Concept Art For RRR Deleted Scenes Have Fans Asking S.S. Rajamouli Why They Got Axed
Foreign language musicals don't usually make waves in America, but "RRR" was an exception. The Indian Telugu-language epic became a global phenomenon after it was released by Netflix in 2022, subtitled in 15 different languages and dubbed in several different regional dialects including Hindi and Tamil. It even won an Academy Award for its original song "Naatu Naatu," competing in a category with all English language films.
"RRR" follows the fictionalized friendship of two major political leaders from different parts of the country. The pair are opposites in every way, but a common goal of revolution eventually joins them. Director S.S. Rajamouli employs symbolism throughout the film to illustrate the contrast and companionship of these two characters as their friendship ebbs and flows.
Their conflict culminates in an action-packed fight sequence. Ram and Bheem fight with fire and water. These elements are linked to the native land and just like the men that wield them, they both have the power to overrun the world. They also represent the two different fighting styles of these men: one burns from within, while the other slips in through the cracks.
Fire and water are continually used as symbols for the two protagonists. When they meet for the first time, their hands clasp and trigger some fire and water effects. These symbols define these characters, but they aren't explored very much in the film. As it turns out, Rajamouli had originally planned to explore the characters' relationships with fire and water even further. But with an already three-hour-and-seven-minute runtime, some cuts had to be made, and crucial moments of Bheem and Ram's origin stories never made it into the final cut.
Deleted RRR scenes depict Bheem and Ram's origin stories
Viswanath Sundaram was the concept designer for "RRR," who helped Rajamouli and various other departments visualize the film in its nascent stages. He imagined most of the sweeping landscapes and visual effects, but not every scene he worked on ended up making it into the film. Sundaram was kind enough to share some of his artwork for hungry fans who wanted to see even more "RRR" after being enchanted by the three-hour epic.
"Happy to share the blockbuster movie #RRR Deleted scene concept art and look dev works [sic.]," Sundaram tweeted. "Baby RAM getting blessed from Pandit in front of the FIRE."
The two scenes are flashbacks to each of our protagonists as infants, one in front of a fire — pictured above — and one before a body of water. Ram is birthed by the water and Bheem is forged in fire, right from the very beginning. These images truly are worth a thousand words, and tell us a lot about each of our two main characters. They demonstrate the importance of tribe and ritual to these two men, much like the rites of passage they undergo as teenagers.
Fans saw the post and replied, questioning why these scenes were axed in the first place, per DNA India. It's a good question, given how heavily symbolic they are and how much they say about each character. But since they don't convey any story information, it makes these two scenes more disposable in an action-packed narrative web like this one.
Did Rajamouli make the right call by cutting these scenes?
The above scene, a deleted flashback, shows Bheem getting blessed by the Guruji people on the waterfront, also tweeted by Sundaram. Even though it laid some symbolic groundwork for the film, it makes sense that the scene got axed in the end. Rajamouli had a lot of narrative ground to cover and he had to get to his elaborate moments of poetic ecstasy — the dance numbers and the fight sequences. However, this window into their past would have made the epic fire-and-water-fight all the more satisfying.
Even though fans might be upset with Rajamouli's decision to cut these scenes, it's safe to say the director knows what he is doing. "RRR" is the most popular Indian film on Netflix worldwide, having earned not only critical acclaim but widespread international viewership that transcends the festival circuit — it's more akin to a well-made Marvel movie than a Palme d'Or, but that's part of what makes it so popular. Unfortunately, with popularity comes criticism
Fans are always bound to be critical and to want more, but it's the director's job to know what to cut and what to keep in, and the fans wouldn't have fallen in love with the world that Rajamouli created if he didn't know a thing or two about how to write it.