SS Rajamouli: I Don't Use Baahubali As Visiting Card To Approach Actors

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli says even though he has delivered one of the biggest hits of the Indian cinema with Baahubali, he doesn't use its success to mount films. Post 2015's Baahubali and its 2017 follow-up, Rajamouli is gearing up for the release of his latest Rise Roar Revolt (RRR). The Telugu film is headlined by South stars Ram Charan and NT Rama Rao Jr with special appearances by actors Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn.

When asked how he managed to bring stars of two different industries together, the filmmaker said he doesn't looks at actors belonging to different regions of the country.

"I stopped looking at actors as South or North, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu or Kannada. I stopped looking at audiences like Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam. I write the script and look at which actor has the capability or which actor will look best in this part," he told reporters.

Rajamouli, who has worked with some of the biggest stars of the industry said he approaches his actors purely on the strength of his scripts.

"If he is a Malayali then he is a Malayali, if he is a Bengali then that. I just approach the actor and say this is the script and the role that I have. Would you be interested? I can't deny the fact that I have 'Baahubali' behind me, that helps me a lot. But I don't go with the visiting card of 'Baahubali'. I go with the visiting card of my script and my characterisation, and that's what helps me," he added.

Rajamouli was speaking at a special event to announce the collaboration between RRR and multiplex chain PVR.

RRR is a fictional tale of two Indian freedom fighters from the early 20th century - Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan) and Kumaram Bheem, played by Rao Jr. The filmmaker said there was no question of tampering with history as RRR is a complete work of fiction.

"These things come when we make a biopic of the heroes. That's the time when people come up with these kinds of allegations. From the beginning we were clear that this is completely fictional. None of the scenes or what you will see in the film... It is not actually part of their actual lives," he added.

The 48-year-old director said he has tried to fill a historical gap where the two freedom fighters, who belonged to the same era, left home with no record of what they did for four years before they came back and started to fight for the people.

"That excited me. What if these two superheroes, these two demi-gods whom we worship, actually met and exchanged their ideas. What if they were friends or what if they fought against each other. All these ideas were exciting to me, so it is a completely fictional tale. There is not one bit of real historical facts in the film," he added.

RRR is scheduled to be released theatrically on January 7, 2022.