Crafting ‘RRR:’ What to Know About the Making of the Global Sensation

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Awards Daily looks at some of the crafts behind RRR to reveal some of the things you didn’t know about the making of the Telugu-language epic.

RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) follows Bheem and Raju, two fictitious revolutionaries fighting against oppressive British rule in 1920s India. The film is an epic tale of friendship, brotherhood, love, honor, and patriotism. Featuring dynamic performances from Tollywood legends N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan. RRR is grand on every level—colorful costumes, finger-snapping music, terrifying CGI creatures; the film is a cinematic extravaganza.

We spoke to members of the RRR crafts team to find out how they brought it all together, including:

Boloy Kumar Doloi, Re-Recording Sound Mixer

K.K. Senthil Kumar, Cinematographer

Srinivas Mohan, Pete Draper, and Daniel French, Visual Effects Supervisors,

Here are some of the best behind-the-scenes tidbits we discovered about RRR:

RRR‘s star power made it one of the most anticipated movies in Indian cinema.

Tollywood is the name given to the film industry, based in southern India, which produces Telugu-language films. Its popularity and box office success makes it one of the most successful film industries in the world. Director S.S. Rajamouli has made a career out of making action-packed blockbusters, becoming of the most in-demand “Tollywood” filmmakers. Fans have been clamoring for RRR since Rajamouli announced that his latest film would be starring N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan, two actors whose megastardom rivals the combined popularity of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and the Rock.

“We were expecting good results in India and from the people who generally watch Indian films. Our team has had some really big blockbusters before RRR and we knew people wanted to see these stars together,” explains cinematographer K.K. Senthil Kumar.

It’s the western world’s love for the film that continues to thrill the RRR team.

“People from other parts of the world recognizing it and liking it so much was a big surprise. It is very, very overwhelming,” says Kumar. We never imagined that the whole world will like it and be so impressed with this.”

RRR marks the eighth collaboration between cinematographer K.K. Senthil Kumar and director S.S. Rajamouli.

With each film, the duo aims to create images that “visually speak to the audience.”

“We have been pushing the boundaries of Telugu cinema, and Indian cinema for that matter, with every film. It just took the west 20 years to recognize us,” Kumar says with a laugh. “We try to use the best possible technologies and try to tell the stories in a visually stimulating way.”

Kumar’s cinematography reflected the contrast between Raju and Bheem.

We wanted them to represent the elements, for one to be fire [Raju] and one to be water [Bheem],” explains Kumar. “They’re extremely good friends, but they are on opposite sides.”

Raju is working for the British army, and Bheem is trying to return Mali, a young girl kidnapped by the British, to her family. This conflict sets up a clash between the two men as RRR unfolds.

“It all started with the introduction scenes,” Kumar said. “Raju is introduced in a dry, hot place, and Bheem is introduced in a forest very contrasting atmospheres. We made a conscious effort to continue this throughout the film.”

Raju’s opening sequence was the most challenging of the film for sound designer Boloy Kumar Doloi.

The first time we meet Ram Charan’s Raju, he is working as a British officer, trying to squash a protesting crowd featuring thousands of extras. The claustrophobic action sequence is our first glimpse into Raju’s sheer will and fighting power.

“That first scene was the most difficult for me,” says Doloi. “The crowd noise, the action; there’s also so much emotion in that scene. It took a long time to film and get it right. Maybe 20 days.”

Doloi’s primary focus was to make the sound design as “organic” and “authentic” as possible.

“Sound should never overpower the visuals,” Doloi says. “Sound is something you should feel.”

Every action set piece required its own unique sonic approach.

“I always thought, ‘How do I make this sound as big as possible, but also authentic and fresh?” Doloi says.

Doloi and his sound team tackled each sequence with a different approach, highlighting various natural elements.

“For the dance sequence, we focused on the steps, the drums, and the band,” Doloi said. “The train scene needed us to do something very different, and for the scene with the animals crashing into the party, we wanted that to be a surprise for the audience.”

The VFX team relied on practical effects whenever possible.

RRR‘s action sequences required extensive planning in pre-production and were a blend of wire-work; practical effects; miniatures, and computer-generated VFX.

“Our main brief was that the visual effects shouldn’t stand out,” visual effects supervisor Srinivas Mohan said. “Our director always says that visual effects are a tool; it is not a separate character. Our agenda is to be as invisible as possible while enhancing the emotions when needed.”

For one of RRR‘s marque fight scenes taking place on a train, the VFX team worked in conjunction with production designer Sabu Cyril to build miniature replica sets, a functional train car, that would be easier to manipulate and repeatedly detonate. The action is then filmed in slow-motion, tricking the camera into pretending the surroundings are full size.

“The key is scaling everything down to a practical size but still having it big enough to show off the details and allow the camera to move around,” explains Daniel French. “Miniatures aren’t as common anymore, but they’re still used around the globe. With RRR being a 1920s film, it was a nice nod to old-school filmmaking. And a tribute to films like Ben-Hur, which the director is referencing.”

RRR features several highly-stylized, hyper-realistic sequences, one featuring a number of CGI wild animals was the most difficult to calibrate.

To save Mali from her captors, Bheem and Raju use wild animals to invade the home of the British governor. The creatures are entirely animated, with the VFX team taking special care to consider physics, precise movements, and running speeds.

“We knew this would be an iconic, get-the-audience-on-their-feet moment, and we wanted the animals to feel as realistic as possible,” says Pete Draper. “We really took our time to get it right.”

RRR is streaming on Netflix.