At a film festival in Los Angeles, director SS Rajamouli spoke about the portrayal of Hinduism in his film, particularly in RRR. The filmmaker is in the United States, where he is participating in the awards campaign for RRR, and reportedly meeting with Hollywood power players.
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During a Q&A session at the Beyond Fest, which is hosting a retrospective of his films, Rajamouli said that there is a difference between Hinduism the religion and Hindu Dharma. RRR borrows iconography associated with Hindu texts, particularly towards the end. The central characters can also be interpreted as versions of Hindu gods.
He said, “Many people think Hinduism is a religion, it is in the present context. But before Hinduism the religion, there existed Hinduism the dharma. It is a way of life, it is a philosophy. If you take the religion, I am also not a Hindu, but if you take the dharma, I am very much a Hindu. What I am portraying in the film is actually a way of life that has existed for many, many centuries and eons.”
Recalling a scene in RRR in which the character Raju turns into ‘a saintly’ figure, Rajamouli said that Raju recites a Sanskrit verse from the Bhagavad Gita. “You can look at it as something that Lord Krishna has told Arjuna, so it is a Hindu religion verse, but if you look at the meaning of it, it has been taught to Indians irrespective of caste and where they were born. It’s about how to look at life, and not look at the result of what you do. That is what Hindu dharma says. So, I am a follower of Hindu dharma.”
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RRR, starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR, became a word-of-mouth hit in the US after a moderately successful theatrical run. The film was rediscovered on Netflix, and has since become a cult hit with legions of passionate fans rallying behind it. While RRR wasn’t selected as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature category, it has been submitted in the general categories, where it is eligible for nominations. Rajamouli’s next film is an action-adventure starring Mahesh Babu.
