When SS Rajamouli begged the producer of Magadheera to dub the film in Tamil

Today,

SS Rajamouli

is arguably the biggest movie director in the country, thanks to his films like the Baahubali series and

RRR

. He is currently working on his most ambitious film yet, starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra, and John Abraham.

Rajamouli's films popularized the term Pan-India, but there was a time when his movies were limited to the Telugu-speaking states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The visionary director recalls a time when he believed his films had universal appeal and could reach a wider audience.

Speaking on the Awards Chatter podcast, he said, “It started with

Magadheera

(starring Ram Charan and Kajal Aggarwal). I pressured my producer, I begged him, I did everything I could just to get the film dubbed and released in Tamil. I really believed in the product. But he said no—for whatever reason, he refused, and we couldn't do it. Even though it was a hugely successful film in Telugu, it didn’t reach audiences beyond my home states. So from my next film onward, I decided I would only collaborate with producers who believed that my stories could travel. Luckily, with

Eega

, that happened. I had a producer who believed in its potential, and we dubbed it into Tamil and Malayalam, also releasing it in Karnataka along with its straight Telugu version.”
Eega also had a Hindi release, backed by Ajay Devgn, but the film saw limited success due to distribution issues. However, with his next film, Baahubali: The Beginning, Rajamouli partnered with Karan Johar and Anil Thadani, ensuring a nationwide release. Since then, he has become a household name across the country.