Filmmaker SS Rajamouli is a phenomenon and it is no exaggeration that he is one of the best commercial cinema directors of the country. Be it Baahubali or Eega (Makkhi), he has managed to impress and make an impact, irrespective of the scale of his film, and has pushed the envelope with each film. As Rajamouli turns 47, we take a look at five iconic scenes from his highly successful career.
Vikramarkudu
With Vikramarkudu, which featured Ravi Teja in dual roles, Rajamouli set the benchmark very high for cop-based stories in commercial cinema. The interval action block and another scene where Ravi Teja tells his superior how he desires to die as a police officer will go down as one of the best sequences in mainstream Telugu cinema. As an uptight, duty-fearing police officer, Ravi Teja was terrific as Vikram Rathore, and his fiery performance still remains as one of his career-best. Irrespective of whom he worked with, Rajamouli always managed to bring out their best and it was no different this time when he teamed up with Ravi Teja for the first time.
Magadheera
Romance intertwined with reincarnation set Magadheera apart from other commercial films. The film took the popular tropes of commercial cinema and used them effectively in a period drama set-up for a crucial portion of the film which looked epic on the big screen. The film turned Ram Charan into a star and also proved that he is no ordinary star kid but one with talent and great screen presence. It takes guts to make something as big as Magadheera a decade ago and Rajamouli proved detractors wrong with his vision.
Eega
To envision a film with a housefly in the titular role and make it relatable to the masses requires more than just vision. Rajamouli proved to the world that he doesn’t need stars to make films that will be lapped up by the masses, and that’s exactly why he made Eega. With the aid of technology and his vision, he made a film out of this simple plot point – what if a man reborn as a house fly wants to take revenge on his killer? Eega was not just experimental, but it was unbelievably entertaining and that’s what makes Rajamouli one of the finest filmmakers with a great understanding of what our masses love and appreciate. This interval block scene is one of the best moments of the movie.
Chatrapathi
Chatrapathi marked Prabhas’ maiden collaboration with Rajamouli. It was the beginning of a relationship that went on to change Prabhas’ career graph beyond anyone’s imagination. Even though the project could be written off as your quintessential masala entertainer, Rajamouli pulled off the right tricks to make it work with the masses. This particular scene elevated Prabhas’ image as a mass hero and it worked wonders for the movie.
Baahubali series
A lot has been written about the money that was invested into making the Baahubali films but what really needs to be talked about is Rajamouli’s vision to execute a project on this scale. By making Baahubali, Rajamouli has inspired so many filmmakers to go big with their projects and it has paved way to projects like KGF and Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. Recently, Chiranjeevi publicly admitted that if not for Baahubali and Rajamouli, they would never have gathered the courage to make Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. It’s tough to pinpoint one scene from the Baahubali series but the ceremony scene from Baahubali: The Conclusion has a different fan base altogether.
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