RRR

I didn't have a chance to see RRR (which stands for "Rise, Roar, Revolt") when it was first released so I am really glad that Salt Lake Film Society brought it back for a limited engagement!  I had heard a lot of rave reviews so I went to see it with a large crowd at a late screening last night and it was absolutely amazing!  I had so much fun watching it and I may or may not have cheered out loud during several thrilling sequences!  It takes place in India during the British Raj in the 1920s.  When a young girl named Malli (Twinkle Sharma) is taken from her village by the British Governor Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson) and his wife Catherine (Alison Doody), the guardian of the tribe, Komaram Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao, Jr.), travels to Delhi and vows to do whatever it takes to rescue her.  Meanwhile, a member of the Indian Imperial Police named Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) begins searching for him when the Governor offers a promotion to the officer who captures the man reported to be coming for Malli.  Bheem and Raju meet when they cooperate to save a young boy from a burning train wreck and bond with each other but, when they finally learn of their true allegiances, there is an epic confrontation between them at the Governor's residence leading to Bheem's capture.  However, Bheem eventually discovers Raju's motivation for his actions while Raju begins to question whether his cause justifies the betrayal of a friend and they ultimately join together (literally) to defeat their common enemy.  This is obviously about overthrowing the evils of colonialism (the portrayal of the British almost verges on caricature) but I really loved the message about the power of friendship.  Rao and Charan are incredibly charismatic and have tremendous chemistry with each other.  Their physical performances are almost larger than life and so dazzling on the screen!  The action set pieces are spectacular (my favorites are a scene where Raju single-handedly subdues an angry mob and a scene where Bheem fights a tiger) with unbelievable visual effects (I loved that Raju is associated with fire and Bheem with water) and soaring choral music which acts as narration.  Speaking of which, the dance-off between Bheem and Raju and the stuffy British guests at a garden party during the song "Naatu Naatu" is wildly entertaining (it is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and I am really looking forward to its performance during the broadcast).  I am so happy that I got a chance to see this on the big screen because I thoroughly enjoyed it and I highly recommend it (it is currently streaming on Netflix).

Note:  I enjoyed it so much it was worth having to drive home during a snow storm at midnight!