SS Rajamouli receives grand welcome at TIFF; talks about his next with Mahesh Babu

The 47th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival which kickstarted on September 9, is going on with various special events featuring some of the biggest names in the film industry among others gracing the annual festival. With many visionary and spectacular films underway, North America's largest film festival recently hosted Telugu filmmaker SS Rajamouli as one of the keynote speakers.

After the smashing and global success of his last directorial RRR starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR in the lead, the director has been receiving critical acclaim from all across the world. Rajamouli, who has created an international reputation with his films Baahubali series and RRR, spoke under the visionary slate at the event.

SS Rajamouli arrives at TIFF as keynote spaker

Several videos and pictures of the filmmaker addressing the gathering at the festival have been surfacing on social media. One of the videos shared by a fan page showed him being welcomed on stage amid loud cheering, hooting, and the crowd chanting his name. 

According to various media reports, the ace filmmaker spoke briefly about his upcoming film with Mahesh Babu at the event. When asked about the project, Rajamouli was quoted by ANI as saying, “My next film with Mahesh Babu will be a globetrotting actioner. It will be like James Bond or Indiana Jones film with Indian roots!”

Earlier, in August, Geoff Macnaughton, TIFF’s senior director, Industry & Theatrical, explained the reason behind choosing the director as the keynote speaker while talking to Hindustan Times. “Rajamouli’s inventive style, epic scale, mythological and historical reference points, and films that evade genre-specificity make him a distinct voice within the contemporary world cinema landscape. We are thrilled that he will be one of our four visionary speakers this year at TIFF, especially in light of the recent global success of RRR," he told the leading daily then. 

Rajamouli has become the first Indian to figure in the visionaries slate at the prominent film festival. Meanwhile, the director has finally begun working on his next with Babu. This movie will roll after Mahesh Babu is done with Trivikram Srinivas’ movie titled Babu SSMB28 which went on floors on September 12. Meanwhile, on the work front, Mahesh Babu was last seen in the hit Telegu film Sarkaru Vaari Paata. The movie also starred Keerthy Suresh and was directed by Parasuram Petla. It was released in theatres on May 12. 

Image: Twitter/@HatefulJosh, PTI