|
29 November 2011
My Movie - Si Ramarajyam
Sri Rama Rajyam! One of the most awaited movies of the year. This movie garnered tremendous interest from fans and general audience right from its launch due to its unique and atypical combination – one of the biggest mass heroes of Telugu (Nandamuri Balakrishna) playing the role of Lord Rama, an aesthetic director/writer duo (Bapu/Ramana), and a great music director Ilayaraja. Based on the Uttara Kanda of Ramayana epic, this movie is a remake of a blockbuster and classic Lava Kusa released in 1963. Lava Kusa was lapped by audience and until today remains one of the most revered movies ever made in Telugu film industry.
Sri Rama Rajyam is an aesthetic, artistic and brilliant celluloid poetry that should be watched by every Telugu film lover. It is an honest movie that does not deviate from the epic for the sake of commerciality.
The first thing I liked about the movie is the titles card which resembled a wedding card. One side of the card captures the significant occurrences of Ramayana before the commencement of Uttara Kanda (Bala/ Ayodhya/ Aranya/ Kishkindha/ Sundara/ Yuddha Kandas). Interestingly, the first name that appears on the title card is that of Padmavibhushan Dr. Akkineni Nageswara Rao followed by Balayya Babu. Although it is appropriate, I kinda liked it.
Nandamuri Balakrishna
Balayya Babu looks majestic as Lord Rama. His dialog delivery is impeccable and voice modulation was perfect. Telugu lo cheppalante tookam vesinattu chepperu dialogs. His subtle portrayal of emotions is a treat to watch. He resembled his illustrious father NTR in many scenes.
I liked Balayya Babu’s performance in the following scenes:
- An expression of shock and dismay when he first learns from his spy (Bhadra) about people talking about Seetha being held captive for 10 months in Ravana’s kingdom. Brilliantly performed and equally well captured on screen. Bapu’s signature shot making takes this frame to a different level. The camera captures Balayya Babu’s face and expressions from a profile angle and generates maximum impact.
- The following scene where he requests his brothers to absolve him of King responsibilities and finally orders Lakshamana to leave Seetha in the forest.
- Scenes where he mourns the loss of his wife.
- Interaction scenes with his Lava and Kusa.
- Final scenes where he leaves the Rama avatar and becomes Sri Maha Vishnu.
Balayya Babu should be commended for his magnanimity for accepting a script that gives considerable screen time to other characters. Kudos to Balayya Babu for accepting this role and hopefully the accolades and applause will encourage him to pursue diverse genres in the future.
On another note, NTR had a birth mark on his upper back. Balayya Babu also wore a similar identification mark for this movie.
ANR plays the role of Valmiki with panache. Nayana Tara signs off her last movie with a memorable role. She looked like a bride during the swayamvaram episode and matured as a mother of 2 kids. The kids who played the role of Lava and Kusa excelled. Others chipped in with fine and balanced performances.
Telugu film industry should consider itself lucky having a director like Bapu garu in its midst. Each and every frame depicts Telugu culture and nativity. Every scene is aesthetic, lyrical and subtle. Bapu garu tends to use a profile angle and he used it to perfection in this celluloid poetry.
I loved the following scenes of the movie:
- Bapu’s signature shot making is prevalent in the entire movie. He tends to concentrate on the profile angle of the actors – we get to see 3/4th of the face close up capturing the emotions beautifully.
- Sage Valmiki explaining about Lord Rama through Evadunnadu ee lokam lo song. The song describes the characteristics of Lord Rama and explains why he is regarded as the epitome of Maryada Purushottamudu.
- The picturization of Devulle Mechindi song. The highlight of this song is the portion when swayavaram episode is shot – absolutely brilliant and poetic. Nayana Tara reverently touches the feet of sage Vasistha and gives a quick glance to Balayya Babu, who also peeks at Nayana Tara and closes his eyes. Subtle and delicate sequence synonymous to one and only Bapu garu.
- Sage Valmiki explaining to Lava and Kusa about the efficacy of each character of Ramayana and the morals that they represent.
- Scenes involving Lord Rama’s interactions with Lava and Kusa.
- The flowers that are left at the door step by Seetha reaching the feet of Rama (before Seetha goes away to forest).
Genius writer Ramana garu did an excellent job in his last movie by writing simple, beautiful yet very effective dialogs for this movie.
The following scenes were beautifully visualized by Ramana garu:
- Seetha seemantham
- Hanuman donning the role of kid Balaraju to spend time with Lava and Kusa
- The episode where Seetha clarifies her doubts by seeing golden Seetha to accompany Rama for the Aswamedha ceremony.
The above scenes are not part of Ramayanam but the creation of the ingenious legend. The improvisations complemented the story and enriched the beauty beyond imagination. RIP Ramana garu!
Ilayaraja comes with an excellent score and re-recording for this celluloid masterpiece. Devulle Mechinde, Evadunnadu ee lokam lo, Jagadanandha Karaka, Rama Rama ane, Seetha Seemantam and Seeta Rama Charitam songs are excellently composed and mellifluously rendered. Majority of the songs picturized on Lava and Kusa follow the keertana padhati of presentation.
Devulle Mechindi song just swept me off the feet. I have been hearing this song since the release of the audio every day. The song summarizes the events from Rama’s birth until the swayamvaram episode. Especially the last minute of the song is a pure bliss.
Ne needaga saguninka janaki ani
Seethanu vasigey janakudu sriramamurthi ki
Aa sparsa ki alapinche amruta raagame
Ramankita mai hrudayam kaligey seetha key
Sree karam, manoharam, idi veedani Priya bandhamani
Aajana bahudu jatha kudey a vani jatha
Anandha ragamey tanayugrina seetha
Chitra’s soulful rendering of the line “aa sparsa ki alapinche amruta raagame” inadvertently wells up my eyes with tears of devotion each time I hear. Take a bow Chitra garu!
The production values of the movie are excellent. Ayodhya court looked radiant however the graphics for the Valmiki ashram were a letdown. Choreography for some songs could have been better.
Last but not the least, producer Sai Babu should be lauded for his devotion and coming up with a devotional classic without anticipating any monetary returns. He will earn tremendous respect in the industry and amongst movie lovers for this masterpiece.
The movie is very authentic and religiously follows the true happenings instead of deviating from the epic for the sake of commerciality. Even the 3 scenes that were visualized and improvised by Ramana garu complement and enrich the epic.
Tailpiece: I recommend this movie to every Telugu movie lover. I whole heartedly felt the experience of watching a devotional movie. This is not an entertainment movie but a movie that focuses on the separation between Rama & Seetha and birth and childhood of Lava and Kusa. These episodes have been captured in a very poetic and realistic way by an aesthetically affluent director Bapu garu. It is the responsibility of every Telugu movie lover to lap these kind of well made devotional movies that depict our culture and values.
Congratulations to the team of Sri Rama Rajyam. Kudos to Balayya Babu, Bapu garu, Ramana garu, Ilayaraja and producer Sai Babu for bringing to Telugu film lovers a classic to be relished for generations together. Take a bow folks!
Sreekanth Devarakonda
devarakonda at hotmail dot com
More
My Movie experiences:
Sri Ramarajyam by Kumar
Sri Ramarajyam by Sarada
Sri Ramarajyam by Sarath
Sri Ramarajyam by Kiran
Gaganam by fan
Ala Modalaindi by Lalli
Ala Modalaindi by Deepthi
AOD by King Koduru
Rakta Charitra 2 by Sreekanth
Rakta Charitra 2 by Mahesh
Orange by Dayakar
Rakta Charitra 1 by Sreekanth
Robo by Sreekanth
Maryada Ramanna by Kumar
Inception by Kumar
Bheemili by Nani's sister
Raavan by Lalitha Spoorthi
Vedam by Praveen
Vedam by Ratnakar
Vedam by Laya
Vedam by Naveen Soma
Vedam by Pavan
Vedam by Deepak
Vedam by Manohar
Vedam by Sridhar A
Vedam by Sarath Chandra
Vedam by Murthy
Vedam by Kumar
Vedam by Santosh
Vedam by Sreekanth D
Prasthanam by Ravi
Prasthanam by Suresh
Prasthanam by Amarnath
Prasthanam by Krishna Chaitanya
Prasthanam by Che
Prasthanam by Purnesh
Prasthanam by Kumar
YMC by Kumar
YMC by Mallik
YMC by Satya
YMC by Anurag Reddy
YMC by Ramskott
YMC by Dellcom
YMC by Ashok
YMC by Ramya
YMC by Sudheer
YMC by Laya
YMC by Survi
YMC by Rajeev
YMC by Pavan
YMC by Rohit
Inkosaari by Avanthi
Inkosaari by Sneha
YMC by Praveen
YMC by Rajani
YMC by Sujith
Inkosaari by Ganesh
Leader by Sreekanth D
Maya Bazar by Gopal
Mahatma by Kishore
Baanam by Stanley
Josh by Nathan
Magadheera by Ashok
Magadheera by Wannabe Director
Magadheera by Shanti
Magadheera by Anitha
Magadheera by SS
Oy by Prathna
99 by Bala Thirumalasetty
Veedokkade by Srinivas
Delhi 6 by Vamsi
KIKK by Sweta
Luck by Chance by Srini
KIKK by Lalitha Spoorthi
Arundhati by Naveen
Arundhati by Srini
Arundhati by Bharat
Sasirekha Parinayam by Santhi Venkat
Sasirekha Parinayam by Vamshi Muthapu
Sasirekha Parinayam by Niharika Reddy
Nachavule by Vamsi Krishna
Neninthe by movie lover
Avakai Biryani by Vamsi Krishna
Kotha Bangaru Lokam by Vamsi Krishna
Kotha Bangaru Lokam by S
Ashta Chemma by Deepthi
Ashta Chemma by Lalitha Spoorthi
Sarkar Raj by Pradeep
Jalsa by Lalitha Spoorthi
Gamyam by Sridhar
Gamyam by Sreekanth D
Gamyam by Sanjay
Halla Bol by Purnesh
Taare Zameen Par by Ashok Varma
Taare Zameen Par by Raja Simha
Happy Days by Krishna Sastry
Chirutha by Phani Kumar
Chak De India by Ravi
Yamadonga by Lalitha
Chak De India by Shyam
AMAV by Darsakudu
5 in March by Sashidhar
Okkadunnadu by Anand
Black Friday by Ratnakar
Desamuduru by Krishna Prasad
Guru by It's opinion
Dhoom 2 by Lalitha Spoorthi
Dhoom 2 by ASK
Don - Syam
Boss - Anand
Boss - Hrithik
Stalin - Bala
Bommarillu - Nandini
Bommarillu - Darsakudu
Bommarillu - Vasu
Bommarillu - Harsha Prakash
Bommarillu - Lalitha Spoorthi
LRMB - Shravan
Bommarillu - Anirudh
LRMB - Srinivas
LRMB - Darsakudu
LRMB - S Sridhar
Bommarillu - Shridevi
Bommarillu - Vasudev
Bommarillu - Roopa
Sriram - Godavari
Sarath - Bangaram
Bala - Pokiri
Srinadh -
Allari Pidugu
Sudheer
Allari Pidugu
Anu - Athadu
Shyam Krishna - Iqbal
Purnesh - Grahanam
Sudhindra - Super
Vijay - Aparichitudu
Madhav - Aparichitudu
Hazaraon Kwaishein Aisi
Swades
Shyam - Black
Sai - Anand
Rohit - Anand & Veer Zaara
Jaya Prakash - 7GBC
Raj - Anand
Purnesh - Anand
Purnesh - The Village
Sriram - Gudumba Shankar
Purnesh - Gharshana
Purnesh - Lakshya
Purnesh - Yuva
Leenesh - Yuva
Kis - Lakshmi Narasimha
Indian Pride - Tagore
Raj - Boys
Phani - Gangotri
Phani - Khadgam
Vikram - CKR
BKR - Indra (Singapore)
Ram - Indra (Dubai)
Ranjeet - Idiot
Rahul
- Indra
King Koduri - Indra
Srilakshmi Katragadda - Mitr:
My Friend |
