An epic three-hour film takes the audience on a wild and visually stunning ride as it follows two fictitious revolutionaries who achieve legendary status as they help fight for the independence of their country in 1920s India.

Bheem and Ram—who are known for their physical prowess, will-power and status—team up in RRR, also known as Rise Roar Revolt. Their end goals are seemingly different placing them on a path that conflicts with their own individual interests.

It begins when a British governor and his wife visit a community in the forest. They’re enchanted by a young girl with a talent for singing and decide they have the right to take this girl from her tribal home and family. Now, Bheem, a protector of the tribe, must retrieve the kidnapped girl.

Ram is a soldier who has proven his ability to fight countless and is tasked with catching Bheem before he can retrieve the girl. Hiding their identities from the start of their friendship, both Ram and Bheem team up to save a young boy and thus begin a partnership in which each unknowingly assist the other to achieve their end goals. Friends become enemies, revolutionaries rise and love transcends culture in this period action drama.

RRR was written and directed by award-winning filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli and is based on a story by Vijayendra Prasad. The film stars N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Ray Stevenson and Olivia Morris.

Here are five screenwriting takeaways from RRR.

1. A relatable story

Author Jaqueline Woodson has quoted, “The more specific we are, the more universal something can become.”

RRR is a great example of this because the themes and characters transcend language and culture. The film is about oppression, courage, love, loss, family and friendship. It doesn’t matter if you can’t understand the language, nor does it matter if you don’t know anything about this time period in India or their culture.

Even the way Rajamouli tells the story is different from what most audiences expect, but RRR and its themes are relatable. It’s a specific story that is universal. So, writers can see that being general to appeal to a wider audience is not a winning strategy. People are more alike than we think so being specific allows people to view a story and find ways it relates to their life.

Another example is My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It isn’t relatable because everyone knows what it’s like to grow up in a Greek household or plan a wedding, but rather because of the family and characters. It’s their specific situation that we relate to. This rom-com thus became the 5^th highest-grossing film of 2002, making over $240 million.

2. Fun and serious

It’s hard to think of RRR as a fun movie. There is violence, heartbreak and serious themes that make it hard to watch at times. But it’s also an enjoyable and fun movie. The action scenes are spectacles and the light-hearted friendship between Ram (Charan) and Bheem (Rao Jr.) leads to scenes where they are dancing at a governor’s party or Ram is helping Bheem get the attention of a woman he has fallen for.

It’s totally fine to find the fun in these films and the filmmakers purposely create them to share their stories, regardless of how serious the themes are. Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator was a direct comparison to Hitler, mirroring the fascism that spread across Europe at the time. Dr. Strangelove focused on nuclear war. Not to mention, just about every episode of South Park touches on something serious.

While RRR shows the horrors of oppression and violence, the overall story is built in a way that is entertaining and helps connect the audience with the serious themes of the film.

3. Fire and water

Fire and water are two constant traits that continuously pop up throughout the entire film. Ram represents fire and Bheem represents water—two opposing earthly forces destined to collide. In several scenes, the audience sees these as themes, including how they first meet.

Ram and Bheem, who have yet to meet witness a boy fishing in a small raft who is suddenly surrounded by flaming pieces of a train that caught on fire on tracks above the river. They both rush to save the endangered child. Through amazing feats of strength, acrobatics, superhero-like mobility and luck save the boy, further forging a friendship made from both fire and water.

From this point forward, there are several moments that pit these two elements against one another or work with each other.

Writers can see how using competing or opposite factors like fire and water can increase a story’s interest, especially as a visual element.

4. Based on a true story

There are simply too many fantastical elements in the film to make it a true story, however, the colonization, revolutionary aspects and even some of the characters are based on fact. The filmmakers did note that there were similar people like Ram and Bheem who lived and fought against the oppression during this time, but they never met. The filmmakers wanted to invent a story around these legendary figures, craft it in a heroic way in which they become friends and tell it as a legend.

There is certainly a lot of creative licenses taking place but storytellers can see how Rajamouli built fictional elements around real-life events. It’s similar to films like 300, Vice and Inglorious Basterds, all of which share their respective stories in creative ways.

5. Action drives the story

There are epic action scenes in RRR. Whether it’s Bheem outracing and capturing a tiger, Ram and Bheem teaming up to save a boy in a raft or Ram’s determination to arrest a man within a hostile crowd—each set piece helps move the story forward.

Writers can see the importance of not having action for action’s sake, but having a reason for it within the context of the story. Action scenes are created for their excitement and even push the boundaries.

Yes, action scenes offer thrills, but they can fall flat if it’s not part of the overall narrative. Make sure your action scenes have a point and fit within the context of the story. In RRR, there’s a scene where Ram is on the shoulders of Bheem and they work on fighting off several attackers, often climbing watchtowers and leaping impossible heights. It’s ridiculous to see a grown man on another’s shoulders in an action scene, but it works because this type of action makes sense in the context of the film.

RRR is currently playing in theaters.