Indian films are popular around the world for their versatile storylines, bold acting performances, wonderful music, exotic dance choreographies, and talented cinematographies. In the 80th edition of this prestigious Golden Globes awards festival, the Indian film RRR has made its place in two categories. Let's take a closer look at the action film RRR and its success at the Golden Globes 2023 festival.

Golden Globes Awards: A Look Back

An organization of journalists and photographers called the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association), formerly known as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association founded the Golden Globe Awards in 1944. Their aim is to honor the valuable works of small and big screens around the world. 

The awards ceremony was held at 20th Century Fox that year, with The Song of Bernadette winning Best Picture. Jennifer Jones won Best Actress for the film and Paul Lucas won Best Actor for another movie Watch on the Rhine. 

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The Golden Globe awards for foreign language films began in 1949 with the awarding of the Italian film Bicycle Thieves. And the Best Original Song debuted as a new category in 1962. Lyricist Ned Washington and music scorer Dimitri Tiomkin were honored at the time for the title song of the movie Town Without Pity. 

Everything about the Incredible Action Film RRR

The film's title is derived from the initials of the Telugu words "Raudram Ranam Rudhiram" which literally means "Fierce Death Blood". And the original title is followed by the words "Rise Roar Revolt" in English, abbreviated as RRR, and the key to the movie's plot.

The epic action film was directed by renowned South Indian filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli. Along with him, V Vijayendra Prasad co-wrote the DVV Entertainment production. The film's cast members are NT Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgan, Shriya Sharan, Ray Stevenson, and Samuthirakani.

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The story is about two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Komaram Bheem and Aluri Sitarama Raju. Set in the 1920s, the plot revolves around their fictional brotherhood and friendship and their war against the British Empire.

With a budget of USD 72 million, the movie is the most expensive film by far in Indian history. On its first day of release in theaters on March 25, 2022, it recorded the highest opening day by grossing USD 30 million worldwide.

A few box office records were attached to its name grossing USD 175 million worldwide. The main achievements were the third-highest-grossing Indian cinema, the second-highest-grossing Telugu film worldwide, and the highest-grossing movie in the domestic market, beating Rajamouli's previous film Baahubali-2.

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RRR’s Achievements in Golden Globe

The two categories that RRR was nominated for at the Golden Globes were Best Picture Non-English Language (formerly Foreign Language) and Best Song – Motion Picture.

RRR's co-nominees for Best Foreign Language Film were Argentina, 1985, Germany's All Quiet on the Western Front, Netherlands, France, Belgium's Close, and South Korea's Decision to Leave. RRR lost out to Argentina, in 1985, like the rest of the nominees.

On the other hand, for Best Song – Motion Picture, RRR's MM Kiravani, and Chandra Bose were up against Roeban Katz, Guillermo del Toro, Rihanna, Ludwig Goransson, Bloodpop aka Michael Tucker, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift. Keeravani and Chandra Bose beat everyone to win this award for the song Natoo Natoo.

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Not only at the box office, but the film's visuals, acting by the lead actors, storytelling, and cinematography have also been praised by Western audiences, Hollywood critics, and artists alike. After conquering the world, RRR was finally released in a few major states of the United States.

The response from the western audience has been remarkable, especially the Natu Natu song, Jr. NTR's attack scene with the animals has won their hearts. All in all, the Indian action film has been able to overcome the barrier of a completely different language to create an impression in the mind of every viewer.

Behind the Success of RRR in the Golden Globe

Apart from the strong theme, excellent story, sharp editing, and great visuals as the main reason behind it, what contributes the most is the brotherhood of the two main characters and their struggle for freedom. It is this emotional aspect that essentially gives the film its epic style. The identity of Indian culture has been expressed in a royal manner without any coating. The colors of history and traditional politics have faded away from the performance.

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Although not taken exactly as the filmmakers intended, Western audiences gobbled up the entire dish. What works here from Rajamouli's direction is to imbue the film with the chemistry of the two leads and the charm of the plot. Consequently, the audience automatically constructs its own meaning as the story progresses. And this thing has blurred the boundaries of exotic languages.

Music is undoubtedly a global language. It just needs to match the audience's emotions. Only then does it become a gourmet meal where culture serves as a serving plate. The color, design, or material of the plate may change but the food remains the same. And here Spicy adds to the action, which is the same for all movie lovers. In Rajamouli's words - action heightens emotion, and heightened emotion makes the action more beautiful.

RRR’s Potentiality in Oscar Run

Dylan Marchetti of specialty distributor Variance Films assisted with the "RRR" release and awards push. He helped guide Japan's "Drive My Car" to a 2022 Oscar nomination. According to him, films that can only speak for themselves individually, big platforms always want their presence. This makes the Oscars more diverse. This recent effort has resulted in an Oscar win for the Korean thriller "Parasite."

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Moreover, international moviegoers are already gushing over Jr. NTR and Charan as if they have known them for a long time. The audience's gaze seems to declare that they are ready to accept them not only in 'RRR' but also in many other films.

Walkway of Indian Films in Golden Globe

Indian cinema first entered the Golden Globes with the 1957 film Do Ankhen Varah Haat. It won the Samuel Golden International Film Award there. Mira Nair's 1989 movie Salaam Bombay was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Another Mira Nair film, Monsoon Wedding (2002) was nominated in the Best Picture – Non-English Language category.

Finally, RRR became the fourth Indian film to make its name at the Golden Globes. But this is the first time that an Indian movie has been nominated in two categories. The film also set a record for being the first Telugu film to be nominated and win the Golden Globe Award.

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Bottom Line

RRR's win at the 2023 Golden Globes means that the Hollywood mainstream press is turning its attention to Indian cinema. Hindi film producers will now more openly pursue actors from provincial film industries for future collaborations regardless of whether they hit or not. Besides, this win will be like a booster shot for RRR to reach the Oscars stage.