Another feather in the cap for Rajamouli

It seems like there is no stopping of accolades and laurels for master filmmaker SS Rajamouli ever since he helmed blockbuster epics like Baahubali and RRR. After smashing several global box office records with these films in the last five years, Rajamouli’s fame and popularity reached the pinnacle. As RRR secured the first Oscar award for an Indian film in the Best Song category earlier this year, he has been branded as the Pride of Indian Cinema.

Now, the successful director bagged another feather in his cap in the form of getting named the one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023 by TIME magazine. Rajamouli is the first Indian director to receive this rare distinction. Also, he is the only Indian after Shah Rukh Khan to feature in the list. Divided into six categories namely Icons, Pioneers, Titans, Artists, Leaders and Innovators, the list named Rajamouli in the Pioneers section of the list alongside other names like Doja Cat, Bella Hadid, Sam Altman, MRBEAST, Britney Schmidt, Peter Davis, Sam Rivera, Robin Zeng, Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, Thom Browne, Edward Reynolds, and Margaret Mitchell.

RRR actor Alia Bhatt wrote the pen picture for Rajamouli in the magazine on this occasion – She said ‘Being directed by him in RRR was like going to school all over again. He knows the audience he’s serving. He knows what beats to hit, what turns to take. I call him the master storyteller, because he genuinely loves the flair and abandon of stories. And he brings us together. India is a massive country with diverse demographics, tastes, and culture. But he gets that—and he unites us through his movies’.

Up next, Rajamouli is gearing up to helm the costliest Indian film ever with Tollywood superstar Mahesh Babu. The film is billed as a globe-trotting action adventure.