“RRR is a regressive film,” says Ratna Pathak Shah; opens up on her take

Set in British-occupied India in the early 1920s, Ram Charan and Jr NTR starrer RRR (standing for Rise, Roar, Revolt) were one of the most successful pan-India films released in 2022. The SS Rajamouli directorial has managed to bag numerous accolades and nominations at various upcoming award events. While a section of moviegoers considers it a “remarkable” film, veteran actress Ratna Pathak Shah feels that RRR is regressive.

It all happened at a book launch, where Ratna Pathak Shah was also present. As per a report by Free Press Journal, the actress said, “Films like RRR are so popular today. But it’s a regressive film. It looks backwards while we should look forward. We just feel whatever we are doing is good because we are part of the mother of democracy — India.

The Sarabhai vs Sarabhai actress further added, “Until filmmakers will not see their work critically, we will have to watch films like RRR. But we don’t like criticism. Our ego gets hurt. This atmosphere is created by so many big people and unfortunately, we have accepted it.”

For the unversed, in RRR, Ram Charan and Jr NTR played the titular characters of revolutionaries Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. The ensemble star cast of the film also featured Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt. Among many other award events, it has been nominated in four categories at the 6th Annual HCA Awards, organised by the Hollywood Critics Association. The categories include Best Director, Best Picture, Best Action Film and Best International Film.

During the same event, Shah also recalled how earlier films too had male-centric stories and women’s representation was minimal. “Women were standing at the back and crying. My mother did many roles where she was standing and crying. So this stereotyping of women was very painful for me,” she asserted.