SS Rajamouli on using Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s portrait in closing number of RRR: ‘If I were to replace his portrait with Gandhiji’s, would all these people ever question me’ : Bollywood News

SS Rajamouli is enjoying the moment as RRR continues to dominate the award season. The film won a Golden Globe Award for 'Naatu Naatu' and the song has been nominated for Oscars 2023. The filmmaker recently was asked about the closing number of RRR and why the warriors of Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar weren’t included in it but Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh were. In a recent chat with The New Yorker, the filmmaker said that the historic figures he chose were those whose “stories touched me, made me cry, or made my heart swell with pride.”

SS Rajamouli on using Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s portrait in closing number of RRR: ‘If I were to replace his portrait with Gandhiji’s, would all these people ever question me’

The filmmaker further said that he “could also only highlight eight people in that musical number.” SS Rajamouli said, “I would need room for eighty in order to put all the figures that I respect in the movie. Still, I respect all of the revolutionaries that I chose, and, if I didn’t put Gandhiji’s portrait there, it doesn’t mean I disrespect him. I have huge respect for Gandhiji, no doubt about that.”

He questioned, “My question is: If I were to replace Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s portrait with Gandhiji’s, would all these people ever question me, saying that I disrespected Subhas Chandra Bose by not portraying him there?”

RRR is a fictional tale of two Indian revolutionaries, Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju. The film explores the friendship between Ram and Bheem and their journey away from home during the 1920’s.