At the launch of the trailer for RRR: Roudram Ranam Rudhiram, director SS Rajamouli dismissed the idea that language can be a stumbling block for filmmakers.
Rajamouli's magnum opus, which stars N T Rama Rao, Jr, and Ram Charan, is scheduled to be released in theatres on 7 January 2022 in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.
Joined by artistes Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn, Jr NTR, producer DVV Danayya and Jayantilal Gada of Pen Entertainment, the filmmaker took to the stage at PVR Inox in Mumbai's Goregaon suburb to answer questions.
Asked if pan-India films are the future, Rajamouli said, "If you believe in your core storytelling, you don't need to worry about languages. Language is just a medium of communication. What is actually being communicated is the story that we are telling. In cinema, the visual is what tells you a story."
The filmmaker's success with the Baahubali franchise launched him into the stratosphere as one of India's most popular directors. However, he said the choice of an artiste often depends on the nature of the story, not his/her popularity in a region.
While admitting that audience expectations of his film are high, Rajamouli said, "If you look deeply, the audience is not waiting for another Baahubali. They are waiting for the kind of experience they had in the film, the emotions they felt during the film. That is what they want."
He added, "Any section of audience which comes to the theatres, previous track records only help to bring them to theatres. Once they are in the theatres, they will be watching what the film is, not what we did before."
Explaining the choice of Ajay Devgn for a cameo appearance in the film, Rajamouli said, "I have the character played by Ajay sir. I didn't approach him because I have a relationship with him, or because I have Jr NTR and Charan from the South, so we need someone of equal measure from the North. When we are writing the character, we think who has the image to carry this role."
The filmmaker also dismissed the idea of artistes only working with directors in their own language. "It is just a mental block about North actors having to act in Hindi or South in South Indian languages," he said. "Why we cast them is because they are great actors, and acting does not have a language. Once we remove that mental block, we have a big array of actors we can approach."