SS Rajamouli gives first review of James Cameron’s Avatar Fire and Ash from India: ‘I was like a child’

In an interaction with James Cameron to promote Avatar: Fire and Ash, SS Rajamouli shared his review of the film. Here's what he said.

Varanasi director SS Rajamouli virtually caught up with James Cameron to promote his upcoming film, Avatar: Fire and Ash. During the conversation, Rajamouli shared that he is the first person from India to have watched Avatar 3, praising the director for the film. Read his review. (Also Read: Avatar Fire and Ash first reviews: James Cameron film called ‘hunk of nonsense’ by critics, debuts with lowest RT score)

SS Rajamouli was all praise for James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash.

SS Rajamouli’s review of Avatar: Fire and Ash

Rajamouli thanked Cameron for letting him watch Avatar 3 before anyone else in India and said, “I would like to thank you because you made me the first person, or probably the only person, amongst 1.45 billion Indians to watch Avatar: Fire and Ash. That feels very special.”

He then praised the film, sharing his thoughts on how he felt while watching it. “Watching Fire and Ash was an absolute pleasure. Hats off to you for creating those complex sequences, visuals and characters. I can go on and on. I was like a child in the theatre watching the Wind Traders, the Ash People, the new characters. Varang was absolutely stunning,” said Rajamouli.

Rajamouli teases conflicts in Avatar 3

However, the filmmaker says it is Jake Sully, the former human, who kept him hooked, stating, “But I thought, for me, after I come back from the theatre, it wouldn’t leave my mind. What really got me hooked was Jake’s moral dilemma. I thought the first Avatar had it; it was so strong. I thought, can he ever beat it? But I think in this, it is much stronger.”

Rajamouli also teased conflicts between the former human military commander, Miles Quaritch, and Jake, in addition to those between Varang and Neytiri. “Two of the beautiful conflicts in the film were between Miles and Jake, and also, of course, between Neytiri and Varang. In the first film, I clearly hate Miles. But in Fire and Ash, I want to hate him, but I can’t. I want to side with him, I want to love him, but I can’t. The conversations between Jake and Miles were beautifully written; there was a lot of angst to them.”

Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third instalment in the franchise following Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). The film premiered at the Dolby Theatre on December 1 and will be released in theatres on December 19.