SS Rajamouli calls RRR Telugu film from south India, not Bollywood at US screening; divides Twitter: 'This insult...'

SS Rajamouli's RRR has been a huge success with the Western audience. At the recently concluded Golden Globes 2023, RRR won the award for Best Original Song for Naatu Naatu. The RRR team is now eyeing an Oscar nomination and is campaigning for the film in Hollywood. In a recent discussion about the film, director SS Rajamouli introduced RRR as a ‘Telugu film from the south of India’, inviting all kinds of reactions on the internet. (Also read: Jr NTR says Japan expressed more love for RRR than India could: 'I was there in Japan, witnessing people crying...')

In a recent chat, SS Rajamouli was joined by actor Jr NTR, where they talked about the reception of the film and how the film turned out to become such a global phenomenon. They also talked about the process of shooting the song Naatu Naatu, and how it was a hard shoot to complete.

Ahead the screening of RRR, the director took the stage to talk to a group of journalists at the Directors Guild of America. Introducing his film, Rajamouli said, "This is not a Bollywood movie. This is a Telugu film from the south of India, where I come from. But I use songs to progress the film forward, move the story forward rather than stopping the film and giving you a piece of music or dance. I use those elements to move the story forward." In the interview after the screening of the film, Rajamouli was joined by Jr NTR for a discussion, where the actor talked about working with the filmmaker and how thankful he is for being given the opportunity to be a part of the film.

Rajamouli's comments, which were posted on Twitter, divided netizens. One user commented, “RRR is nominated from India. Not south India or Telugu (cinema). Do not (be) bias about region or language. Also, Bollywood, not a film industry represents India.” Another wrote in response, “Why are you expecting all the movies from India to be portrayed as Bollywood?” A user thought this response was fitting, and said, "Bollywood deserves this insult." Another reshared the clip and wrote, "Yes. True. Bollywood makes Hindi movies. This is regional film with Telugu language. Shouldn't regional movies get credit if they (are) good?"

RRR is a fictional story set in the 1920s pre-independent era and is based on the lives of two real heroes and well-known revolutionaries – Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. While Ram Charan played Ram, Jr NTR aka Tarak was seen as Bheem.