--- description: Find out why S.S. Rajamouli is one of the 100 most influential people of 2023. title: S.S. Rajamouli: The 100 Most Influential People of 2023 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteba4d2aea74b2da6/698a3bd616d884160ac3bb78/SS-Rajamouli-time100-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 13, 2023 # S.S. Rajamouli by Alia Bhatt  Director of RRR SS Rajamouli in West Hollywood, CA. / Bethany Mollenkof for ESPN Director of RRR SS Rajamouli in West Hollywood, CA. / Bethany Mollenkof for ESPNBethany Mollenkof The first time I met S.S. Rajamouli was at the preview of [_Baahubali 2_](https://time.com/5648720/baahubali-2-the-conclusion/ "undefined")_._ We were all extremely starstruck. And even while I was watching the movie, I was like, Oh my God, what a dream it would be to work with this director. Lo and behold, the dream came true. Being directed by him in [_RRR_](https://time.com/6242874/best-international-movies-2022/ "undefined") was like going to school all over again. He knows the audience he’s serving. He knows what beats to hit, what turns to take. I call him the master storyteller, because he genuinely loves the flair and abandon of stories. And he brings us together. India is a massive country with diverse demographics, tastes, and culture. But he gets that—and he unites us through his movies. I once asked him for advice on acting. He said, “Whatever choice you make, just do that with love. Because even if the film doesn’t work, the audience will see love in your eyes for what you’re doing.” _Bhatt is an actor_ S.S. Rajamouli Is on the 2023 TIME 100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6270012/s-s-rajamouli/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6270012/s-s-rajamouli/"},"headline":"S.S. Rajamouli","datePublished":"2023-04-13T10:32:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:03.587Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6270012/s-s-rajamouli/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","sponsorshipblock","TIME100 2023","T100Pioneers2023"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteba4d2aea74b2da6/698a3bd616d884160ac3bb78/SS-Rajamouli-time100-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteba4d2aea74b2da6/698a3bd616d884160ac3bb78/SS-Rajamouli-time100-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6270012/s-s-rajamouli/","name":"S.S. Rajamouli"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 | The 100 Most Influential People of 2023","description":"See all the people on Time's 2023 Time 100 list","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/P6RIsapV/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-04-13T10:30:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/P6RIsapV.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6270012/s-s-rajamouli/","duration":"PT1M53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6270012/s-s-rajamouli/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```