Filmmaker SS Rajamouli debuted in 2001 with the Jr NTR -starrer Student No 1. He followed that up with the 2003 film Simhadri, starring the same actor, which changed the course of both their careers. SS Karthikeya’s upcoming production, Don’t Trouble The Trouble with Fahadh Faasil, the director recalled shooting for the most violent scene of his career outside the Kerala Assembly While promoting his son.
The film was met with lukewarm reviews but achieved box office success. The film failed to make a mark on all fronts. After RRR, Rajamouli is currently shooting for Varanasi with Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra and Prithviraj Sukumaran.
After the 2022 hit RRR by Rajamouli, Jr NTR starred in Devara: Part 1 in 2024. He debuted in Hindi in 2025 with the Ayan Mukherji film War 2, co-starring Hrithik Roshan and Kiara Advani. He is now shooting for Prashanth Neel’s Dragon , which will hit screens in 2027. His film will also be released in 2027.
The film was such a massive success that it was remade in Tamil as Gajendra (2004) and in Kannada as Kanteerava (2012). Actually, it’s a Tamil word, but at that time, we were like, people won’t know Tamil, Malayalam. Because we shot in front of the Assembly, i don’t know whether it’s possible now or not,.
In a chat with Fahadh, Karthikeya, Sangeeth Prathap and Shyam Mohan, Rajamouli recalled shooting in Kerala for his second film. “I shot Simhadri in Kerala. We shot the hero running in front of the assembly with an axe and killing people. I think we were here for about ten days,” he recalled. I don’t think you have shot anything more violent than that afterwards. It all came with the word Singamalai. So we just shot it,” making everyone chuckle. Simhadri starred Jr NTR, Bhumika Chawla, Ankitha, Mukesh Rishi, Nassar, and Rahul Dev. It tells the story of an orphan named Simhadri raised by a landlord. He secretly protects the landlord’s estranged and amnesiac granddaughter, Indu. A series of events reveals that Simhadri is secretly a vigilante named Singamalai, revered in Kerala for protecting those in need.
Karthikeya then interjected and said, “I think that was his most violent action episode ever. It was his most violent scene, and in front of the Assembly,” and the filmmaker agreed, “Yeah, definitely. When Fahadh asked Rajamouli why he chose to shoot the film in Trivandrum, he said, “In the story, he has to come out of Andhra and go to a separate place; we thought of Kerala.
