When it comes to the modern action movie, you will be hard-pressed to find something more spectacular than S.S. Rajamouli’s Indian Telugu-language blockbuster, RRR. The film is a fictious account of two Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sita Ramaraju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) who never met in real life but become closer than brothers in their attempt to regain freedom for their people against colonial England.
The film has elements of the romantic comedy, buddy comedy, and historical drama genre, but it is the action set pieces that blow away the viewer and has broadened its appeal to a worldwide audience. While the over-the-top action scenes are the signature parts of RRR, there are two that stand out because of not only what they represent in the film, but their historical connection to the action genre.
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An essential part of any action film is how the main character is introduced. Action movies are dependent on the audience immediately being able to cheer for their heroes. Pre-existing IP, like in the world comics, have become valuable commodities because audiences already have a relationship with characters like Spider-man and Batman. But for stand-alone action movies, how the heroes are introduced are vital so that audiences can develop a deeper connection with them before all the car chases and explosions happen. Fans of the action genre are watching these movies so they can be entertained by the huge set pieces, but if there is no connection with the characters, they become as valuable as the background characters watching all the action happen. A proper action hero introduction not only establishes a relationship between the audience and the character but can help set the tone for the film as a whole.
In RRR, the two main characters make dramatic and memorable first appearances but in strategically different ways. The audience is first introduced to Ramarju as a British solider who will literally do anything he can arrest a man who destroyed a picture of King George. There is perhaps no better example of the word literally than in this scene, where he explodes over a fence and barrels his way through hundreds of men, a burning lookout post and a mountain to arrest his man. Without speaking, the audience immediately understands the passion this character has towards his cause. Later in the film when it is revealed that he is a revolutionary, his lifelong mission to bring freedom to his people is encapsulated in that opening scene. We know that Ramarju is not only dedicated to the cause, but he is also life breathing embodiment of that cause. His introduction lets us know just how important this cause is to him and his people and symbolizes the movie’s theme from the outset.
This is a familiar and important way to introduce the action hero and hearkens back to some of the most iconic film heroes of all time. Take Indiana Jones’ (Harrison Ford) first on screen appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Jones and his iconic fedora appear in the sunlight, and he makes his way through the jungle, whip at the ready. He makes his through the cave system to find the golden treasure and sneakily replaces it, only for things to go wrong, and he must make a quick escape, which of course he does, saving his hat in the process. The first ten minutes of the film introduces the viewer to everything they would ever need to know about the character – his intelligence, risking taking behavior and charm. This allows the audience to settle into the story and cheer Jones on throughout the rest of the movie, while establishing the tone of the intelligent adventure story.
On the other hand, Bheem’s initial introduction in RRR is completely different but serves as equally important value to the film. Before Bheem is introduced on screen, we only hear about him, the shepherd who will do anything to find his tribes lost lamb, even if it that means opening the jaws of a tiger to get back what he’s looking for. The tense tone that the scene produces immediately builds wonder in the audience and this hype comes to fruition when he finally does appear on-screen being chased by a wolf and tiger through a forest, using his immense strength to fight off the tiger, using him later in another breathtaking action scene. We see Bheem’s perseverance and brute strength firsthand, key elements of his character and the theme of the movie.
Bheem is not the first action hero to be introduced in this manner. In John Wick, the title character played by Keanu Reeves initially seems like your everyday guy who is trying his best to overcome grief. When he runs into Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) and his crew and bad things happen, we don’t immediately see Wick spring into full revenge mode. First, Tarasov’s father Viggo (Michael Nyqvist) goes into a minor soliloquy letting us know that Wick’s nickname was the “Boogie Man” and the acts committed by his son are not something he can brush under the carpet; “it’s not what you did, son, that angers me so. It’s who you did it to” – a warning to the audience that when the John Wick character does come out of retirement, we are all in for an action packed film.
What makes RRR special is that it uses these two very different action hero introduction tropes to portray these two characters as unique but integral to the tone and theme of the film because of their shared characteristics. Even though Bheem and Ram may be on opposite sides of the battle, when they do come together, their combined goal of independence for India becomes the unwavering theme of the movie – how far are you willing to go for what you believe?
