SS Rajamouli is now not just a name but a force to reckon with. He’s undeniably the most successful pan-India filmmaker from the South. Jakanna, as he is fondly called, made remarkable movies in the Telugu language like Magadheera and Eega, which generated interest in the Hindi-speaking belt even before the Bahubali films were released and made him a national phenomenon. Following the success of the Bahubali franchise with yet another smash hit in the form of RRR, Rajamouli has secured his position as one of the top league directors in the country.
Considering the large and lavish production scales on which his films are made, Rajamouli is certainly a director with a lot of patience and perseverance. Many of his actors have also stated how strong-willed the filmmaker is about his productions and how he is determined to complete his lavish projects with an iron will despite all hurdles. However, you may be amazed to know that Rajamouli scrapped two of his films at the early stages of production.
This happened during the early stages of his career. According to reports, after the success of his first film Student No 1 with Junior NTR, who also debuted as a lead in the film, Rajamouli wanted to do a historical epic with Malayalam star Mohanlal, of whom he has been a huge fan.
He made some sketches and plans for it with the help of the art directors Sabu Cyril and Manu Jagat. However, reportedly because of a very high budget, the project did not seem feasible at that time and had to be shelved. Reportedly, Sabu Cyril has used those sketches for a song sequence in Kilichundan Mambazham in which Mohanlal comes as a warrior.
Another project that the director shelved was a proposed film with veteran Telugu director Raghavendra Rao’s son Prakash as the hero, touted to be a love story. However, just before production began, Prakash’s film Neetho was released and tanked at the box office. Following its failure, Rajamouli did not want to take the risk of making a film with Prakash and this project was shelved too.
Rajamouli is presently making another pan-India film with Mahesh Babu, tentatively titled SSMB29.
