A mightier 'Bheem' would have made RRR stronger

The magnum opus and the pride of Indian cinema RRR has proved its worth at the box office as expected. For Telugu movie lovers and people, the success of the movie at this scale is truly incredible.

Two popular comparisons with regards to Bahubali and RRR are one the latter one is not so visually grandeur not so rich in acoustics. The second one is about the characterization of Bheem, the role essayed by NTR. Jr. The first one might sound true, but it has certain limitations within which the story has to be confined.

A folklore story with no timeline can't be equated with a periodical movie based on the freedom struggle. The visual feast in Bahubali is mostly due to those palatial structures and celestial objects with an element of Hinduism ingrained in them. Those liberties can't be afforded and incorporated in a movie grounded in India of the 1920s.

However, there is a grain of truth in the second contention that the Bheem character played by NTR Jr is not developed as it is supposed to be. In a multi-starrer movie where both the stars are more or less equal in their off-screen image, proper fine-tuning of two characters is very crucial.

NTR.Jr is an extremely charismatic and elegantly powerful personality on the screen as is evident in the "Komuram Bheemudo" song picturised on him. Very few stars of his stature would have agreed for such songs of bloodbath be made on them. His cute innocence in the scenes with the Hollywood actress Olivia is highly impressive. More than that he is a graceful dancer.

While all these traits have been aptly explored, his characterisation was not on par with the Ramaraju played by Ram Charan. Sometimes both of them look complimentary to each other and at other places, it seems that NTR is simply supportive of Ram Charan's cause. It gives an impression that instead of two equally potential and powerful characters one finds that one is subordinating the other even though voluntarily.

Another grey area is that the Bheem character misses out on that proper base that a mass hero with a considerable fan base expects to have. A man with such an arresting screen presence simply enters the scene with a single point agenda of rescuing a girl who had been captivated by the British. Instead, some scenes portraying his leadership skills and caretaker attitude at the village level would have made the role much more interesting.

In the second half, NTR looks helpless for a major part but the way he comes to the rescue of Ram and unites him with Sita is intriguing. On the whole it's a praiseworthy attempt and a welcome move for Indian cinema in 21st century.

Satish Reddy Kanaganti, Tipparthy