SS Rajamouli didn't want to make RRR after Baahubali, says Makarand Deshpande. Exclusive

In an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, Makarand Deshpande opened up about his role in RRR, working with SS Rajamouli and the divide between South and Bollywood films. Makarand played a supporting role in RRR.

Makarand Deshpande is on cloud nine as his role in SS Rajamouli's RRR caught everyone's attention. In an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, Makarand opened up about working with SS Rajamouli, Jr NTR, and Ram Charan. He also explained how South films are different from Hindi films.

Makarand Deshpande, who is well known for his roles in films like Satya, Jungle, Sarfarosh, recently shared screen space with Jr NTR in RRR. The film has created a tsunami at the box office. The period drama film starring Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, and Ajay Devgn is winning audiences' hearts.

Coming from a theater background, Makarand is in awe of director SS Rajamouli. Speaking about how he became a part of the film, he said, "I got a call from Rajamouli's office and was asked to see him. When I went there, Ram Charan and Rajamouli were waiting for me. Ram introduced himself to me and said he was waiting to meet me because he had seen my Hindi films and was keen to work with me. I had a brief role and some of my scenes got cut. Having said that, he [Rajamouli] is a very straight-forward man who works hard. He just said 'I want you in the film, but I don't know for how many days'. He gave me the story and I understood that he just wanted to build a team, not cast an actor. He is building a team with trust. There were many times when we would just shoot and come back, and, of course, we were paid for that. So, my point is that when you have a leader who wants to create an impact on screen, you give him what he wants."

He further added, "Of course, the budget is huge. I heard it is made on a Rs 300-400 crore budget. With that kind of budget, I think the impact is Rs 1000 crore and that is the point. That's what he does. People wonder how he can pull off a period freedom film with an epic proportion, but he believed in it."

Makarand also revealed that SS Rajamouli wanted to make a small film post the success of Bahubali. Explaining further, he said, "Rajamouli Sir said that he was thinking of making a small film and had thought of the subject as well - a love story. Apparently, his wife told him 'what are you doing, what you can do the best, you should do that', and then he wrote RRR. The whole point is, when he told me this I understood that he thinks big, he works very hard. RRR is creating a storm. With Baahubali, he made the whole nation his audience and it didn't matter whether they were South Indians or Punjabis, etc. "

Comparing Rajamouli's film with Marvel and DC, the Satya actor stated, "When we see a Marvel or DC film from Hollywood, the special effects show has everybody has power and can do anything, but here, he is doing that with humans. With RRR, he played with emotions, but the innocence of the tribal man came through. I think he got the emotion and love for his country. Even the last part where Ram Charan is sitting on the shoulders of Jr NTR and fighting - it is an unbelievable scene. One wonders how to execute those things. But, for him, it's energy. Rajamouli creates energy, 'woh screen ko 4000 Walt ka jatak deta rehta hain again and again' and people are entertained.

When asked what his takeaway was from RRR, he responded saying, "I feel you should believe in your director - if he is asking for anything, just do it. Actors should not use their brains too much, one should just go ahead and believe in his director. You might call it illogical, but it will eventually form a logical entertainment. When you are a part of big-budget films, you shouldn't take it to your head. You surrender and let the film create a maximum impact. That is what I understood."