The unquestioned king of the Indian box office is SS Rajamouli. We chat about how each of his feature films has exceeded the prior by a significant margin between 2001 and 2022.
International perceptions of Indian cinema have changed thanks to SS Rajamouli. The ace director has demonstrated that in addition to being a master storyteller and box office king, he also understands the pulse of the audience with his 2022 smash RRR, which is up for an Oscar contender. Even though he collaborates with the best names in the business, all of his films are marketed as being from Rajamouli. On the occasion of his birthday, we look back on his 12-film, 20-year filmmaking career and describe how he rose to prominence and became an unstoppable box office powerhouse.
Modest beginnings
SS Rajamouli started his filmmaking career by working as a production assistant for other directors as well as his writer-director father Vijayendra Prasad, which forever cultivated the desire of becoming the ship’s captain himself. Rajamouli co-directed the TV series Santhi Nivasam before making the transition to film. Additionally, he oversaw a few political campaigns. Rajamouli was given the opportunity to helm Student No 1, a feature film under Raghavendra Rao’s production in 2001, starring Jr. NTR. The movie was a success, earning Rs 12 crore at the box office.
Simhadri, Rajamouli’s second feature film, which was released in 2003, was the highest-grossing Telugu movie at the time. Jr. NTR and Rajamouli reunited for this project. Rajamouli had plans to work with Mohanlal on a project in the mythological and fantasy genre while this film was in production. However, financial constraints prevented it from happening.
Rajamouli directed the Rugby-inspired film Sye in 2004. It became popular and a sensation in pop culture. It was noted that Rajamouli was not hesitant to try new genres.
Prabhas starred in Rajamouli’s action comedy Chatrapathi, which dealt with the refugee situation, in 2005. It cost Rs 10 crore to make, but it made Rs 21 crore at the box office.
Rajamouli directed the blockbuster movies Yamadonga and Vikramarkudu, starring Jr. NTR and Ravi Teja, respectively, in 2007 and 20226. The fact that Vikramarkudu was translated into various other languages made it even more unique. By this point, it was very evident that Rajamouli would guarantee the success of any movie he directed.
Rajamouli published the page-turner in 2009. Ram Charan and Kajal Aggarwal played the key characters in his fantasy action movie Magadheera, which he also directed. The movie had a budget of Rs 44 crore, the most ever for a Telugu project, and it achieved history while earning around Rs 150 crore. For Magadheera, Rajamouli also received a National Award. Ram Charan developed a sizable fan base thanks to the dubbed version of the movie.
2010 launch Maryada Ramanna was a successful member of the action comedy genre. Samantha, Sudeep, and Nani are featured in the 2012 release of Eega. The concept of a fly seeking retribution was quite original in the movie. In addition to being a box office success and winning awards at the Cannes and Toronto after Dark Film Festivals, Rajamouli’s directing and vision were praised. Due to how well it was executed, many people compared it to a high-concept Hollywood movie.
Rajamouli, ‘Baahubali’
Rajamouli worked on his passion project, the Baahubali series, after finishing Eega. When Part I was released in 2015, the regional director instantly gained national and international renown. It went on to become the second-highest grossing Indian movie of all time and the best-selling Indian movie ever inside of India. Additionally, its Hindi dub version set other records. Baahubali: The Beginning will always be mentioned when analyzing the box office performance of Indian movies. Following the film’s premiere, Rajamouli’s name was frequently mentioned by prominent Indian celebrities. He received the Padma Shri in 2016 for his contributions to the art world, India’s fourth highest civilian honor.
The film Baahubali: The Conclusion followed Baahubali (2017). It ended up becoming the biggest success India has ever seen. The movie was extremely popular throughout all of India and even abroad. It had a $250 billion estimated budget but grossed more over Rs 2000 billion at the global box office. The popularity of the Baahubali series contributed to the development of the pan-Indian film trend. Prabhas rose to stardom and was forever indebted to Rajamouli for his success.
Rajamouli’s much anticipated movie RRR, which starred Ram Charan and Jr. NTR, was released in 2022. The film’s production cost, which was more than Rs 500 crore, was the biggest ever for a Rajamouli film. In both the home and foreign markets, it was a big success. It made more than Rs 1200 crore in revenue and is currently vying for several Oscar nominations. RRR has shattered records as the most popular Indian movie on OTT for the world’s largest streaming service, Netflix.
How SS Rajamouli became the box office “Baahubali”: From Rs 12 crore to Rs 2000 crore | Birthday special
