SriRamarajyam - An epic made in all its glory

Hyderabad: One day when I was sitting in quietude and contemplating on various things, I wondered what I must do to make the occasion memorable. like a cool breeze, the idea dawned upon me ' I knew what I wanted to do 'I shall make a film on Lord Rama

The story of the Hindu mythological hero ' Rama ' the name that invokes inexplicable emotions in the religiously inclined audience - has been recreated on the silver screen many a times especially in the Telugu cinema.

Rama has been a muse for celebrated artist and director, Bapu and a subject for several of his films. Bapu and Ramana together scripted and made films like Sampoorna Ramayanam, Sri Ramanjaneya Yudham and Seeta Kalyanam based on Ramayanam.

Their other films too (including Andala Ramudu, Goranta Deepam Mutyala Muggu) invariably have references to this heavenly personification of an ideal man.

Rama is so entwined with Bapu's life that he does not do any work without first paying his obeisance to Rama and he writes Srirama in his beautiful script on the top of every page that he puts his pen on.

His drawings on Rama and the scenes from Ramayanam have made it to the walls of many Telugu houses. At Bhadrachalam the abode of Lord Rama, his drawings from Ramayana are displayed all over, while the temple itself houses his drawings along with Ramadasu kritis.

Bapu Ramana's cinematic rendition of Rama's stories, however, did not include Uttara Ramayana (the story of Rama after his coronation - pattabhishekam, birth of Lava Kusa and there on).

So they embarked upon writing Uttara Ramayana which is the basis for the film ' Sri Rama Rajyam. This project has been there on the anvil for a long time so it came as no surprise.

But for producer Yalamanchili Saibabu, making of the epic ' Sri Rama Rajyam was a life changing decision. He shares, 'I have been involved in the reconstruction of the 333-year old, Sri Amba Naga Malleshwara Veera Anjaneya Swamiwarla Devasthanam at Chintakunta in Markapuram, Prakasam District.

We built a Rama Sai Mandiram and were just about to install the deity in a few days. One day when I was sitting in quietude and contemplating on various things, I wondered what I must do to make the occasion memorable.

Like a cool breeze, the idea dawned upon me ' I knew what I wanted to do 'I shall make a film on Lord Rama ' I called my friend immediately and expressed my desire to talk to Bapu garu about the project when he said ' I think they are already working on writing the Uttara Ramayana, but are you sure that you want to make the film.

Of course ' I said. Within no time we contacted Bapu Ramana, who agreed. I met Nayanatara who was more than happy to do the role.

Nageswara Rao garu was the next on the list. He asked me why, to which I said ' there is so much wrong happening in the world around us. Who else, but Rama can tell everyone the difference between right and wrong.

He too did not take long to agree. It was again a matter of a few minutes and maestro Ilayaraja said yes to the project.

When I met Balakrishna, incidentally he was in the garb of Ravana for his film Paramaveera Chakra and he expressed his happiness to do the role and before we knew, we were all set to make the movie.'

Having stalwarts on the cast and the crew in itself is a great challenge. Saibabu shares, 'It was a smooth ride. Everything just fell in place. It was a total team effort. I only expressed by requirement ' that the film has to be visually rich and has to be like nothing ever done before.

The sets were extravagant and life size. The Durbar hall was made on Asia's largest floor at Ramoji Film City, Almost equally big, if not more, were the other floors where Pooja Mandiram and Kausalya Mandiram were made.

Each of the halls was designed based on a theme. The Durbar Hall had elephant head mouldings, while the Kousalya Mandiram had swans. The Sayana Madiram was resplendent with lot of glitter, a beautiful pond and peacock carvings. I wanted grandeur and did not want small sets.

Even the Poojamandiram was made to befit a king with the sacred fire ever glowing and rotating in the background, Suryabhagawan in the middle with the ascendents of Rama all around, it has to be seen to revel in the stunning sets that also take inspiration from Roman architecture.

The colours were chosen by me with the consent of the Director. Bapu garu took care of the costumes. Use of graphics was limited to few scenes to improve the presentation.'

At every stage during the making and in days to follow, there will be an obvious comparison to earlier classic, Lavakusa. Saibabu says, 'Yes it is bound to happen. But while watching the film, if people are reminded of any other film, then it is as well that we have failed in our endeavour. We made sure that the film is different in all aspects.'

Ilayaraja's music needs no special mention as Sri Rama Rajyam songs have already topped the music charts. He had employed a Hungarian band to play the music.

While the initial recording happened at Mumbai, remixing was done at Hungary. 'Use of western instruments has only accentuated the flavor of the music,' says Saibaba.

'Jonnavittula's lyrics follow the rule of simplicity. While the songs speak of the well known characters from Ramayana, they steer away from format used in songs written earlier.

His lyrics are more about poetic expression and dramatisation and bring out the characters in all its nuances. Expressions like - soka jaladhi tanainadi vaidehi, aa soka jaladhilo munige dasarathi are plenty to find in the songs of Sri Rama Rajyam.'

The Producer Saibabu is full of admiration for the heroine Nayanatara. He says, 'She is a Malayalee and I was extremely impressed with the way she learnt her dialogues and when she was enacting her role as Seeta, there was involvement and dedication.

Nageswara Rao garu who saw her on the first two days of her shoot commended our choice. She is bound to be a surprise package for all who have slotted her in glamorous roles.'

Talking about the hero, 'Balakrishna Garu was calm and composed throughout the shoot. He was friendly and down to earth and was most cooperative during the shoot. It was almost like watching NT Rama Rao garu. He used the same crown, bow and jewellery that NTR used for Lavakusa.'

In many ways Sri Rama Rajyam will bring back Ramayanam in all its glory to the younger generation. Saibabu agress, 'This was the reason I requested Bapu and Ramana garu to use simple language which the current generation can relate to. I also told them that we shall not use any poetic renditions.

There was this one scene where Lavakusa meet Rama for the first time. And I felt so humbled when Bapu garu came up to me and said ' This scene will require a few lines to be sung or the emotion will not be right. And I could only agree.'

The film is all set to release and Yelamanchili Saibabu shows no signs of the usual pre-release blues. He says, 'I am not worried. When at times the smallest of work takes months to complete, at other times, the most difficult tasks get done in a jiffy.

I was never daunted by the mammoth task of making this movie. It is nothing but divine intervention that took this project along and completed it successfully. I believe that in the whole universe our actions are dictated not by us, but by the supreme power.'