SS Rajamouli REGRETS not working with Suriya; credits Tamil star for inspiring him to make Baahubali a pan-India film

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli is one of the most-loved filmmakers not just in South India but globally too. The director – who is known for projects such as Magadheera, Eega, Baahubali and RRR, has gained fame across the country for pioneering the ‘pan-India phenomenon’ with his magnum opus starring Prabhas. But who inspired him to market his films as pan-India flicks?

SS Rajamouli attended the pre-release event for Siva’s Kanguva held in Hyderabad on Thursday, and while there, he credited actor Suriya for motivating him to make pan-India films.

SS Rajamouli praises Suriya

Before SS Rajamouli took the stage, the event organisers played a video on how the director led the pan-India trend. Seeing this, the ‘RRR’ filmmaker said, “They just played an AV that I began the pan-India trend and all. But let me tell you frankly. The main inspiration for me wanting to take Telugu cinema beyond AP and Telangana is Suriya.”

Talking about how the ‘Kanguva’ actor inspired him to promote his films, the acclaimed director continued, “During Ghajini, Suriya would come here and promote his films. I would tell producers and actors that the way he grew close to the Telugu audience was a case study. That we must push films in other regions too, to gain the love of the Tamil audience. Suriya, you are my inspiration for the pan-India film market.”

Rajamouli: I regret it not working with him

During the same conversation, SS Rajamouli also opened up about not being about to work with Suriya to date. He said, “We were once supposed to work on a film together, but it didn’t work out. Suriya mentioned somewhere that it was a missed opportunity for him. But it’s me who missed the opportunity to work with him; I regret it. I love him, his on-screen presence and his acting so much. I respect that he chose to go after a story rather than a filmmaker though.”

But Suriya said, “In a family, if an elder sibling does well, the rest of the family flourishes because you show the way. This journey started long back, sir. I am shamelessly saying I missed the train. I’m still standing at the railway station, and I hope I get it sometime.”

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