I am so tired of certain section of Indians online pretending that somehow all entertainment should be dictated as per their sensibilities of what's acceptable and what's not. What's wrong in having movies that are over the top? Everyone has different tastes. What's worthwhile for you maybe boring for someone else. I am not saying you have to start appreciating RRR if it's not something that you enjoy, but don't invalidate an experience that millions of people clearly enjoyed. I can appreciate a K Balachander, Gopalkrishnan, Satyajit Ray masterpiece while also hooting for Bheem in RRR. The greatest achievement of Indian cinema is how varied our repertoire is and there is something for everyone to enjoy. Celebrate it, don't be embarrassed about it.

[pdntspa]

The effects sequences I saw in the video clip didn't look over the top...

Besides what's wrong with a little ridiculousness? Some of the special FX I've seen in memes of indian movies look like they take a decent amount of imagination to visualize

Note that I have not seen any indian cinema, no idea where to start with that, other than to say that the Bollywood format (and musicals in general) has little appeal to me...

[firasd]

Bollywood movies aren't really musicals. The way I would put it is that musicals are a genre, and Bollywood movies are all sorts of genres with songs interspersed. So you could literally edit out (or more practically, forward through) all the songs and fully watch the movie which is not really possible with musicals

[basti724]

Really weird that we're reviewing a movie on a tech platform. Also, your comment suggests a need for western validation which I think is not needed for Asian cinema. I just enjoy Chinese and Korean cinema for the way they are. I searched for this film and seems its loved a lot by westerners too. Sorry if I misunderstood you buddy!

[pen2l]

Relatedly, I’ve come full circle on my feelings when it comes to Indian movies. I grew up with Bollywood/lollywood movies, and pretty much stopped watching all of this silly stuff upon arriving to America and thought the breaking out in a song in the middle of things was absurd.

I don’t know what changed but now I’m not just down with it I’m actually a big fan. I’m there to be entertained - give me Gesamtkunstwerk; I’ll suspend belief for those few brief moments, give me wonderful melodies and over-the-top sights. All types of art each have their place! I mean, we put up with soliloquys in Shakespeare plays, we cherish fanciful wordplay, why not give me songs!

[pen2l]

Belated correction (sorry, wrote it on a smartphone!):

s/belief/disbelief/

[firasd]

Yeah I have some mixed feelings. It's good that an Indian movie is breaking over to such significant consciousness in the US but a lot of the interest is like gawking. Like: 'OMG a tiger is jumping out of a truck with the hero, I'm laughing'

So as an Indian I feel like this shouldn't be generalized as the 'image' in people's minds of what an Indian movie is. The over the top parts should be considered as a genre of its own

[nyokodo]

> So as an Indian I feel like this shouldn't be generalized as the 'image' in people's minds of what an Indian movie is.

We’ll do that as long as you do us a similar favor for Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich.

[dereg]

Don’t worry, I don’t think Americans started thinking that, in movies, all Chinese people should fly after watching Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon.

[sremani]

Indian Cinema and esp. Telugu Cinema has its own style of story telling, remember this is make believe. I find it refreshing as a Telugu speaking American that they are staying true to their traditions.

The Bombay production houses have gone Hollywood-lite making movies for affluent westernized Indian class which as it turns out is not profitable. I am for artsy Indian movies but at the end of the day, this is commercial undertaking and the film crew and its producers should make money out of it.

[TaylorAlexander]

I care! As an open source advocate, it is important to me to see Blender being used in successful feature films, regardless of the artistic merits of the film itself.

[gamblor956]

Agreed, while the movie was fun to watch, the FX are quite poor compared to US films. In terms of something American viewers would understand: it's about the equivalent of a Disney Plus show like the Mandalorian or Ms Marvel.

As far as FX quality goes, the recently released Bhramastra sets the high watermark for Indian films. The FX are Hollywood level...probably because it's made by Disney's Indian film studios (Star Studios) and the FX were outsourced to some of the same FX studios working on Marvel films. (And as a side bonus, there isn't any of the weird fetishization of British/white women or obsequious political pandering to the India's current ultra-nationalist government like there are in RRR.)

As an example of the difference in FX quality: in RRR, you're always aware of the artificial nature of the CGI because it doesn't "blend" into the world around it; the CGI sits on top of the world and is clearly separate from the action on screen. The animal FX are especially bad. In Bhramastra, the "astra" that give people various powers blend in with, light up, and shade the world around them even though they're purely CGI.

[tandr]

What would you recommend to watch instead?

[krama]

Given the number of movies made and regions, and decades, I’d run out of breath. But I’d start here.

Malayalam Films : Known for their subtlety and craft in film making, and obsession with crime novels. Dhrishyam part 1 & 2 are like no movies I’ve seen in Hollywood.

Hindi Films: Or Bollywood movies, known for their big stars, great attention to set pieces of grand dance sequence s and decent romantic comedies / sports movies. Hard to pick one as nothing has shined recently. I’d give “Zindagi Na milega dubara” / “Chak dhe” a look. Again nothing spectacular recently unless you want to watch a classic from the seventies “Sholay”

Tamil movies : Gritty movies about inner city gangs / social upheaval or focus on stellar music/dance romantic comedies and major action blockbusters. From recent years I’d give “Vada Chennai”, or “Vikram Vedha” a chance for gritty urban movies. Or just the most recent action blockbuster “Vikram”. Which has a really good score.

Telugu movies (the original language for RRR) : I’d give “Pushpa” a look before watching CGI drenched RRR.

[bergenty]

Malayalam films really are something else. For everyone else that isn’t Indian, the trope is Bollywood copies Malayalam films (who are known to have fantastic character development and original stories) and makes them over the top ridiculous, campy and throws in sappy love songs with a bigger budget. It’s kind of like the book was better than the movie argument.

[sremani]

Nah Bro.. RRR beats all the 3rd rate movies you have mentioned for global audiences.. this coming from a guy who loved Pushpa more than RRR.

[bhupy]

> Hard to pick one as nothing has shined recently. I’d give “Zindagi Na milega dubara” / “Chak dhe” a look.

+1 for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara - one of my all time favorites. For a more recent Bollywood film, Kapoor and Sons is pretty good.

[splintercell]

> “Zindagi Na milega dubara”

Yeah this movie was made for a very specific audience going through a certain age and point in life, ('buddy road movie' but made for Indian millennials) hardly a great work of art.

First it was 'Dil Chahta Hai', when the Indian millennials were of college age or around that time. A movie about three friends hanging out and dreaming of the future they will have with the kind of partners they would hope to be with.

'Zindagi Na milega dobara' is about a early-mid career Indian millennials facing marriage, work issues. It's not a bad movie but the popularity and greatness of it comes from it being apropos for Indian millennials.

On the top of that there is a 'class' thing going on here, where RRR's target audience is a different class, and have an Inglorious Bastard style experience. Just like 'Dil Chahta Hai'/'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' are for the educated millennials class.

[lenocinor]

I appreciate your comment and insight. But I’m an American Gen-Xer and I enjoyed Zindagi Na Milega Dobara very much. So it can appeal to other people too.

For other folks reading I always recommend Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) as the Bollywood movie to start with. It’s a bit silly and over the top (especially the fight sequences) but it has a lot of heart. I miss old Bollywood movies like this that actually had lots of singing and dancing. And it set a record for most Filmfare awards won when it came out so critics obviously liked it too.

Sometimes I wish people would talk about really old Bollywood too. Old Devdas, Barsaat, etc. There are some great movies there. I like Satyajit Ray a lot too (I know he isn’t Bollywood) but I wish people could see greatness in old Bollywood as well. I just rewatched Guide recently for example. Still a good movie.

[never_inline]

Ugramm (Kannada), Maanagaram (Tamil) and Aiyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam) from top of my mind.

Note there are critically acclaimed Malayalam Movies that not everyone would like (Eg: Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, Maheshinte Prathikaram), they are so slow paced that average viewer would doze off. There's a perception that more realistic is always better. But that's not always true. IMO Tamil middle budget movies get pacing better than Malayalam, for average audience at least.

[prashantsengar]

I will also add "Andhadhun" to the list of bollywood movies. One of the best movies I have ever seen.

[samarthr1]

Second the reco for Pushpa. It has really nice music, which is _mildly_ inappropriate for children (assuming you know telugu, or the song gets subs/dubbed)

[deskamess]

I am partial to #Home - an intergenerational dramedy (Malayalam, Amazon Prime).

[perfectstorm]

If you have Hulu watch Drishyam (Malayalam) and its sequel on Amazon prime Drishyam 2.

[karanmg]

Delhi Belly for sure!

[bergenty]

I think I understand what you’re saying but it was a large spanning tale and though there may be some parts that are cringey I thought overall it kept my interest and had something for everyone.

[krama]

I agree that RRR has its place. Like so many other Avenger style genre movies. The problem is that it just advances a stereotype and bias about what an American audience expects when they sit down to watch a Korean film, or a Chinese film, or an Indian film.

They are all just films, just like Hollywood makes different genres, these countries make films in every genre. At least the Indian film industry is a behemoth large enough to be able to make movies in every genre.

[UncleMeat]

Should a movie largely intended for a domestic audience be responsible for not fitting into a foreign stereotype of the domestic movie industry, largely held by people who have seen literally zero movies made in India? If Americans want to decide that all movies produced in India are huge over the top ridiculous action-fests interspersed with dance sequences then that's their own problem.

[shp0ngle]

For what it’s worth I love all S S Rajamouli movies I have seen. And like them or not, they are crazy successful.

(I haven’t seen this one yet though)

[fractalb]

You didn’t like the film and a lot of others did. What’s cringey about it? Different people different tastes. I for one enjoyed it. And enjoyment is what I go to a movie for.

[unmole]

> embarrassed

Why are you embarassed?

[paisawalla]

Indian action films typically don't strive for believable action scenes, like American films do. Instead, they apply the effects and stunts excessively -- they go over the top in a major way.

The embarrassment is for the comparably unsophisticated tastes, and I don't share the feeling but I can understand. It's like everyone discovering that your uncle is addicted to something cheap and insubstantial that only children like, like junk food.

[aloknnikhil]

Being over the top is a unique characteristic of the Indian Cinema. If I wanted to watch "believable action scenes", I'd go watch a documentary. I honestly don't get this idea of standardizing everything as the West does. It's a great idea for some. For art? Come on.

[HyperSane]

At some point the absurdity of action scenes in Indian movies just makes suspension of disbelief impossible for me.

[notthemessiah]

I'm sorry, but the top US movies any better? Between Star Wars and Avengers, there's not much left in the way of believability. It's better when they don't take themselves as seriously.

[dsign]

> Indian action films typically don't strive for believable action scenes, like American films do.

I'm taking your "believable American action scenes" with a big semi full of salt.

[CrazyStat]

>a big semi full of salt

Let's have the semi jump off the end of an unfinished highway overpass and do a barrel roll. While the truck is slo-mo flying through the air we'll cut to a ground shot of a middle-aged dad about to salt some meat on the grill, but the barrel-rolling truck overhead spills just the perfect amount of salt on his burgers so he just looks up and shrugs. Finally we'll cut back to the massive explosion as the truck hits the ground.

[UncleMeat]

Quippy nonsense between wild over-the-top action is basically the calling card for Marvel movies.

[paisawalla]

Hah point taken, let me put it a different way.

In American films, if someone does extreme, superhuman stunts, the filmmaker typically feels pressure to explain that the character is actually superhuman in some way and not an ordinary guy with an office job. And he or she will be in peak physical shape.

In Indian film, an utterly ordinary character in "office job" physical condition will catch bullets, run faster than a full speed train, etc. No pressure to explain the seeming contradiction with ordinary reality. The film could be considered a romance, having ordinary people as protagonists, and these characters would be doing the above-mentioned stunts as part of the plot.

These aren't hard and fast rules, both sides of the divide deviate from them, but that's been my observation.

[dereg]

> No pressure to explain the seeming contradiction with ordinary reality

this is a feature and not a bug. The urge for excessive exposition is so tiring. Not everything needs an origins story, explanation, or a prequel. Hollywood has been leaning on that formula and you can see it in the product - the movies have become tiresome.

Nobody needs an explanation for their “powers”. Excessively qualifying a character more likely burdens then than lifts them. RRR was such a refreshing, thrilling watch parallel to Mad Max: Fury Road.

[HyperSane]

If bob the accountant lifts a car overhead I DO expect an explanation of how he can do that.

[glandium]

> In Indian film, an utterly ordinary character in "office job" physical condition will catch bullets, run faster than a full speed train, etc. No pressure to explain the seeming contradiction with ordinary reality. The film could be considered a romance, having ordinary people as protagonists, and these characters would be doing the above-mentioned stunts as part of the plot.

Kind of like anime...

[lenocinor]

It’s funny you should say that. RRR was the first Indian movie I’ve watched that felt like anime to me. I think it’s actually a very enlightening comparison.

[tomcam]

Some of us are very happy to pay for entertainment like that. I consider this exuberant style a worthwhile niche of its own, like wire work in Asian films.

[krama]

Exactly. When I saw the reaction to RRR, I was reminded of how “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” was received in the US back then. It would be akin to an Asian / Indian audience only watching A sub genre of movies made in Hollywood.

[ramesh31]

> Indian action films typically don't strive for believable action scenes, like American films do. Instead, they apply the effects and stunts excessively -- they go over the top in a major way.

This is precisely what Americans love about it though. Indian cinema comes from a completely different tradition than Hollywood, and it’s a breath of fresh air. Action movies should be more silly. It’s just entertainment.

A great analogy is to the Ugandan action films as well (go watch “Who Killed Captain Alex” right now if you haven’t). They are doing something completely new that breaks the Hollywood tropes. We really need more of this, because the American film industry has reached a creative dead end.

[GiorgioG]

I don't think American films strive for believable action scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elpUGB9Ap1Y

[gamblor956]

Tom Cruise actually performed that stunt. There is a highlight BTS reel showing how they composited that shot (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZjsZCMBT-s one of several; just the first result in my Google search). As you can see, he's very well secured to the plane in the BTS footage; the cables and other protection are composited out in post-production. Similarly, in the water tank scene later in the movie, Cruise actually jumped 120 feet into water, and held his breath in a water tank for several minutes (though the fountain in the jump, and the arm in the tank were both composited into the scene in post).

In fact, Tom Cruise actually performs most of his stunts, especially for the MI movies. It's kind of his thing; while the context of the stunt might be CGI the action itself is real.

He's worth more than a billion dollars, so he can afford to pay specialists to train him; he supposedly spent over a year learning to hold his breath for several minutes just for the water tank scene.

[random314]

Except that it is claimed that Tom Cruise actually performed that stunt

https://youtu.be/afS5ks54tms

[GiorgioG]

He did, but he was strapped to the side of the plane (digitally removed to appear he was simply holding onto the plane.)

[michaelt]

American action movies aren't striving for realism these days - their output is 98% superhero movies.

Action movies have always been unashamed about having an element of lowbrow populism. You can enjoy seeing bad guys get their asses kicked in The Matrix even if you've never heard of plato's cave - and there's nothing wrong with that.

[sprkwd]

> Indian action films typically don't strive for believable action scenes, like American films do. Instead, they apply the effects and stunts excessively -- they go over the top in a major way.

That’s why I like them. So refreshing.

[UncleMeat]

I think the problem here is connecting "unrealistic and over the top" with "unsophisticated" without any introspection.

[bozhark]

what would you recommend?

overthetop cgi is equated with bollywood, to my knowledge

[unmole]

> overthetop cgi is equated with bollywood, to my knowledge

No. The overwhelming majority of Bollywood movies don't have much CGI. And RRR isn't a Bollywood movie to begin with.