What is RRR? The epic action movie that has fans buzzing

There have been plenty of 2022 new movies audiences have fallen in love with, from Everything Everywhere All at Once to Top Gun: Maverick, but there’s another movie that is slowly being discovered as a delight for movie fans everywhere, RRR.

RRR is an epic historical fiction action movie from India set during British colonization in the 1920s that also features a number of incredible music and dance sequences. If that sounds like a lot, it is. But as many fans can attest, it’s a lot in the best way possible.

The movie comes from director S.S. Rajamouli and stars N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan as real-life revolutionaries Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju. RRR brings together these historical figures who never actually met and crafts an original story about the spirit of revolution that would help lead to India’s independence from Britain. Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Olivia Morris, Shriya Saran, Alison Doody and Ray Stevenson make up other key members of the cast.

Watch the trailer right here:

RRR was released in India and other parts of the world, including the US, on March 25. Since then it has become India’s fourth highest-grossing movie of all time, while amassing nearly $100 million worldwide, including more than $11 million in the US. The movie found an ever wider audience when it released on Netflix in May. Since its debut on the streaming service it has amassed almost 60 million viewing hours and has been in the top 10 of non-English language movies for nine straight weeks.

The movie has become popular enough that it even got a billboard ad in New York’s Times Square.

That’s the big picture. If you want to know more about RRR before checking it out, we’ve got answers for some of the biggest questions you may have.

What does RRR stand for?

The title RRR is an acronym for "Roudram Ranam Rudhiram" in Telugu and "Rise Roar Revolt" in English. The movie uses each word as a title card when it introduces the main characters of Bheem and Raju, as well as the main plot revolving around their friendship amid India’s hope for revolution. 

Is RRR a Bollywood movie?

Bollywood is the most famous movie genre to come out of India, but not all Indian movies are Bollywood movies. Though RRR has big musical numbers that are often associated with Bollywood, it actually is best classified as a Tollywood movie, the genre ascribed to Indian movies that are primarily in the Telugu language. 

Reviews for RRR — what the critics are saying

As of July 20, RRR has a "Certified Fresh" score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and an audience score of 94%. Empire Magazine called the movie "a bombastic delight," while Slate described it as "maximum cinema."

Filmmakers are also singing the praises of RRR, including Joe Dante (though he mistakenly calls it a Bollywood movie), Dune screenwriter Jon Spaiths and the Oscar-winning director of Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry.

How long is RRR?

RRR lives up to its "epic" description, as the movie has a running time of three hours and seven minutes. 

What is RRR rated?

RRR does not have a US rating, though in the UK the movie was rated 15. There are some intense sequences of violence in the movie. 

How to watch RRR?

RRR is available to stream on Netflix wherever the streaming service is available. You must be a Netflix subscriber to watch the movie.