Sri Rama Rajyam
Sri Rama Rajyam (trans. Kingdom of Lord Rama) is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological art film, produced by Yalamanchali Sai Babu under Sri Sai Baba Movies banner and directed by Bapu. Starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, Nayanthara , Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Srikanth, Roja appear in supporting roles and music composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film is based on the epic Ramayana. The film was Bapu's final directional venture. The film depicts Rama's rule of Ayodhya after he returns home from Lanka, his separation from Sita and her reclusive life in the forest as she raises their children  Lava and Kusa. The film won seven Andhra Pradesh State Nandi Awards, including the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film – (Gold) for the year 2011. This film is a reboot of the 1963 film "Lava Kusha" starring NTR, which is known as the first full-length color film in Telugu cinema. The film was critically acclaimed and a commercial success in overseas. The film had a special screening at International Film Festival of Sri Lanka on 28 November 2011. The film was dubbed into Tamil in 2012 under the same title with S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Chinmayi voicing the roles  of Balakrishna and Nayanthara respectively. The film has also a Malayalam dubbed version with the same title. This film was also dubbed Hindi as Ayodhyapati Sri Ram. Plot. The story begins with Lord Rama (Nandamuri Balakrishna) returning to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana along with Goddess Sita (Nayanthara) and crowned as the emperor, settles down to a harmonious lifestyle. When his spies inform him that his reputation may be at stake as Sita had spent over a year in Ravana's Lanka, he asks Lakshmana (Srikanth) to ensure that Sita is sent to exile. A devastated, pregnant, and distraught Sita is  rescued by Valmiki (Akkineni Nageswara Rao), who takes her to his Ashram by renaming her as Lokapavni, where she subsequently gives birth to twin sons Lava (Master Gaurav) and Kusha (Master Dhanush Kumar). Lord Hanuman (Vindu Dara Singh) also accompanies Sita and serves her in the form of tribal child Balaraju (Master Pavan Sriram). Valmiki trains them in every possible way, including knowledge, warfare, and religion. Ten years later, the twins decide to visit a drought and famine-ravaged Ayodhya to get the blessings of Srirama and Sita as well recite the Ramayan, and here they find that Srirama has  exiled Sita, and they return home disappointed and refuse to recite the Ramayan anymore. The twins then stop the Aswamedha horse, not realizing that they will soon be thrust into confrontation with Lakshman, Rama, and the entire army of Ayodhya. After that, they find out that their father is Rama himself. Sita reunites her two sons Kusha and Lava with their father Rama and returns to her mother Bhudevi (Roja). Rama and his brothers renounce the throne and crown Rama's sons, Lava and Kusha, king. Rama returns to Vaikuntha. As he merges into his original form, Vishnu, he is  reunited with Sita in her original form, Lakshmi. Production. Development. Veteran director Bapu announced that he would remake 1963 film "Lava Kusa" with Balakrishna who reprises the role of Lord Rama which was enacted by his father N. T. Rama Rao in the original film. Bapu's friend Mullapudi Venkata Ramana has written the screenplay and dialogues for the film and notably was his last film as he died before the film's release. Bapu said that the title of the film was inspired from 1943 Hindi film "Ram Rajya". Balakrishna was assigned to play Rama while Nayanthara was selected  to play Sita after considering Jyothika, Anushka Shetty and Sneha. Balakrishna said that when Saibabu approached him for the role the moment he said that Bapu is to direct the film, without any questions, he immediately said ‘yes'. For the character, Balakrishna had to shave off his moustache. Sandhya Janak was selected to play the role of queen Sumithra. Saikumar was initially approached to the enact the character of Bharatha but he was eventually replaced by Sameer. Gaurav, Dhanush and Pawan were selected to play the characters of Lava, Kusa and young Hanuman. Filming. The filming began on 22 November  2010. The costumes for the film was designed by Anu Vardhan. Anu stated that for Nayanthara, she went and picked up tulasi mala from authentic places. Balakrishna had used his father's accessories and jewellery and Anu replicated it to match with the heroine. Yugandhar Tammareddy of Pixelloid said that Bapu and his team gave storyboards down to the last detail. Along with 100 of his team members, Yugandhar had his task cut out. "The breathtaking palace, the pushpaka vimanam, the Bhoodevi sequence…" were all created by his team. Yugandhar said: "For the palace, we asked the filmmakers to erect  a 12-foot palace set just so that there is authenticity when people walk on the floor, lean against a wall or touch a piece of furniture. The rest was done on visual effects". The film was entirely shot at Ramoji Film City with a set erected resembling a kingdom. Music. The audio of the film was released on 15 August 2011 and the launch was held at Bhadrachalam under Bhadradri Ramayya and Seetamma's Sannidi on the same day. The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and it features 15 tracks. The lyrics for the Telugu version were written by  Jonnavithhula Ramalingeswara Rao, while Mankombu Gopalakrishnan and Piraisoodan penned the lyrics for the Malayalam and Tamil versions respectively. Tamil version. All songs written by Piraisoodan. Release. Theatrical. The film was released on 17 November 2011. The film was released in Tamil on 27 July 2012. The Malayalam version was released as well. Initially scheduled to be released on 10 November but was postponed. Producer Sai Babu has said that a good response has come from Malayalam movie lovers and was planned to release the Hindi version. Marketing. The film was promoted with posters attached in tricycles. P. V. V. Raghavendra  Babu, general manager of Prathima Multiplex told "We want to bring back olden days of publicity for the latest mythological movie of "Sri Rama Rajyam" and get film lovers back to the theatres". Reception. Box office. The film completed 50 days on 5 January 2012 in 49 centres at the box office. Critical response. The film received positive reviews from critics. "CNN-IBN" which gave a four stars, said ""Sri Rama Rajyam" is one film that the Telugu film industry can be proud of. "Sri Rama Rajyam" is a well-known story, so it's a challenge to remake such  a classic, but Bapu's good work turns the remake into another classic. Filmgoers, who look for classics, should not miss this film". "Deccan Chronicle" rated three stars explains "Superstar Balakrishna finally stepped into his legendary father NTR's shoes and impressed audiences playing the role of Lord Rama. Veteran director Bapu deserves all the praise he gets for remaking the classic "Lava Kusa" (1963) and retaining the soul of the original". NDTV described as "In all, "Sri Rama Rajyam" is a feel-good film that brilliantly showcases our ancient culture". "Oneindia.in" noted ""Sri Rama Rajyam" is a feel good  film that showcases our ancient culture, heritage and values. The way Bapu managed to make the film into a visual and musical delight is extraordinary and it is a film that can give you an enriching experience while entertaining you in good measure". Rediff gave three stars said "Kudos to Bapu and Saibabu for recreating the Ramayana magic on celluloid. Only Bapu, the veteran director, could have executed this mammoth task so well. Sri Ramarajyam is an optical feast. Go for it". Sify gave verdict as "Good" and says "The movie holds ample strength to live up to the expectations  at the box office. Bapu and his associate Ramana does not deviate much from Lava Kusa, and they took great pains to see that the element of exaggeration is completely checked". "The Hindu" wrote: "The director Bapu should be applauded for re-inventing the mythological and using a glitzy starcast and getting an understated performance from all of them". Legacy. Director K. Viswanath compared the duo Bapu and Ramana to "technically perfect and smooth" Rolls Royce. Novel of the film based on the screenplay was released in 2012. "Rediff" included the film in their list "Top Five Telugu Films of  2011".