"I don't think SS Rajamouli's success belongs to Telugu cinema. Even if he were from a state like Gujarat, he would have made the same films and reached the same heights," Ram Gopal Varma has been quoted as saying. RGV's remarks have sparked a debate among cinephiles and movie-lovers.
RGV's comment raises questions like these: Would any Gujarati producer have mustered the resources required to produce a magnum opus like 'Baahubali', given the minimal size of the Gujarati film market? Had Rajamouli been born in, say, Kerala, would he have made a theatrical, dramatic, heroism-centric film like 'Baahubali' in the first place? Or, would he have rather continued making 'Student No. 1' type of movies?
You need a strong film-viewing and heroism-centric cinematic culture, nurtured over decades, for a film like 'Baahubali' to take root. Forget 'Baahubali', even 'Magadheera', 'Simhadri' and 'Eega' wouldn't have happened anywhere other than Telugu, Tamil and Hindi.
Rajamouli could have made 'Sye', 'Maryada Ramanna' and 'Student No. 1' probably in Gujarati or Kannada. The rest of the movies in his filmography belong to the Telugu cinema culture.
Most of the film industries, including Malaylaam, Bengali and Odiya, have no mass cinema culture of the kind Telugu is known for.
