‘Modern Masters: S.S. Rajamouli’ review – A puff piece about an already celebrated filmmaker

In Modern Masters: S.S. Rajamouli, the director of larger-than-life blockbusters gets the cosy treatment. The Netflix documentary is framed as an informal chat between Rajamouli and the journalist Anupama Chopra. In addition to Rajamouli, members of his immediate and extended family as well as actors who have worked with him dish out warm memories and fond anecdotes.

Rajamouli tells Chopra, who has also co-produced the documentary, “I’m a slave to my story.” Elsewhere, he says, “I want to tell an incredible story, I want people to be invested in the movie.”

Which director doesn’t? Yet, Rajamouli stands apart from his tribe. How? A puff piece about an already celebrated filmmaker doesn’t have too many answers beyond the obvious.

Rajamouli comes across as affable and frank on occasion, but not terribly revealing. The hit-maker behind such star-led maximalist films as Magadheera, Eega, the Baahubali diptych and RRR leaves the heavy analysis of his directing approach to the makers of the documentary.

A viewer might reasonably expect Rajamouli’s statements to be complemented by independent research by director Raghav Khanna and co-director Tanvi Ajinkya. A closer reading of any one of Rajamouli’s blockbusters, the larger context of the Telugu industry that nurtured him, Telugu cinema’s reliance on mythological lore, its multi-generational clans that eclipse Bollywood’s families – any of these threads might have added layers to the film, but are largely ignored.

Instead, the 74-minute documentary gives a whirlwind tour of Rajamouli’s formative years. There are fleeting references to a childhood made difficult by the vagaries of filmmaking. As a second-generation filmmaker – his father is the veteran screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad – Rajamouli had access to as well as a deeper understanding of show business than rank outsiders.

Rajamouli’s own family pops up in the documentary, including his wife Rama, who designs costumes for his productions, and his step-son Kartikeya, who assists him. The Oscar-winning music composer MM Keeravani, who is Rajamouli’s cousin, has some sharp things to say about Rajamouli’s rigorous work ethic.

The actor NTR Jr, who headlined Rajamouli’s debut feature Student No. 1 (2005), his breakthrough Simhadri (2003) as well as RRR (2022), hilariously says that Rajamouli uses his heroes not as characters but missiles. Also NTR Jr: Rajamouli will beg, borrow, steal and kill if he needs to get hundred per cent out of his team.

Such character-revealing observations are few and far between. Disjointed and attention-deficit, the documentary is a lost opportunity to understand a contemporary master of the box office.

Rajamouli’s replies to Chopra’s questions about casteism and sexism in Baahubali are cursory. Since the film is keen on positioning Rajamouli as a “global director” who is perfectly suited for a tie-up with Hollywood studios, yet another opportunity to examine Rajamouli’s cinema more sharply is lost.