https://newlinesmag.com/spotlight/decoding-indian-film-rrrs-popularity-in-the-west
I chose to focus on this article because it centers on the audience and their reactions to the film. What stood out to me most while watching RRR was my own audible reactions, as well as those of everyone around me. I kept catching myself gasping or laughing out loud, and nearly everyone else in the room was doing the same.
I don’t watch movies in theaters very often, but even when I do, there usually is not much of an audible response from the audience. The only other recent times I can remember this happening in a way that truly impacted my experience as a viewer were when I watched Top Gun: Maverick and Avengers: Endgame. I remember thinking how special that felt, and watching our class react so strongly to RRR gave me a very similar experience.
I think this only happens when a movie genuinely takes you on a journey. While watching RRR, I felt like I lived six different lives, and by the middle of the three-hour film, I was so invested that it felt impossible not to react to what was happening on screen. It really does feel like an explosion in your mind. There is so much happening at once, good, evil, frightening, and exciting, that you are forced to stay fully engaged and constantly process everything unfolding in front of you.
The article describes the film as “an epic action drama that feels like a ‘party’”, which I think captures it perfectly. The author includes audience reactions such as: “‘It felt like a Marvel movie,’ said another. “Marvel on steroids, perhaps?’ agreed the third. ‘I loved the characters with superhuman abilities; they just wouldn’t die,’ chimed in the fourth.” That was exactly how I felt while watching it, and it explains why RRR reminded me so strongly of my Avengers: Endgame viewing experience.
Overall, this resource is useful because it shows how RRR is not just a movie people watch, but a movie people experience together. The audience reaction becomes part of the film’s meaning, turning spectatorship itself into something worth analyzing.
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