SS Rajamouli's directorial debut, Student No 1, went on to become a game-changer in the career of Jr NTR, who played the film's lead. This movie had a 100-day run in 42 centres in AP.
Student no 1 follows a youngster, who is sentenced to life-imprisonment when he accidentally kills a criminal. Once in prison, he decides to study law, and gains admission into a college.Rajamouli's second film, Simhadri, had its story written by his father KV Viijendra Prasad. Released as an underdog in 2003, the action-drama surpassed all the existing records in Telugu.Simhadri, mounted on the evergreen Baasha template, showcased SSR's ability to reinvent within the barbed-wire confines of Telugu mainstream cinema.SS Rajamouli's next, Sye, centes around a rugby union, which took the industry by surprise. The film stars Nithiin and Genelia D'Souza in the lead roles.Rajamouli uses the overlooked sport of Rugby as a backdrop to narrate a tussle between college students and a mafia group in Sye. An Iranian rugby coach was hired to train the actors for the film.Chatrapathi, Rajamouli's first film with Prabhas, was a hugely successful action drama, with the filmmaker's trademark directorial touches.Tje film follows Sivaji, who's uprooted from his community in Sri Lanka and winds up as bonded labourers in Vishak. Like his legendary namesake, he rises up to become the saviour of the oppressed.Ravi Teja's Vikramarkudu was SS Rajamouli's first mega-blockbuster. The masala movie, which got the action-comedy mix perfectly right, was praised for its slick treatment.Vikramarkudu, which was screened at the International Film Festival of India in the mainstream section, has been remade in 6 languages, all of which have become superhits.SS Rajamouli tried his hand at fantasy-comedy next with JR NTR's Yamadonga. The film, inspired by Yamagola and Yamudiki Mogudu, managed to impress the audience and the critics alike.The film follows Raja, an orphaned thief, who lands in Yamalok after his death and fights with Yama, the god of death, to get back his life. The film completed a 100 day run in 92 centres.SS Rajamouli followed Yamadonga with the fantasy action-thriller, Magadheera, which helped Ram Charan break into the big league.Magadheera's 1000-day theatrical run surpassed Chandramukhi (2005) as the longest running South Indian film. The film also won the National Award for Best Choreography and Best Special Effects.It takes a filmmaker of SS Rajamouli's stature to come up with a film like Maryada Ramanna with a lesser-known comedian like Sunil after the phenomenal success of Magadheera.Inspired by Buster Keaton’s silent-comedy Our Hospitality, the film became another blockbuster, thanks to SS Rajamouli's decision to cast against the type.Here was a film-maker who had the audacity to transfigure his only revenge-seeking protagonist into a housefly (who couldn't show emotions), & went on to convince his producers to put 30 crores in it.SS Rajamouli nonchalantly pulls it off in Eega, kicking many rules of commercial film-making on its butt and giving a blockbuster that reached the 100 crore mark worldwide.Shot on a monstrous budget of Rs 400 crore, the two-part Baahubali series accumulated over Rs 1800 crore at the BO. In addition, the magnum opus released to a fantastic ovation in countries like JapanWhat made it special? SRR's ambition and his obsession for perfection, which touched a chord with the audience. He sure had a knack for acing the undo-able, things considered to be hitherto impossible