A Better Tomorrow: How John Woo inspired S. S. Rajamouli's RRR
·
·
It was the mid 90’s. Besides being the premier English movie channel in India, Star Movies played a crucial role in popularizing Jackie Chan in the country.
With John Woo’s debut in Hollywood being just around the corner, the channel thought it would be the perfect time to introduce Indians to the legendary Hong Kong action director. Unfortunately, John Woo’s Gun fu classics did not have the same impact, until now.
The resemblance between John Woo’s early action films and SS. Rajamouli’s RRR is pretty clear. While critics have touched upon the way both directors use slow motion in their action sequences, there are similar themes in the story as well.
Raju and Bheem’s loyal and chivalrous love for each other as friends have been the subject of John Woo’s most accomplished works - whether it is Chow Yun-fat’s Mark in “A Better Tomorrow”, A gangster who gives up his life while trying to prove to his friend’s brother who is in the police that his brother has reformed and is no longer a criminal; or Chu Kong’s Fung sei in “The Killer” who begged, got beaten up and eventually died to get his friends (again Chow Yun-fat) money from the greedy, slimy gangs that he worked with, strong male friendships have always been a central theme in John Woo’s films.
The global success of RRR and John Woo’s legacy proves that the best action films have a warm and tender heart underneath all that blood and violence. Maybe Star movies' quest to bring John Woo to India did not go in vain after all.
