S S Rajamouli: The Epic Storyteller

Rajesh N Naidu
In the much-acclaimed multi-lingual film Bahubali (a commander),
the young Bahubali with firm determination makes several abortive
attempts at climbing a mysterious mountain. Besides, the elements
of gusto and unwavering resolution in his efforts to reach the top of
the mountain, what makes his each attempt noteworthy is the new
path he chooses each time he resolves of reaching the mountains
top. With every unsuccessful attempt, the intrigue of the world on
the other side of the mountain becomes more acute and thrilling. It
seems that he belongs to that world which is there on the other
side of the mountain. Then a mask of a woman falls into the lap of
Bahubali. This mask makes his determination firmer to know the
world at the top of the mountain. And this time he succeeds.
These scenes are dazzlingly symbolic and evocative. In one sense,
they sum up the journey of the films director S S Rajamouli.
After creating impressive array of money-spinners down South, the
director has reached the top of the mountain and met the mother of
all his successes in the national hit Bahubali. Though originally
made in Telugu, the film in its dubbed version in Hindi itself has
collected over Rs100 crore at the box office. In less than twenty five
days of its release, the film which was released in Telugu, Tamil,
Malayalam and Hindi, has become Indias biggest blockbuster till
date. It has collections of over Rs500 crore at the box office beating
Hindi films such as PK, Dhoom 3 and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.
S S Rajamouli is no stranger to Hindi films. His films such as
Vikramarkudu and Maryada Ramanna have been remade into Hindi
as Rowdy Rathore and Son of Sardar respectively. And it is not just
Hindi. His films are remade and dubbed in Bengali, Malayalam,
Kannada, Tamil, Bhojpuri and Oriya also. Today, he is the most
sought after film director in Hindi films industry say media reports.
So, what has worked for this Telugu director? What is that that has
made him a consistent deliverer of smashing hits down South?
What are the elements in his films which have found so much
resonance across geographies? And why Bahubali of all his films
has received a thumping response across states in India? To seek

answers to these questions one needs to understand the journey of

this filmmaker who from being aimless youth, today, believes the
importance of having boundless imagination in ones works. One
also needs to understand the scripts of his films which are written
so ingeniously by his able father K. V. Vijayendra Prasad.
The Journey
The journey of S S Rajmoulis film career can be understood from
the deep connection of mythology and Southern cinema. Telugu and
Tamil cinema have had a deep connection with epics. In South
especially in Telugu and Tamil films, epics played a gigantic role in
establishing cinema as a potent medium of entertainment. Epic
films in both languages were just not a visual rendering of stories.
They were made on a scale and vision which was incomparable
with most non-south language films. A case in the point is director
S S Vasans Tamil film Chandralekha, which was released in 1948.
It is said that it took five years for the production of the film. S S
Vasan invested Rs30 lakh in the film. In this magnum opus, Vasan
invested whopping Rs 5 lakh only on a drum dance scene. This was
in 1948 at a time a whole film could have been made in five lakh
rupees. Such was the scale and the vision with which epic films
were made in South.
In Telugu, it was not just the scale and the vision with which epics
films were made. It was also the number of epic films, which were
made. One of the reigning superstars of Telugu cinema N T Rama
Rao who was at the peak of his film career in the 1950s played Lord
Krishna 17 times in epic films. Besides this, he also played deities
such as Lord Shiva and key characters of the Mahabharata such as
Karna, Duryodhana, and Bhisma in large number of films. The epic
scale of films in Telugu just did not confine to stories from the
Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Telugu cinema has been
oscillating between stories which have been sublime and pious to
vapid and sterile which also gave birth to highly prospering
escapist cinema in the region. This polarity in audiences spawned a
thriving film viewing culture in Andhra Pradesh region. Given this,
it is not surprising that the number of single screens in Andhra
Pradesh (undivided) is highest in the country. According to the web
site of Film Federation of India, Andhra Pradesh has 2806 screens,

followed by 1546 screens in Tamil Nadu, 1015 screens in Kerala

and 950 screens in Karnataka.
Just like a large number of Telugu film viewers, S S Rajamouli also
grew up on these epic films. He recalls, In my childhood we were
allowed to watch only one movie in a month. I remember the
anxious wait and thrill of entering a cinema. Curtains going up and
the experience of pain as a film would end fascinated me a lot. In
Telugu, there were large number of films made on our history,
folklore and mythology. These films had N T Rama Rao in the lead.
Those were my favourite films." But the decision to become a
filmmaker came later for Rajamouli.
Born in a film family, in his teens, he hardly showed any inclination
for films. His father K V Vijayendra Prasad who has been a
screenwriter in Telugu films since 1988, recollects, He was not an
ambitious child. For a long time, we did not know what interested
him. He showed some inclination towards films. He played the role
of young Krishna in a film I directed." After doing some television
work, he found his calling in film direction. He says, "Even in my
early 20s I didnt know how to plan for my future. My father would
constantly scold me for doing nothing. I joined films just to get
away from his nagging. Slowly, I found my love for direction." And
this love for direction provided the much-needed aim for his life
and saved from drifting away aimlessly. Today, Rajamouli has made
over 10 films in his career spanning 15 years.
What distinguishes his career from his peers is the sheer
consistency with which he has delivered blockbuster after
blockbuster in Telugu films industry. On the one hand, he has made
blockbusters such as Vikramarkudu, Maryada Ramanna and
Student No. 1, which obey the confines of escapist cinema, while,
on the other hand, he has equally excelled in the epic and fantasy
genre with films such as Chatrapathi, Magadheera, and Eega where
imagination runs abound. And the latest feather in his cap is
Bahubali, which has received recognition and acceptance not only
in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region but also on the national
level.
Commercial considerations

So, how does he pull off such varied genres and provide engaging
narratives in each of these genres? To understand the depth of
commercial considerations in films directed by Rajamouli one is
tempted to paraphrase an old statement about the Indian epic
Mahabharata. Indian scholars, in pointing out to the depth and
scope of the Mahabharata, say: That what is not there (in the
Mahabharata) is nowhere to be found. This statement when
paraphrased may serve as a good description for films directed by
S S Rajamouli and written by his father K. V. Vijayendra Prasad. It
may read as: That is what is not there in their films is not there in
any commercially successful film.
Rajmoulis father K V Vijayendra Prasad who has co-written seven
of over 10 films he has directed offers a cogent explanation of the
commercial success of their films. He says, Writing a commercial
film is like functioning on two different psyches. One should have a
psyche of a wife and call girl. He explains, When the husband
comes home, the wife is concerned about his health. She gives him
healthy diet. A call girl on the other hand is not bothered about the
health of the man. She serves him whiskey or any other drink. She
is not bothered whether he has a big belly or flat stomach. All the
time the call girls mind is on the pocket of the man. On the other
hand, the wife's focus is on the health of the husband. So, as a
writer, one has to ride on these two horses. Keeping this in mind,
the father-son duo has made a conscious effort to produce
narratives, which are engaging entertainers and at the same time,
which do not sound seem esoteric or too personal in expression.
This is primarily the reason that why his narratives are accessible
also to non-Telugu viewers.
Besides this, copious amount of symbolic references to events in
epics has made Rajamoulis films accessible to a national audience.
Piyush Roy, a film historian with University of Edinburgh says, The
success of Rajamoulis films can be attributed to his ability to
merge the essential lessons and emotional points in stories of
Indian epics with grandeur of visuals. This is one of the chief
reasons why his latest offering Bahubali has gained wide
acceptance. Roy says, Aspects such as constant duel between good
and evil, women as strong characters, presence of mother figures
like Kunti and Gandhari are recurrent themes of his narratives.
All of Rajamoulis films have well-rounded action plots. Among the

Navrasas, it is the Veer rasa that make his narrative very engaging.
He adds, His plots have all elements of exploits of a hero and
heroism. His heroes are not only mentally upright but also
physically strong. He invests in characterisation. Even his
supporting characters are well-established, he adds. Aspects such
as return of the banished prince as a victor and saving of the child
from drowning from the Ramayana and the playing of Shiv Tandav
Stotram from the Mahabharata when Bahubali places the ShivaLinga in the waterfall are a few symbolic references to events in
epics.
Perhaps, these epic references are Rajamoulis tribute to his
fascination for epics. He says, I am fascinated by epics since
childhood. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are highly
dramatic in their narratives and they have influenced story telling
in India a lot. Be it the irony of fate of Karna, superhuman strength
but utter loyalty of Hanuman and Bheema, or elements of David Vs
Goliath seen in Abhimanyus character. All these stories had a
lasting impact on my mind. It is no wonder that Rajamouli cites K
V Reddys 1957 bi-lingual (Telugu and Tamil) film Mayabazaar as
one of the films that has influenced him a lot. The film, which was
one of the early collaborations of Telugu and Tamil artists, is a cult
masterpiece which centers on the marriage of Balaramas daughter
Sasirekha to Arjunas son Abhimanyu. It was a visual spectacle
which even today thrills the audience.
It is this same consideration for visual spectacle in Bahubali, which
has earned Rajamouli the national audience. His father who also
co-wrote Bahubali says, The reason Bahubali has worked at
national level is because of visual spectacle. It is this visual
spectacle which has pulled the audiences in large numbers to
theatres. Unlike, artistic films, which can be watched once and
later seen on mobile phones or on television, a visual spectacle
needs experience of a big screen. It is this aspect of visual
spectacle which has worked for Bahubali. Roy of University of
Edinburgh says, Spectacle can only be enjoyed on big screen. It is
constantly working for audience. You cannot enjoy Star Wars,
Avengers and other visual spectacles on television. Visual grandeur
works only in theatres. He says, South filmmakers always had an
edge over their Hindi contemporaries in creating competent
spectacles. They amalgamate emotions with spectacles very well.

As opposed to them, Hindi filmmakers have produced a few

noteworthy spectacles like Mughal-e-Azam and Lagaaan and Jodha
Akbar. Barring these films, very few spectacles have worked in
Hindi films. If you give films with indigenous content and add
spectacle to it, it definitely works. In the case of Bahubali,
Rajamouli has got these aspects quite right.
As Bahubali adds a new bold chapter in Rajamoulis film career, it
also adds to his burden of delivering an equally grand and engaging
sequel, which is up for release next year. He says, I dont hold
back anything. Anything is possible. I give immense importance to
building and execution of a plot. Once these aspects are duly
considered, then the believability factor comes in. There are
instances where I failed, but those failures didnt deter me at all.