James Cameron asks S S Rajamouli: May I come to your set sometime and watch you create your magic?
Hyderabad, Dec 17
Hollywood director James Cameron has now expressed a desire to visit the sets of director S S Rajamouli's upcoming magnum opus 'Varanasi', featuring Telugu star Mahesh Babu in the lead, and see the ace director "create his magic".
Cameron made this request to Rajamouli during a conversation he had with Rajamouli after the latter watched Cameron's eagerly awaited entertainer 'Avatar: Fire and Ash', which is to hit screens worldwide on December 19 this year.
Right at the beginning of the conversation, Cameron thanked Rajamouli for agreeing to watch and discuss his film and said, "Thank you so much for doing this. I think it's important for filmmakers to talk and compare similarities in their mental creative process and in their techniques and so on. I'd love to come to your set. May I come to your set sometime and watch you create your magic?"
A pleasantly surprised Rajamouli replied, "Oh, that would be an absolute pleasure, sir. You're most welcome. And I mean, not just me, not just my unit, my entire film industry will be thrilled."
To this, Cameron said, "Well, I can't think of anything I'd rather do.So I think you're shooting for a while, right, on the new film on Varanasi?"
Rajamouli said yes and went on to give an update on the status of the film. He said, "It's almost a year now and another seven, eight months to go.Yes, we are in the middle of the shoot." Cameron replied, "Okay, plenty of time. Well, tell me when you're doing something fun. I don't know, something with tigers."
For the unaware, 'Varanasi' is a film that is being directed by S S Rajamouli, featuring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj in the lead.
The title of the film was revealed at a grand event organised at the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad in the presence of several thousand of excited fans last month.
The event, being hailed as a once-in-a-generation spectacle, saw fans in the thousands turning up for the event, making it one of the largest live fan congregations ever seen in the Indian entertainment space.
The event featured one of the biggest stages ever erected for a film event, with a 100 ft height and a 130 ft wide screen to supplement it.
The makers of the film have already revealed the character and looks of actors Mahesh Babu, Prithviraj and Priyanka Chopra in the film. While Mahesh Babu plays Rudhra, Prithviraj plays the antagonist Kumbha and Priyanka Chopra plays Mandakini in the film.
— IANS
Reader Comments
What a fantastic exchange between two masters of visual storytelling. Cameron's humility is admirable. The mutual respect is wonderful to see. Hope this collaboration leads to something amazing for world cinema.
"Something with tigers" 😂 Cameron has clearly done his homework on Rajamouli's style! From Baahubali to RRR, our directors are creating magic that even Hollywood legends want to witness firsthand. Feeling so proud!
While this is exciting, I hope Rajamouli doesn't feel pressured to "perform" for a foreign guest. The set visit should be organic. Our filmmaking process is unique and sometimes chaotic – that's part of the magic. Let's hope it stays authentic.
The scale of the title launch event itself was a Rajamouli spectacle. If that's just the announcement, imagine the actual film! Mahesh Babu in a Rajamouli film is a dream combo. Cameron visiting the set would be iconic.
As someone who loved RRR, this is fascinating. Cameron is a technical pioneer, and Rajamouli is a master of mass emotion and scale. A conversation between these two minds could birth new cinematic techniques. The student is now the teacher's curiosity.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.