What made you choose NTR and Charan for RRR?
Firstly, I wanted two big names in Indian cinema to come together. Their stardom, acting prowess, and fan base were needed for such a story to click. Also, I wanted two big stars who share a close bond with each other. As I personally knew about Charan and NTR’s bond way before this film, I felt they were a perfect choice.
RRR was shot in Ukraine which is going through hell. Tell us about it?
Ukraine is a beautiful country rich in culture. When we went there for the shoot, I had no idea about this issue at all. Only after I came back, did I understand the seriousness and was keeping on enquiring about the well-being of my team who worked on RRR.
Was RRR the original title of the film and how many titles were considered?
We did not have any title in mind initially. We used to call the project RRR as it is derived from our names. As the audience felt that there is some meaning behind it, we did not want to change it and stopped bothering about the titles.
The reason behind casting Charan as Alluri and NTR as Bheem?
When I wrote the character of Ram, I felt that Charan would suit the role as the character demanded someone who would keep lava of emotions inside him. As charan is of the same character, I chose him for Ram. On the other hand, NTR is a live wire show that does not hide emotions. The character of Bheem is the one who is innocent and bursts out with emotions. So, NTR was the obvious choice.
Fans will surely look at how you balanced their favorite stars in the film?
When you watch the film, no one will even think of all this. I purposely decided against who is having better fights, scenes, or songs. My only tension was as to whether the audience will feel the same empathy for both the characters or not. So, balancing those emotions was the biggest task for me.
About the AP CM’s new GO?
Things have come out in a favorable manner. We also met the CM twice. As it is a new GO, there are so many doubts as no proper guidelines are not yet out about the price. But the CM has given us a favorable conclusion and allowed five shows which itself is the greatest news.
Tell us about your biggest fear while making RRR?
The story was set, stars were signed but somewhere down the line, I was so tensed as to whether I would be able to recreate the same emotion that was created on paper. Execution failure is my biggest fear as thinking of something big is easy but executing it is the toughest part.
What kind of effect did Covid lockdown leave you with?
Apart from the health tensions it gave, the Covid lockdowns gave me so much scope to better the film. With every gap that we got due to lockdown, we only made the film better after watching the final rushes.
RRR is having a global release. How do you feel?
I won’t call RRR is a global film but am happy that it will be watched by many. Thanks to OTT platforms, the film will go deep into the audience. I am overwhelmed with the attention the film is getting all over the world.