S. S. Rajamouli facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
S. S. Rajamouli
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Rajamouli in September 2021
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Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli
10 October 1973 Hire Kotnekal, Raichur, Mysore State, India (present-day Karnataka, India)
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Works
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Rama Rajamouli
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| Children | 2 |
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| Family | Koduri family |
| Awards | Full list |
| Honours | Padma Shri (2016) |
Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli (born 10 October 1973) is a famous Indian filmmaker. He is known for directing big, exciting action and fantasy movies, especially in Telugu cinema. Many people consider him one of the most successful directors in Indian cinema.
Rajamouli has won many important awards, like a New York Film Critics Circle award and a Critics' Choice Movie Award. He also has two Saturn Awards, five Filmfare Awards, and four National Film Awards. In 2016, the Government of India gave him the Padma Shri, which is a high honor for his work in art. In 2023, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Film experts call him "the biggest Indian film director ever." He has directed twelve movies, and all of them have been very successful. Three of his films—Baahubali: The Beginning (2015), Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), and RRR (2022)—are among the highest-earning films in India. These three movies were also the most expensive Indian films made at the time they were released. Baahubali 2 is still the highest-earning film in India and sold over 100 million tickets!
His 2009 fantasy action film, Magadheera, was the highest-earning Telugu film when it came out. Eega (2012) won nine awards at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. The Baahubali films were nominated for six Saturn Awards, with Baahubali 2 winning Best International Film. RRR also won many international awards, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for its song "Naatu Naatu". It also won a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Rajamouli's films are known for their grand look, exciting action, and larger-than-life characters. He often uses stories from history and mythology. His movies are also famous for mixing CGI (computer effects) with real-life effects. With his Baahubali films, he helped start the "pan-Indian film" trend. This means movies are made to be popular across all of India, not just in one language. He has helped make Telugu cinema and South Indian cinema popular in North India and around the world.
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Early Life and Inspiration
Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli was born on October 10, 1973. His parents, V. Vijayendra Prasad and Raja Nandini, were staying in Hire Kotnekal in Karnataka when he was born. His parents are from Andhra Pradesh.
Rajamouli's parents loved Lord Shiva. He was named Srisaila Sri Rajamouli because his mother had a special dream after visiting the holy place of Srisailam. He has an older sister who lives in Australia. Rajamouli grew up in a joint family, where his father and five uncles lived together with their families.
He went to school in Kovvur and then in Eluru. He loved storytelling from a young age. When he was seven, his grandmother told him stories from the famous Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. His father also introduced him to Amar Chitra Katha comics, which had stories about Indian heroes and legends. These stories greatly influenced him and made him love big, heroic characters. He would remember these stories and movies and then retell them to his friends in his own way.
His mother wanted him to learn English. She would take him to watch English movies and encouraged him to read comics and storybooks. She never pressured him about schoolwork. His father remembers that Rajamouli was not a very ambitious child but showed interest in films. He even played a young Krishna in a film his father directed.
His family faced financial difficulties when he was young. His father and uncle, who loved filmmaking, sold many family belongings and moved to Chennai to make films. They started many films that were never finished and faced losses. Thirteen family members lived in a small two-room apartment. Rajamouli remembers his family making jokes about their situation and never being sad.
Later, his father, Vijayendra Prasad, became a successful screenwriter. In 1996, his father directed a film called Ardhangi. Rajamouli was very involved as an assistant director. He felt like it was his own film. However, the film failed badly, and his family went into debt. This experience taught him a lot. He decided to work hard and make every part of his films perfect and interesting for the audience, no matter how small.
Journey to Directing Films
Starting Out
Rajamouli began his film journey by learning from a famous film editor, Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao. He worked with him for six months. Rajamouli said he joined films to escape his father's nagging, but then he found his true love for directing. He also worked as an assistant director for Kranthi Kumar and then for his father, Vijayendra Prasad, for six years. He used to write stories for films but was often disappointed with how other directors made them. This made him want to direct his own films so he could bring his ideas to life perfectly.
He then moved to Hyderabad and learned more about filmmaking from his relative Gangaraju Gunnam. He also directed commercials that shared social messages. He even directed some advertisements for a political party. For about a year and a half, he directed a TV show called Santhi Nivasam. He said this was a very tough time because he worked 17 hours a day.
First Films and Success (2001–2008)
In 2001, a famous director named K. Raghavendra Rao gave Rajamouli a chance to direct his first full-length movie, Student No: 1. Rajamouli accepted, and the film became a big success. It was the first hit movie for actor Jr. NTR, who Rajamouli would work with many more times.
It took two years for Rajamouli to make his second film, Simhadri (2003). He realized he wanted to make movies with more drama and action, so he made Simhadri, which was a big action film. This was his first time working with his father, Vijayendra Prasad, who wrote the story. Simhadri was a huge hit and became one of the highest-earning Telugu films at that time.
His third film was Sye (2004). Rajamouli chose this film because it was different from his previous action movie. It was unique because it was based on the sport of Rugby. Sye was successful and helped make Rugby more popular in Telugu cinema.
Next, he directed Chatrapathi (2005), an action drama about refugees. This film, starring Prabhas, was his fourth hit in a row.
In Vikramarkudu (2006), Rajamouli worked with Ravi Teja and Anushka Shetty. This film was a big success and was remade into many other Indian languages, including Hindi as Rowdy Rathore (2012).
He then directed Yamadonga (2007), a fantasy action comedy. The story is about a thief who goes to hell and meets Yama, the god of death. This film was also very successful. Rajamouli even started his own film company called Visvamithra Creations.
Big Hits and Global Fame (2009–Present)
Rajamouli's next big film was the fantasy-action movie Magadheera (2009). It starred Ram Charan and Kajal Aggarwal. This was the most expensive Telugu film at the time. Magadheera became one of the biggest hits in Telugu cinema. Rajamouli won many awards for it, including the Nandi Award for Best Director. The film was so popular that it was dubbed into Tamil, Malayalam, and even Japanese, becoming one of the highest-earning Indian films in Japan.
In 2010, he directed the action comedy Maryada Ramanna. Rajamouli was inspired by an old silent comedy film from 1923. He wanted to tell the same story in his own way. Maryada Ramanna was a big success and was remade into many other languages, including Hindi as Son of Sardaar. Rajamouli has said that Maryada Ramanna is his favorite among all the films he has directed.
His next project was the fantasy action film Eega (2012). The idea for Eega came from his father, who joked about a housefly seeking revenge. Rajamouli decided to make this unique film. It was filmed in both Telugu and Tamil. The film stars Sudeep, Nani, and Samantha. Eega received great reviews and became one of the highest-earning Telugu films ever. It was shown at many international film festivals, including the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. It won two National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards South. Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur praised Eega, calling it "no less than a Hollywood superhero film."
In 2015, he directed the epic action film Baahubali: The Beginning. It starred Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, and Tamanna. This film was praised by The Hollywood Reporter and The Guardian. It became the second highest-earning Indian film of all time worldwide. Its Hindi version also broke many records. It was shown at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Baahubali: The Beginning won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, becoming the first Telugu film to win this award. It was also the first Indian film to be nominated for a Saturn Award. In 2016, Rajamouli received the Padma Shri award for his contributions to art.
His next film was Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), which was both a sequel and a prequel to the first Baahubali film. It was the most expensive Indian film ever made at the time. Baahubali 2 was released on April 28, 2017, and was later dubbed into Hindi, Malayalam, Japanese, Russian, and Chinese. It earned over ₹1,810 crore (about $267 million) worldwide. It became the first Indian film to earn over ₹1000 crore and is still the highest-earning film in India. It sold over 100 million tickets, the most for any film in India since Sholay (1975). Baahubali 2 won the Saturn Award for Best International Film and three National Film Awards.
The huge success of the Baahubali films across different Indian languages helped start the "pan-Indian film" movement. Many filmmakers say Rajamouli almost single-handedly made South Indian cinema popular in Northern India and other countries.
Rajamouli's most recent film is RRR (2022). This is an epic action drama based on the lives of Indian revolutionaries. It is the most expensive Indian film ever made. The film stars NTR Jr, Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, and Alia Bhatt. RRR received great reviews, especially for the performances of Rama Rao and Charan.
RRR broke records by earning ₹240 crore (about $31 million) worldwide on its first day. It became the highest-earning film in its home states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The film earned ₹1,200 crore (about $175 million) worldwide, making it the second-highest-earning film in India and the third-highest-earning Indian film globally. RRR was nominated for three categories at the 47th Saturn Awards, including Best Director for Rajamouli. The song "Naatu Naatu" from RRR won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making it the first song from an Indian film to win this award. Rajamouli was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2024.
Future Projects
Rajamouli plans to work with actor Mahesh Babu on a new film. It is expected to be a jungle adventure set in Africa. He described it as a "James Bond or Indiana Jones film with Indian roots." He has also signed with a big American talent agency, Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
He has also mentioned wanting to make an animated film based on Indian stories. Rajamouli often talks about his dream project: a film based on the Indian epic Mahabharata. He thinks it would be a huge project, possibly in four parts, taking six to ten years to make. He believes this film might not feature famous movie stars, but instead, he would find the right actors for each character. He also wants to make films about historical rulers like Sri Krishnadevaraya and Rani Abbakka.
Personal Life
Rajamouli married Rama in 2001. Rama is the sister-in-law of his cousin, M. M. Keeravani. After their marriage, Rama became a costume designer for many of Rajamouli's films. Rajamouli adopted Karthikeya, Rama's son from her previous marriage. They also have an adopted daughter named Mayookha.
Rajamouli's cousin, M. M. Keeravani, has composed music for all of his films. His other cousins, Kalyani Malik and M. M. Srilekha, are also music composers. Rajamouli considers K. Raghavendra Rao his teacher and mentor.
Rajamouli is nicknamed Jakkanna. This name comes from a famous sculptor from the 12th century who was known for his perfect work. Rajamouli got this nickname because of his strong work ethic and desire for perfection in his films.
Regarding his beliefs, Rajamouli has said that he doesn't believe in God or religion in the usual way. However, he considers himself a follower of Hindu dharma.
How Rajamouli Makes Films
Rajamouli loves films and says his movies are always about "emotion". He often uses the theme of revenge in his stories.
Even as his films became bigger, Rajamouli kept his unique style. He likes to let the audience feel the excitement and emotions of the story with less talking. All his films end with a special circular stamp that says: "an S. S. Rajamouli film."
Film critic Baradwaj Rangan says Rajamouli is a "great storyteller" who takes common ideas and makes them new and exciting. The production designer for the Baahubali films, Sabu Cyril, said his team made 25,000 sketches to design the grand sets. This was to meet Rajamouli's high standards for every small detail. Cyril said, "Rajamouli makes no compromises."
In 2022, Rajamouli shared his top ten favorite films. These included Forrest Gump (1994), Mayabazar (1957), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Kung Fu Panda (2008), Aladdin (1992), Braveheart (1995), Apocalypto (2007), Ben-Hur (1959), Django Unchained (2012), and The Lion King (1994).
Films Directed by S. S. Rajamouli
| Year | Title |
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| 2001 | Student No: 1 |
| 2003 | Simhadri |
| 2004 | Sye |
| 2005 | Chatrapathi |
| 2006 | Vikramarkudu |
| 2007 | Yamadonga |
| 2009 | Magadheera |
| 2010 | Maryada Ramanna |
| 2012 | Eega |
| 2015 | Baahubali: The Beginning |
| 2017 | Baahubali 2: The Conclusion |
| 2022 | RRR |
| TBA | SSMB29 |
Awards and Special Recognition
Rajamouli has received many awards, including four National Film Awards, five Filmfare Awards, and five state Nandi Awards. In 2015, he was named CNN-News18 Indian of the Year in Entertainment. The Government of India honored him with the Padma Shri in 2016 for his contributions to art.
His films have been shown at many international film festivals, like the Cannes Film Festival and Shanghai International Film Festival. In 2022, a special program called "From Tollywood to Hollywood" showed a collection of Rajamouli's films at the Beyond Fest in the U.S.
Other directors like Prashanth Neel and Ayan Mukerji have said Rajamouli influenced their work. Matt Groening, who created The Simpsons, said Rajamouli made some of his favorite films of the last ten years, especially Magadheera. He even added small tributes to Rajamouli in his show Disenchantment. Filmmaker Mani Ratnam said the success of Baahubali inspired him to work on his film Ponniyin Selvan.
Rajamouli is known for starting the "pan-Indian film" movement with his Baahubali films. This means making movies that appeal to audiences across all of India, breaking language and cultural barriers. Film experts call him the "original Pan India filmmaker" and the "most successful Pan India filmmaker."
Rachel Dwyer, a professor from SOAS University of London, said Rajamouli is India's most important director today. She noted that he can make films in a South Indian language that become popular all over India and even overseas. Film analyst Komal Nahta called him the "biggest Indian film director ever" because of his successful movies.
