SS Rajamouli's 'RRR' wins four trophies at HCA Film Awards
Mumbai (PTI): Filmmaker SS Rajamouli's Telugu blockbuster "RRR" has lifted four trophies at the 2023 HCA Film Awards, including best international film and best action film.
At the award ceremony, organised by Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and held at Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles on Friday night, the film also took home the award for best stunts, while its Oscar-nominated track "Naatu Naatu" won the best original song trophy.
Rajamouli accepted the award for best stunts and in his speech, the filmmaker praised the film's team for putting their best foot forward.
"In the innumerable action shots in the whole film, there were hardly 2-3 shots where we used body doubles. The actors performed each and every stunt. They are wonderful guys.
"It is the combined effort of the whole team. I thank my whole team for this. We have put in 320 days of hard work to make this film, most of which were taken by the stunts," the director said.
He said the recognition means a lot, not just to him, but to the Indian film industry.
"Hope, we have these wings to fly further. Lastly to my country itself, a land of wonderful stories, Bharat. Mera Bharat mahaan. Jai Hind," Rajamouli said.
"RRR" is a pre-Independence fictional story focusing on two real-life Indian revolutionaries in the 1920s -- Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR).
The movie has so far won a Golden Globe for best original song for "Naatu Naatu" as well as two Critics Choice Awards -- best foreign language film and best song for "Naatu Naatu". The track is also nominated for best original song at the 2023 Oscars.
The film's music composer MM Keeravaani collected the trophy for best original song.
Lead star Charan accompanied Rajamouli to accept the award for best international film.
"Thank you so much for giving us all this love, it's just a great response. So we're going to come back with better films and entertain you all," the actor said.
"RRR" also features Olivia Morris, Samuthirakani, Alison Doody, Ray Stevenson with Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in special appearances. The period action was released worldwide in 2022 and collected over Rs 1,200 crore in reported earnings.
And the HCA Award Acceptance for Best Action Film …
— Hollywood Critics Association (@HCAcritics) February 25, 2023
RRR#RRR #RRRMovie #RamCharan #SSRajamouli #NTRamaRaoJr #HCAFilmAwards #BestActionFilm pic.twitter.com/9BfCHf4Swj
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
