RRR was released last year, with the buzz surrounding the Indian Telugu-language action drama so positive, it found an audience on a global scale as well. The most expensive Indian movie of all time, it grossed an impressive $175 million at the worldwide box office, and made a household name out of Indian megastar N.T. Rama Rao Jr.
The expectation now is that he might make the leap to Hollywood, and the actor already has some grand ambitions for his career.
Talking to Variety prior to a screening of RRR at the DGA in West Hollywood, NTR Jr. confirmed that he hopes to eventually join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "I would love to do it," he told the trade. "I’m waiting for it to happen."
Revealing that his favourite Marvel character is Iron Man, the actor would go on to say, "He’s so relatable. He is someone like us. He does not have superpowers. He doesn’t come from a different planet. He’s not someone who has been put through a science experiment and become the Hulk."
NTR Jr.'s physique has been receiving a lot of attention, so we know he's in superhero shape. Revealing that he trained for 18 months and gained around 15 lbs of muscle, the RRR star explains, "I was eating seven goddamn meals a day - 4,000 calories!"
Unfortunately, the Marvel Universe is lacking Indian characters, though Raz Malhotra, a.k.a. Giant-Man, may be a possibility for NTR Jr. Then again, there are plenty of great heroes and villains who, despite being portrayed as white on the page, could quite easily be race-swapped for an actor as charismatic as this.
For those of you who didn't watch RRR, the movie tells the story of two legendary revolutionaries and their journey far away from home. After that, they return home to start fighting back against British colonialists in the 1920s.
Who do you think NTR Jr. could play in the MCU?