I’m a novice when it comes to Bollywood movies, so I decided recently to fire up my Netflix subscription and watch the most popular Indian movie on the streamer, RRR. The Telugu-language film from 2022 is one of the most successful Indian movies of all time, both on the Asian subcontinent and further afield. It also won an Oscar for Best Song, so I thought this would be a great way to dip my toe in some waters I’ve never taken a full swim in. The production is amazing, but I found the story a little hard to follow.
I will say that for anyone who loves movies and is interested in checking out a Bollywood flick for the first time, like me, I wholeheartedly recommend RRR. It is a long movie, but nothing about it drags at all, and I promise it is totally worth your time. Also, just to get this out of the way, RRR is technically a Tollywood movie, which is different than traditional Bollywood, but for the sake of this article, I’m going to lump all Indian cinema into one bucket. Cut me some slack, I’m trying to learn new things!
Indian Cinema Is A Mystery To Me
at least heard of: RRR, directed by S. S. Rajamouli and starring N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan. At first, I thought going in blind, without knowing anything about the movie, was the right call. I abandoned that pretty quickly, though, and pulled up the Wikipedia page for the movie to help follow the story a little better. Almost immediately, though, I was struck by the scope of the movie.
Oscar-winning song “Naatu Naatu” was like a great MGM musical from the Golden Age of Hollywood in the best way.
Those two things may seem too weird to reconcile in one movie, but it works really well, and scenes like the attack on the English governor’s house is some of the coolest action in any movie in the last 10 years, and “Naatu Naatu” is so infectious and fun, it’s impossible not to love the dance-off. Plus, it doesn’t distract from the plot, which I was concerned it would. It makes total sense.
RRR is both, and it’s so well done, I’m excited to explore more Indian films. I can’t say I am surprised by how much I enjoyed the production here, but I will say that I am more satisfied than I thought I would be. I knew it would be an impressive movie, but I wasn’t sure if I would like it, and I did, very much.
I’m also excited to learn more about the real people behind the characters of Komaram Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.) and Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan), to say nothing about digging more into the history of Indian Independence. So not only am I going to start watching more Bollywood, but I’m looking forward to revisiting RRR after brushing up on some history.
2025 movie schedule here in the U.S. is filling up a lot of my time, but I’ve decided it’s definitely worth finding the time to really check out more about Indian cinema. I’m not sure where to go next, but Netflix has a large selection available, so I know I won’t have to spend too much time looking for my next watch.
I might even carve out some time for a TV show or two, but for now, I’ll stick with movies. If you have any thoughts on where I should go next, sound off in the comments and let me know what I should watch.