Rajamouli: Want audience to get my story through visuals, not dialogue or subtitles

Dialogues and subtitles are just mediums of communication, said director SS Rajamoulion Friday, adding he would rather want the audience to understand the story of his films through visuals.

The director, whose latest period action drama RRR is slated to be released on March 25, was speaking at a press conference at the India Pavilion as part of the EXPO2020 Dubai.

He was accompanied by the lead stars of the film Ram Charan and N T Rama Rao Jr as they attended the Media and Entertainment Fortnight, which was launched today.

"For me, whether it is subtitling or the (original) language, it's just a medium of communication. Those are not important for me. I would rather want my audience to get the story through the visuals, the way actors are performing or how the background score is. That is what I would prefer as a filmmaker," Rajamouli said at the press conference.

Recalling an incident that happened during his 2012 Telugu film Eega, the director said he hopes the viewers are able to understand the grammar of his films through what unfolds on the screen.

The filmmaker, who is credited with giving the pan India blockbuster Baahubali series, said he is always in the service of the story.

The sensibilities of the audience will be different not just across the North and South India but also within every state and city, Rajamouli said, adding that the only element that is universal is the emotion. "I dream of a day when we have one big film industry: the Indian film industry. That's what I'm striving for. Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, etc are all just languages.

A pre-Independence fictional story woven around two real Indian revolutionaries in the 1920s -- Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan), and Komaram Bheem (N T Rama Rao Jr), RRR also features Ajay Devgn.

Courtesy Baahubali the director has "erased" the boundaries between the states across India, Charan said.

NTR Jr said it was heartening that the team was at the EXPO2020 Dubai to internationally promote RRR as an Indian film, not a regional film.

Citing the example of Marvel Studio's big-budget superhero multistarrer Avengers: Endgame, the actor said irrespective of the nationalities audience cried when they saw Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr, die on screen in the 2019 Hollywood film.

Talking about Alia Bhatt, who features in a pivotal role in RRR, Rajamouli said he was drawn to cast the Gangubai Kathiawadi star as she was fit for the role of Sita.

The film will be released in IMAX, IMAX 3D, 3D, and Dolby sound, the filmmaker shared.

Later, the trio of Rajamouli, Charan and N T Rama Rao Jr addressed a fan event at a jam-packed Jubilee Park here at the Expo.

Fan frenzy was at its peak when the RRR team was chased down by two men in their 20s as the trio were being transported from the India Pavilion in a buggy.