RRR nominated for Best Picture at Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Awards

SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus RRR has not just been commercially successful but also praised by critics. The latest validation for the blockbuster has come from Hollywood.

The Hollywood Critics Association announced the nominations for its Midseason Awards on Wednesday and RRR finds itself nominated for Best Picture, the first time an Indian film has had the honour.

The Hollywood Critics Association gives away awards twice a year, once in February and then in July, which are called the Midseason Awards. The nominations for these awards were announced by the body on Wednesday.

In the Best Picture category, Ram Charan and Jr NTR-starrer RRR finds itself competing against Hollywood heavyweights like Top Gun: Maverick, The Batman, Elvis, and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. The awards will be announced on July 1.

After the news was announced by the HCA on its official Twitter handle, several Indian fans replied to the tweet, praising HCA for recognizing the film. One fan tweeted, “Even if doesn’t win, this is victory of Indian cinema.” Another wrote, “Cult classic and pride of Indian cinema.”

Many even argued that RRR should be India’s official entry for the Oscars given how highly-regarded it is in the West. “Our Indian committee will send some low budget art film as Indian nominee which shows poverty. RRR is our best chance of being nominated but India has to send it,” wrote one fan.

While the HCA awards are given by Hollywood critics, they are open to all films screened in the USA. In the past, too, the HCA Awards have recognized non-American, non-English films.

In 2019, Korean film Parasite was nominated for Best Picture at HCA Awards. Other major awards in the US have also nominated foreign films in major categories. The Oscars have seen films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Mandarin), Roma (Spanish), and Drive My Car (Japanese) being nominated for Best Picture. However, an Indian film making it to the Best Picture category of a major Hollywood award list is a first.

Directed by SS Rajamouli, RRR told a fictionalised story of two revolutionaries in 1920s India. The film, which also starred Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn, grossed over ₹1100 crore at the box office, becoming one of the highest grossing Indian films ever.

Upon its digital release on Netflix globally, the film has gained a cult following in the West. Several fans and even celebs have taken to social media to praise it. From actor Patton Oswalt to Doctor Strange screenwriter C. Robert Cargill, many have heaped praises upon it.