India at Oscars: Know all about RRR director SS Rajamouli

One of the highest-paid directors in India, SS Rajamouli rose to fame with his films Baahubali: The Beginning (2015), Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), and RRR (2022). All of these films of him went on to become top-grossing movies in the country. That's not all, Rajamouli is also lauded for putting South Indian cinema on the global map with his films.

And now, after tasting success for RRR at various award shows in the west, the director is gearing up to represent his film at the Oscars this year as the song Naatu Naatu has been nominated under the Best Song Category. 

So, ahead of the 95th Academy Awards, know all about the ace director. 

How was SS Rajamouli's childhood?

Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli aka SS Rajamouli was born on 10 October 1973 in Raichur district of Karnataka. He belongs to a Telugu family. He completed his school in Kovvur and Eluru. From his childhood, the filmmaker was passionate about storytelling. He was introduced to epics like Mahabharata, Ramayana and others when he was a little boy. 

He was always fascinated by larger-than-life characters which pushed his interest towards comics and storybooks even further. He never completed his higher education.

Rajamouli's father Vijayendra Prasad and uncle Siva Shakthi Datta wanted to make films and moved to Chennai. However, tragedy stuck when they were not able to make ends meet and had to pursue ghostwriting as a profession. 

But later, Rajamouli's father made a mark for himself by turning a screenwriter for films like Bobbili Simham (1994) and Gharana Bullodu (1995). 

How SS Rajamouli began his career 

Rajamouli started his film career by getting trained under veteran film editor Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao. He worked with him for six months and then later shifted to Hyderabad. The filmmaker wanted to get a little more practical knowledge of the craft therefore he started working with his relative Gunnam Gangaraju. 

SS Rajamouli started his own work as a director for TV commercials. He even directed a Telugu TV series called Santhi Nivasam. Later, in 2001, the filmmaker got his first breakthrough in films with producer Raghavendra Rao's Student No: 1. The film was not just Rajamouli's debut project but also Jr NTR's second movie as a lead. Student No: 1 went on to become a successful film for both the director and the actor. 

Then came Rajamouli's third film which was Nithin and Genelia starrer, Sye (2004). It became hugely popular among the masses and had a big impact on the audience. Later, in a series of his successful films, Chatrapathi (2005), Vikramarkudu (2006), Yamadonga (2007) were added to the filmmaker's kitty.

The success of SS Rajamouli's films

Now it was time was Magadheera (2009). The film which starred Ram Charan and Kajal Aggarwal became a blockbuster and was one of the biggest commercial successes in Telugu cinema. Magadheera won several awards, one of which was the National Award for Best Choreography. Meanwhile, Rajamouli won the Nandi Award for Best Director and Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu.

After the success of these films, SS Rajamouli never looked back and gave back-to-back hits like Baahubali: The Beginning which was honoured with the National Film Award for Best Feature Film and became the first Telugu film to win the award. It even went on to win the National Award for Best Special Effects. 

His next project was Baahubali 2: The Conclusion which came two years after the first installment of the franchise. Both of these were pan-Indian films and had a release in different languages across the country. 

The sequel of Baahubali too won National Film Awards which were: Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Best Special Effects, and Best Stunt Choreographer. However, SS Rajamouli's biggest hit turned out to be Ram Charan and Jr NTR starrer, RRR. 

The film became a global success and received numerous accolades in the west. Made with a budget of approximately Rs 550 crore RRR is now gearing up for Oscars 2023. 

SS Rjamouli's accolades 

As mentioned above, SS Rajamouli has been honoured with multiple Indian awards including three National Awards, four Filmfare Awards South, and five Nandi Awards. Apart from this, the filmmaker has also received Padma Shri from the Government of India for his contributions in the field of Art. 

Talking about his overseas success, Rajamouli has won New York Film Critics Circle award, Critics' Choice Movie Award, and two Saturn Awards.