“I always liked larger-than-life-stories or characterisations, even before I came into films”SS Rajamouli has made a name for himself in the world of cinema for his larger-than-life movies. The latest, RRR, tells a fictionalised story of two legendary Indian freedom fighters. The movie features exploding trains, a fight with dangerous predatory animals, and a grand dance battle sequence.In a recent interview with a US-based online media publication, the director talked about how he came to find his niche in epic filmmaking. The director started out with movies like Student No. 1 and Sye, which were grounded in real life. The change to larger-than-life filmmaking started with the 2009 movie Magadheera. He said, “For a very, very long time, I always liked larger-than-life stories or characterisations, even before I came into films… It was a gradual escalation. I always increased my budget a little bit more than the market dictated, and that’s how it happened… I would say Magadheera is one of the films which I did, a part-period movie, which was a huge, huge success. And I also did a movie called Eega, which is the story of a housefly taking revenge on a human being, and it was a hugely successful film.”The unprecedented success of those two films prompted him to continue pursuing his visions and work to bring them to the big screen. The movies helped him gain the confidence of producers and viewers, who backed his movies because they trusted in him. RRR, starring Ram Charan Teja and Jr NTR in lead roles, is currently in the running for an Oscar nomination. It has already bagged two Golden Globe nominations for ‘Best Picture - Non-English Language’ and ‘Best Song - Motion Picture.’