It is one other proud second for SS Rajamouli and Indian cinema. The director, whose movies RRR and the Baahubali franchise have discovered audiences internationally, has been honoured with a everlasting place on the Cinémathèque Française in Paris. Broadly considered some of the necessary movie establishments on the planet, it recognised SS Rajamouli’s contribution to cinema in a celebration made much more particular by Oscar-winning Greek-French filmmaker Costa-Gavras, who watched his movies for practically eight hours and stayed on for the masterclass.
A uncommon honour at certainly one of cinema’s most revered establishments
SS Rajamouli has been given a everlasting place on the Cinémathèque Française in Paris, a movie archive based by Henri Langlois in 1936 that has lengthy celebrated the world’s biggest storytellers. The event was marked with screenings of RRR (2022), Eega (2012) and Baahubali: The Starting (2015), as a part of a particular retrospective celebrating the worldwide rise of Indian cinema. The occasion was supported by the Indian Movie Competition of Melbourne and the Ministry of Exterior Affairs.
Sharing his response on X, Rajamouli wrote, “Having me right here in Paris and screening my movies is itself an honour for me. However a candy shock I by no means noticed coming. It’s a feeling I can not absolutely put into phrases. To have a everlasting place within the halls of one of many world’s most legendary movie establishments, named after the nice Henri Langlois himself, is one thing I’ll carry with me endlessly.”
He additionally thanked everybody who made the popularity attainable, including, “My deepest gratitude to the legendary Mr. Costa Gavras and your complete Cinémathèque Française household for this honour, and for embracing Indian cinema with such heat and love.”
Costa-Gavras spent eight hours watching Rajamouli’s movies
Among the many many unforgettable moments from the celebration, Costa-Gavras’ gesture stood out probably the most. The legendary French-Greek filmmaker, whose movies Z (1969) and Lacking (1982) are thought-about classics, turned what was meant to be a short go to into an all-day celebration of Rajamouli’s work.
Rajamouli’s son SS Karthikeya tweeted that the 93-year-old Oscar winner had deliberate to observe solely RRR and return one other day for Eega. However after the primary screening, he determined to remain again together with his spouse and expertise the remainder of the retrospective. Sharing the second on X, Karthikeya wrote, “The 93-year-old Academy Award winner and legendary French filmmaker Mr. Costa Gavras got here to observe RRR yesterday and informed Rajamouli that he’ll come again for Eega tomorrow, skip Baahubali right now. However we had been stunned—he got here right now alongside together with his spouse and stayed 8 hours straight to observe each movies and the masterclass.”
The gesture clearly meant rather a lot to everybody concerned. Karthikeya later added, “These are the moments that encourage us and remind why we’re in cinema.”
What’s subsequent for Rajamouli?
SS Rajamouli is at present engaged on his subsequent formidable challenge, Varanasi, starring Mahesh Babu. The movie is predicted to launch globally in April 2027 and is already among the many most anticipated Indian productions in growth. The movie additionally stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Prithviraj Sukumaran.
