List of Ramayana references in RRR (SPOILERS alert)

SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus Roudram Ranam Rudhiram aka RRR has been impressing the audiences and doing very well at the box office. Like his previous films, his larger-than-life vision seems to have worked again. The film is a fictional tale based on freedom fighters Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem.

But Rajamouli himself has admitted quite a few times that he is heavily influenced by the ancient Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. If one looks closely at RRR, one would realize that it is his own adaptation and recreation of Ramayana, although with some changes.

Here are some instances from RRR that are inspired from Ramayana: [SPOILERS ahead]

The little tribal girl Malli is forcibly taken away by a British couple after they are impressed with her artistic abilities. Malli represents Sita while the British, who are shown as evil rulers, represent Raavan. Just like Raavan was impressed with Sita’s beauty, the British couple was amazed by her art.

The character of Ram, played by Ram Charan, rescues her in the end from the British. Naturally, he plays Lord Rama who rescues Sita from the clutches of Raavan. To make it more obvious, Ram Charan is made to dress up like Rama and literally fight with the use of bow and arrow. The only difference is that Ram Charan’s character pretends to work for the British for a good amount of time, which is the Rajamouli’s own addition.

Ram Charan in RRR

Bheem, played by Jr NTR, represents Hanuman, who helps Rama rescue Sita. Hanuman initially goes to Lanka to confirm Sita’s presence over there. He assures her of Rama arriving to rescue her. In the movie, Bheem goes to the palace of the British, which represents Lanka. He meets Malli but is unable to save her but promises her rescue.

Hanuman destroys Lanka by setting it on fire, which shocks Raavan. Similarly, Bheem destroys the palace in the pre-interval portion and this gives a jolt to the British. Ramayana shows great contribution from the vanar sena or animals. In this particular scene, Bheem takes help from a number of animals to enter the palace.  

Hanuman is captured by Raavan and his men when he goes there to deliver Rama’s message to Sita. They try to torture him but it all goes in vain and he finally escapes. When Bheem gets captured by the British in RRR, they try to break him but he remains strong. He also escapes from there, although with timely help from Ram Charan’s character.

Before the war against Raavan commences, Rama, along with Laxman, is trapped underground in Pataal Lok by another demon named Mahiraavan. Hanuman takes great efforts in saving Him from there. The film shows Ram Charan’s character captured in an underground cell and it is Bheem who rescues him.

When Bheem rescues Ram from an underground cell in RRR

Ramayana has an instance where Hanuman carries Rama and Laxman on his shoulders. The movie also has a scene where Bheem is carrying the character of Ram Charan in the same way.

Bheem carrying Ram on his shoulders

Also, Jr NTR’s character Bheem has the qualities like that of Mahabharata’s Bheem. For example, his physical strength. As said before, he is playing Hanuman in RRR. Interestingly, both Bheem and Hanuman were half brothers as both were the sons of the Wind God and are known as ‘Pavan Putra’. There is an incident in Mahabharata where both the characters meet. Read about that incident HERE.

Interestingly, it’s Rajamouli’s dream to make a film on the Mahabharata. Speaking to the news channel India TV recently, he said, “The characters that I write for my Mahabharata will not be the same as you’ve seen or read before. I will tell Mahabharata in my own way. The Mahabharata (story) will be the same, but the characters will be enhanced and the inter-relationships between the characters will be added.”

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