SS Rajamouli is the biggest commercial filmmaker in Indian cinema. His branding alone is enough to drive films, and that was evident in the case of RRR which did very well in Hindi, primarily running on Rajamouli’s value.
Of late, after seeing the promotional content of Prashanth Neel’s Salaar, there has been a narrative that Rajamouli overdoes his branding on his films.
A few pointed out that the teaser and trailer of Salaar don’t even have dedicated title cards for director Prashanth Neel, and had it been Rajamouli, there would have been Rajamouli stamping all over along with a dedicated card. This is in reference to the trademark Rajamouli stamp that comes in all his films and promotional materials.
Well, after seeing the quality of the products, it is easily justified that Rajamouli does indeed deserve the special demonstration of his stamping.
The thought process behind Neel not having dedicated title cards in his films and promotional material is unknown. But this doesn’t size up to Rajamouli’s branding extensively used in his films, as a few people argue.
When a director has been delivering films with 100% success rate for over 2 decades, then he certainly deserves special accolades. Rajamouli’s works can’t be compared to any other director’s work. The theatrical experience he delivers is unparalleled. This is the validation of the said “an SS Rajamouli film” stamping.
A few directors might occasionally make films that can be compared to Rajamouli’s films. But what needs to be noted is that Rajamouli delivers quality products day in and day out.
So crying foul on Rajamouli’s branding fascination is illogical. More so, when the stamping alone is bigger than any contemporary filmmaker in Indian cinema and this branding is enough to drive a film’s business to Rs 1000 crores.
