Drums thrum. Tribal voices hum a rhythm, matching pace with the pounding drums. A man steps forward, a man in uniform — a soldier. In front of him stands a crowd of angry rioters — hundreds of angry rioters. His target is one man in the middle of the crowd. The man has thrown a rock into the lines of British soldiers. He felt this act would be anonymous, but he was wrong.
The soldier leaps into the crowd. We’re talking full slow motion pounce. As the drums pound and grow in intensity, the soldier, armed with only a baton, proceeds to decimate hundreds. He fights through the crowd, the drums and chants adding to the power of the baton’s blows. He reaches the man, grabbing him and proceeding to fend off hundreds more. He drags the man back to the military line, and stands back at attention as the drums continue beating.
Fast forward a couple scenes, and now the music is different. We still have the soldier — the drums are still here, but now there’s something new. That something new is an upbeat musical number about the joys of friendship. Ladies and gentlemen, you’re still watching the same movie. In fact, you’re not even 45 minutes in. This eclectic majesty is just one of the many wonders of the film “RRR.”
There’s something we viewers of Western film can’t fully appreciate. For clarity, I don’t mean Clint Eastwood, pew pew, “Western” films. I said, “Western film,” as in films made for American and European audiences. And that thing we can’t fully appreciate is the importance of music to the world of a film. You’re thinking to yourself, “What do you mean? I love ‘The Avengers’ theme music, and ‘8 Mile’ has some of the best soundtrack work in history thanks to the real Slim Shady.” Look, I’m not knocking that, but I’m talking about music in and of itself as a standalone art. Music as we see it in the world of many Eastern films.
By way of explanation, I’m going to use one of our (not entirely accurate) Westerner terms. We’re talking about Bollywood. Just to be clear, a film being made in India does not necessarily make it a Bollywood film. India is a massive place and there several different seats of filmmaking there. “RRR,” specifically, was made in Tollywood, a term which denotes the Indian film industry devoted to producing work in the Telugu language. One thing, though, that does carry through many films made there and in countries of similar culture is the use of musical numbers. In fact, it’s so synonymous that all I have to do is say the word Bollywood and you’ve got the mental image.
“RRR,” a film whose plot features a fictionalized version of British occupied India, is one of the most successful films to come out of India since the start of the pandemic. That’s due to a lot of factors, perhaps chief among them being that you can watch it on Netflix, which you absolutely should. Another factor, though, is the soundtrack.
This film is absolutely not afraid to break into song, even in its most intense moments. Take, for example, the song “Naatu Naatu,” which around the time of the release of the film was also released as a standalone single. The song went viral on social media, in turn sending the film’s two stars viral as well. It’s an infectious tune — it’s hard not to dance to it. Which is good because dance is exactly what the characters do in the film. When “Naatu Naatu” comes on, it triggers what can only be described as a dance battle of epic proportions in the middle of what is otherwise a brutal action film.
The infectious song has brought “RRR” several awards and accolades. “Naatu Naatu” won Best Original Song at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, which means it’s the first Asian film to do so. It has also been nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, once again the first Asian film to do so.
Prestige aside, there’s something else music does for the world of a film: it builds emotion. Those pounding drums are a theme in “RRR.” They’re used to build suspense and action within the film. Couple that with other portions of the soundtrack, like theme songs to remind you of friendship or love, and the film has an iron hold on the viewer’s emotions. It’s keyed in so that it can help you to feel however you need to feel in that moment. In many ways, the musical numbers are just the cherry on top, but they’re a pretty phenomenal cherry. They give you a break from the grueling action of the film, a moment to breathe and think. They show a lighter side of the characters, letting you attach yourself to them so that you can’t help but love them even in their darkest moments.
It’s difficult to overstate just how important music is to the world of a film. Perhaps you may already understand this with your love of “The Avenger’s” theme or “Slim Shady,” I’ll let you have that. But a film like “RRR” can remind us of a few things that are different from what we are accustomed to in our Western framework. It can remind us what good music can do for our emotions. It can remind us that it’s okay to experience something new — after all that is what art and music are all about. Perhaps most importantly, though, it can remind us that even in the most grueling moments, a musical number really can’t hurt. In fact, used well, it really does make all the difference.