SS Rajamouli, the director who has secured international fame with his Baahubali series is celebrating his 47th birthday on October 10. The director is currently working on the sets of his awaited multi-starrer and multilingual project RRR (Roudram Ranam Rudhiram) starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR, two of the top heroes in Tollywood.
The ace director has been a hit in Tollywood since his first movie, Student No.1, which released in the year 2001. The directr has never seen a flop under his radar, no matter whether the movie has a top hero, like Prabhas in Baahubali, or a comedian in the lead role, like Sunil in Maryada Ramanna.
His movies have had all the elements of comedy, romance, action and family drama, that grasped the attention of all audiences, with many of them remade into several other languages.
TNM brings you his journey through his movies from his initial days, which were hits among the Telugu audience, but lesser-known outside Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Student No.1 : This movie was released in the year 2001 starring Junior NTR (Tarak) and Gajala. This was Rajamouli’s directorial debut and Jr NTR’s second movie. The actor has tasted success only under SS Rajamouli’s direction. Back then, the movie was a blockbuster.
The plot revolves around Aditya, played by Tarak, a bright and quiet law student with a mysterious past. One day, his past comes to light and it is revealed that he is coming to college from jail, as an accused in a murder case. Why was he accused, how did he win back the students' trust, and whether he finishes his law degree, plays out during the rest of the plot.
Watch a scene from the movie here:
Simhadri: This is Rajamouli’s second movie as director, where he tied up again with NTR in 2003. The movie has Tarak and Bhumika in the lead roles. The movie is an action drama and elevated Tarak as a ‘mass’ hero, as this movie was also a huge hit.
The plot revolves around an orphan, Simhadri, and the family in which he grew up.
Watch a scene from the movie here:
Sye: This is a historic sports drama movie that was directed by Rajamouli and was his third film, released in the year 2004. The movie had Nithiin and Genelia in the lead roles and tasted success in the box office.
The plot revolves around a sport, rugby, and is set up in the background of college-going students.
Watch a scene from the movie here:
Chatrapathi: This was the first association of the ‘Baahubali’ combination, Prabhas and SS Rajamouli, in the year 2005. The movie has Prabhas and Shriya in the lead roles.
The plot revolves around refugees who are living on the coast of Sri Lanka, under the control of a local leader, who are eventually rescued by Shivaji, enacted by Prabhas.
Watch a scene from the movie here:
Vikramarkudu: This is an action film released in the year 2006. The movie has Ravi Teja and Anuskha Shetty in the lead roles. The movie has Ravi Teja playing dual roles. This was remade into several languages, including by Bollywood, as Rowdy Rathore.
Watch a scene from the movie here:
Yamadonga: This is the third time that Rajamouli tied up with Jr NTR, in the year 2007. The movie has Tarak, Priyamani and Mamata Mohan Das in the lead roles and is loosely based on a movie by Tarak’s grandfather, NT Rama Rao, with the same name.
The plot revolves around Raja, enacted by Tarak, who is a conman. Raja dies in a fight and goes to hell. Most of the story is set in the backdrop of hell.
Watch a scene from the movie here:
Maryada Ramanna: This movie came soon after the release of Magadheera, starring Ram Charan. Maryada Ramanna was released in the year 2010 and came at a point when Rajamouli was facing criticism that he only worked with big stars and was bagging hits. In this action-comedy movie, comedian Sunil was cast in the lead role and Saloni was the female lead. This movie was also a huge success.
The plot revolves around Ramu, who lost his parents at a young age in a feudal fight and heads to his native village after 28 years, to sell a piece of land that belongs to his family.
Watch a scene from the movie here:
Rajamouli’s other movies such as Magadheera starring, Ramcharan and Kajal Agarwal, Eega, starring Nani and Samantha, the Baahubali series starring Prabhas, Anushka Shetty, Rana Daggubati and Tamannaah Bhatia have already got their pan-india and international recognition.