Modern Masters: SS Rajamouli
Introduction
‘The only thing that I am a slave of, is my story’. These are the golden words of visionary director SS Rajamouli that every budding filmmaker should cater to. I have often had a fascination of wanting to get into the minds of the filmmakers, to understand their vision and to tap into their filmmaking process that is germinating in their head before venturing on set for the shoot. And I am so glad a documentary has been made on SS Rajamouli, who has got to be the pinnacle of filmmaking in this country. Be it showcasing early signs of promise with films like Simhadri or expanding the vision of other filmmakers around him with a film like Magadheera, or pulling off a daredevil heist with a film like Eega, or trusting his vision and his process in pulling off the biggest PAN India film ever – the Bahubali franchise, or later being a global phenomenon with the likes of RRR, the man has conquered one milestone to another.
Speaking of RRR, I don’t think the world was ready for the film. And I say that because we had previously underestimated the kind of global sensation that it was going to eventually turn out to be. I remember awarding the film with 4.5 stars(out of 5) in my review, only for a part of the social media to begin the troll game. But one year later, when RRR had become a global sensation and Naatu Naatu had not only won an Oscar but put the country back again on the global map, the joke was on them! And you had to thank the one man behind the vision – SS Rajamouli. I mean you cannot have that interval block of animals leaping from cages along with a character without having signs of perfection and conviction that the audience will grasp it, and lap it all up. So this documentary titled ‘Modern Masters – SS Rajamouli’ did give the viewers a chance to traverse on the journey with the veteran filmmaker while tactfully tapping into his mind. My only bar of skepticism lay on whether it would just be reduced to a fan service. But then does Modern Masters – SS Rajamouli which is now streaming on Netflix, manage to impress, let’s find out.
The Good
SS Rajamouli is a visionary director and this documentary traverses his journey from his childhood to his eventual journey of lifting the Oscars for the song Naatu Naatu. And what this documentary did instantly was provide insights about the individual that may or may not be known to the public eye. For instance, his early days of school featuring him being fascinated by stories only to be encouraged by his mother too. We all know the film family that Rajamouli hails from, but to have his close kins being an integral part of his filmography was indeed news to me, even as the documentary showed early signs of his perfection as seen through the talks of some of the biggest stars who have worked with him from the Telugu Film Industry.
I did enjoy the storyboard here, tactfully tapping into Rajamouli’s first brush with cinema, be it in the form of a TV show or even his first work as a director of a short film featuring the nervous version of himself. The documentary is also tactful to highlight the contributions of the personnel around him particularly with respect to the creative process of envisioning a scene with appropriate notes of music accompanying the narrative. One after another, each of his films is celebrated while giving the viewers a sneak peek into his psyche and personality, on and off the set. And while other works of his seemed to show promise, the emphasis lay on his most ambitious work back in the day, the ‘Bahubali’ franchise that accounted for a resounding recollection of stories within stories. The dichotomy of the situation for the producer then lay in entrusting the non-compromising vision of the prolific filmmaker while having to also keep the budget of the film in check. And how the tide switched frequently after its release, from the critics calling it the weakest ‘Rajamouli’ film to an earth-shattering animal that made Rajamouli a household name in various parts of the country.
But the documentary would have been incomplete without the mention of RRR and the Naatu Naatu song that put India once again on the world map. And I was bowled over by the kind of perfection that the filmmaker demanded from his cast and crew, something that all of us could learn from. No wonder that the end result was the film being celebrated in countries in a rather unprecedented manner! Along the way, I also enjoyed the human touch that the documentary had to offer with respect to the spirituality of the filmmaker and how he wished to call himself an Atheist. And the definition of it also had traces of spirituality to it, calling work his Karma Yuga. It spoke so much about the personality of a filmmaker that was grounded and rational while never wishing to take his success for granted.
The Not So Good
Of all the things that I really liked about the documentary, the one little gripe which I had was related to the abrupt journey with respect to the awards that RRR had won. The portions of audience lapping up the phenomena of RRR, be it in an auditorium or at the Academy Awards or Golden Globes did give me goosebumps. But I really wished to watch a little more of it, even if it meant that minutes would have been added to the documentary. Certain portions could have been further fleshed out to sustain the moments of goosebumps that was a byproduct of the celebration of the veteran filmmaker. But I fully understand that this may well be the greedy version of me, wishing to celebrate the success of the filmmaker that much more longer!
My Take
There were two separate moments in the documentary, one related to the synchronization of the Naatu Naatu step, which was measured by a ruler on the monitor as narrated by an established individual. The other being a beautiful shot captured during a scene shoot of RRR, only for the director to realise that a junior artist who may barely have been at the edge of the screen, smiling for a brief second. And the decision to reshoot that entire scene just for that one innocent mistake can only be termed as perfection of the highest order. Good isn’t good enough if it is not perfect! And if more filmmakers resort to this formula of perfection, we as viewers will have better end products. The other important takeaway was the golden words by SS Rajamouli – The only thing that I am a slave of is my story! This quote comes at a time when emphasis is on grandeur while the filmmakers continue to ignore the first medium of communication which was the story. Start feeding audience with perfection related to storytelling, and watch the success ratio of films steadily rise in times to come. Budding filmmakers are you listening?
Conclusion
Modern Masters – SS Rajamouli offers a brilliant sneak peek into the psyche of the man who can so easily be termed as One of the National Treasures of the Country, while packaging an excellent documentary that celebrates his journey and milestones along the way. Available on Netflix and Highly Recommended!
