r/tollywood

I just watched Rao Bahadur movie and I loved it!

I understand that the movie is not for everyone and everyone have specific things they like and every art has specific group that it appeals to but, oh boy, I loved this movie.

5 minutes in, I am glued to the seat. I think the first half is way more appealing than the later half. Cant help but notice Wes Anderson-esque frames, but still uniquely fresh with, what I think, intentional subtle asymmetry and slightly off-center frames. I loved the "conditioning" song, its placement and its message.

Second half and the climax was a bit disappointing, it felt like director had to make a choice between keeping the narration open ended (for audience to infer and interpret) vs making the movie a social satire (the later won) and in the process second half felt different making the film as a whole a bit incoherent.

It neverthless is a great movie, for me. This will be the first movie that I will watch second time in theatres after bahubali!

References & Easter Eggs You Probably Missed in Rao Bahadur 👀

1. Lavana being called "Nela Thakkuva Yedhava"

Lavana is constantly mocked for being born a month early. The payoff comes in the climax, where it's revealed that Renuka was already pregnant before the marriage.

2. The black coffee dialogue

While preparing black coffee, Renuka says: "Nalupu ayithey em? Adhi kuda rangu ae kada." It seems like a casual line at first, but later reflects the film's underlying commentary on racism and prejudice.

3. The pregnancy test during the song

Just as Rao asks Renuka out on a date during the song, she's anxiously waiting for the result of her pregnancy test. A subtle detail that's easy to miss.

4. The portraits on the wall

Every framed photograph represents someone who has died. Rao Bahadur's mother's portrait shows her holding a child, hinting that she died along with her baby during childbirth.

5. The pumpkin symbolism

Shortly before his death, Kusuma eats a pumpkin with its seeds intact. Later, those very seeds sprout into a plant from the soil where he's buried, symbolizing life emerging from death.

6. Ramappa's "three lives"

Ramappa says his lifeline may be short, but thick enough to live three lives in one:

- Before entering Bhuvanaalayam.

- After being brainwashed by his ancestors.

- After suspicion (Anumanam) consumes him.

Three completely different versions of the same man within a single lifetime.

7. The two portraits of Ramappa's mother

The portrait in the house shows her holding a baby. But the real photograph inside his father's locket has no child, because she never got to hold her baby. His father is the one holding the child. This quietly foreshadows the final reveal about Ramappa's true origin.

8. "Vesham kaadu, Raajasam..."

Ramappa proudly tells Achari: "Vesham kaadu, raajasam. Adi maa raktham lone undi. Neeku cheppinaa artham kaadule."

After the climax, this becomes one of the funniest ironic lines in the film.

9. "Maa vamsapu raktam"

When Kusuma points at the ancestral portraits and asks, "Veellandariki unnadi, naaku lenidi entadi?" Ramappa replies, "Maa vamsapu raktam."

Ironically, Ramappa is technically correct, just not in the way he believes. Kusuma truly doesn't share the blood of the people in those portraits.

The amount of foreshadowing packed into Rao Bahadur is genuinely impressive. Nearly every rewatch reveals a new layer hidden in plain sight.

10. the dream which Achamma has that Achari says is a 1000cr worth film is just the plot of Bahubali through the eyes of Bhallaladeva's wife. She says, "my brother-in-law's son beheaded my son. my husband went to kill him but he got burnt alive"