Read SS Rajamouli's views on the RRR's success in the international market

The success of his recent period epic, RRR, surprised SS Rajamouli. The Baahubali filmmaker stated in his speech at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) that he was surprised by the film's popularity in the West, especially the United States.

TIFF shared a video of Rajamouli, in which, he said that though he believed that his stories would break the state borders, he never thought they would go beyond the country. The celebrated director added he made movies for Indians, which included the scores of the Indian diaspora, living across the globe. Rajamouli referred to the Baahubali franchise's performance, which brought in about Rs 17 crore in Japan.

RRR performed better than Rajamouli's Baahubali in the US. The Ram Charan and NTR Jr-starrer made over $14.5 million in the US, which is about Rs 115 crore.

Similar to this, RRR dominated the Netflix US non-English movie ranking for many weeks. Rajamouli, however, stated that while he was making RRR, he did not even have the slightest wish for international box office success.

RRR earned more than Rs 200 crore abroad out of its overall earnings of Rs 1150 crore. The film received a lot of praise from critics in the US as well. According to Stephanie Bunbury, who wrote for Deadline Hollywood, Rajamouli's masterwork was greater than Ben-Hur's. For its CGI and VFX, in particular, the film earned a tonne of accolades.

The RRR team hopes to achieve great success at the Oscars in 2023 by relying on unexpected success and acceptance in the United States. A recent prediction by Variety stated that the film would be nominated for at least two Academy Awards, including one for Best International Film.

SS Rajamouli talked about the value of stars in a Film Companion interview. “The only thing that matters is how actors appear, and that is what draws audiences to the theatres. They have a specific vision of the stars in mind. I'm aware of that. However, if the content of my scene requires that their action, performance, or character must go against that image to heighten the drama, I will do it. I don't want to destroy their image or do something unusual just for it.”