Cinema and the non-violence versus violence discourse: a review of the film RRR

Despite India being a multilingual nation, Hindi cinema (also known as Bollywood) has traditionally served as a representative of that industry (Thussu, 2016). It can be partly because most films in Indian languages are made for regional audience. This situation has changed with recent advances in dubbing in multiple languages. Also, Bollywood is copying commercially successful non-Hindi movies and remaking them with exorbitant budgets. However, dubbed versions of southern Indian movies, primarily from Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam languages, have recently generated better revenues. The year 2022 saw the release of the Telugu movie RRR which refers to Raudram, Ranam, Rudhiram or Rage, War, and Blood (Rajamouli, 2022). This significantly altered how people view Indian films. With almost $72 million, it is the costliest Indian film ever made. With approximately $160 million in earnings as of October 2022 (Jain, 2022), it is the second-most profitable Indian film and still reaches more audiences through over the top (OTT) platforms. RRR was distributed in five Indian languages, including Hindi, and six foreign languages, including English while being primarily developed for the Telugu audience. RRR’s popularity sparked a discussion on whether Hindi films or Bollywood had lost their allure due to the poor reception of high-budget Hindi productions in recent times. At the same time, regional films are thriving and breaking records at the national level. Hence, it is essential to evaluate what makes India’s most well-liked movies successful.