[7] Rachel Dwyer, professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema at SOAS, called him "India's most significant director today".

Rajamouli's films are typically characterized by their epic grandeur, stylized action sequences, unbridled heroism and larger-than-life characters with historical and mythological references.

[15] Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli was born on 10 October 1973 in a Telugu family[16] to V. Vijayendra Prasad and Raja Nandini.

[17][18] His parents were staying in Hire Kotnekal in Raichur district of Mysore state (present-day Karnataka) at the time of his birth.

Prasad, along with his elder brother K. V. Sivashankar, bought seven acres of paddy fields in Hirekotikal village near Manvi in Raichur district.

[29] At the same age, his father introduced him to Amar Chitra Katha comics that featured stories on Indian historical figures, religious legends and folktales.

[40][41][42] As his father Vijayendra Prasad and uncle Siva Shakthi Datta were passionate about filmmaking, they sold most of their remaining assets and shifted to Madras to make films.

[27][52] He then worked for one and a half years as the director of the Telugu TV serial, Santhi Nivasam, along with Vara Mullapudi, which was produced by Raghavendra Rao.

"[42]In 2001, Raghavendra Rao offered Rajamouli the chance to direct a feature film for his production house titled, Student No: 1, which the latter accepted.

[64] The film was a big success and was remade into several Indian languages including Kannada as Veera Madakari (2009), Tamil as Siruthai (2011), and Hindi as Rowdy Rathore (2012).

[65] He then directed Yamadonga (2007), a fantasy action comedy film starring Jr NTR, Priyamani, Mohan Babu, and Mamata Mohandas.

Raja's soul travels to Naraka (hell) to face the trial for his sins by Yama, the Hindu god of death and justice.

His cousin S. S. Kanchi and him then adapted that story with a Rayalaseema backdrop focusing on the factional violence and hospitality that co-existed in the region.

Maryada Ramanna was remade in Hindi as Son of Sardaar and into other languages like Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, and Malayalam.

[91] In 2015, he directed the epic action film Baahubali: The Beginning starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishna, Sathyaraj, and Tamanna.

[112][113] Several filmmakers and film analysts have credited Rajamouli for almost single-handedly expanding the reach and market of South Indian cinema to Northern India and beyond.

[112][114][115] Rajamouli's subsequent film RRR (2022) is an epic action drama based on the lives of Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem.

[117] RRR opened to positive reviews from critics with praise for the performances, particularly Rama Rao and Charan, and screenplay by Rajamouli.

With ₹240 crore (US$31 million) worldwide on its first day, RRR broke the record for the highest opening-day collection earned by an Indian film.

"[131] He also expressed his wish on several occasions to make films on the historical rulers Sri Krishnadevaraya, Rajaraja Narendra, Kakatiyas, Rani Abbakka.

The moniker was coined by actor Rajeev Kanakala during the making of the TV serial Santhi Nivasam (c. 2000) directed by Rajamouli and was in reference to his work ethic and perfectionism like the famed sculptor.

[163] Rajamouli's films typically, are visual effects-heavy and he is one of the pioneering filmmakers in India in integrating computer-generated imagery (CGI) with live action.

[13] While scaling up his work with "larger-than-life" themes over the years, Rajamouli maintained his signature style of filmmaking that allows audiences to simmer in the thrills and emotions of the story with less dialogue.

[166] Film critic Baradwaj Rangan opined that Rajamouli is a "great storyteller" who takes up common concepts and develops them in a novel acceptable way.

[169] Rajamouli listed the following ten films in order: Forrest Gump (1994); Mayabazar (1957); Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); Kung Fu Panda (2008); Aladdin (1992); Braveheart (1995); Apocalypto (2007); Ben-Hur (1959); Django Unchained (2012) and The Lion King (1994).

[170] The budgets and box-office figures are all estimates collated from various sources like newspapers, magazines, reputed film portals etc.

All values in Indian Rupees (₹) are converted to US Dollars ($) based on the average yearly exchange rate data from World Bank.

[216] Matt Groening, creator of the television shows The Simpsons and Futurama, while discussing his inspiration for Disenchantment mentioned that Rajamouli made some of his favourite films of the last decade, especially Magadheera.

Rajamouli stands tall among all Indian filmmakers for his vision, innovation, and expansion of the regional language market at a global level.

[7] Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express wrote, "It's a rarity to find a director who sells more tickets than the leading stars of a movie.