KV Vijayendra Prasad: We have cracked sequel’s premise

In March, a week after RRR opened to smashing numbers at the box office, famed writer KV Vijayendra Prasad had told mid-day that the story could lend itself to a sequel, possibly set outside India (Can take the heroes on adventure outside India, March 30). That was enough for fans to root for a second instalment. Soon, Jr NTR - who played Komaram Bheem to Ram Charan's Alluri Sitarama Raju in the period drama - too expressed hopes of returning to the grand universe created by director SS Rajamouli. One can then imagine cinephiles' excitement after Rajamouli, at an RRR screening in Chicago last week, confirmed that a sequel is in the works.

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SS Rajamouli and KV Vijayendra Prasad

Prasad, who has begun work on the project, says that RRR's runaway success partly contributed to the idea of a second edition. "My son and I simultaneously thought that we should take it forward. We have cracked the sequel's premise. All I can say is that both characters - Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju, played by Jr NTR and Ram Charan respectively - will be there in the sequel," he states. In reality, the two revolutionaries had never crossed paths. But on screen, the veteran writer and his director-son gave us a dramatised account, in which the two heroes go up in arms together against the British Raj. Will the second instalment then take inspiration from the 1922 Rampa rebellion that was led by Alluri until his death in 1924? Prasad is tight-lipped, only saying, "My son and I will sit across the table, and keep discussing [ideas] every day till the story gets developed."

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It will, however, be a while before RRR 2 goes on floors. The veteran writer is currently completing the script of Rajamouli's adventure drama, starring Mahesh Babu. "I hope we can complete [its scripting] by January 2023. The script of RRR 2 is being developed simultaneously. After I finish scripting the Mahesh Babu-starrer, I can start my own directorial venture [Bhagwa Dhwaj]."