Sri Rama Rajyam

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Sri Rama Rajyam (transl. “The Kingdom of Lord Rama”) is a 2011 Telugu devotional film directed by Bapu, his last film, and co-written with his long-time partner Mullapudi Venkata Ramana. A new version of the 1963 classic Lava Kusa, it stars Nandamuri Balakrishna as Rama, the role his father N. T. Rama Rao played in the original, with Nayanthara as Sita, Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Valmiki and Srikanth as Lakshmana. Ilaiyaraaja composed the music. Released on 17 November 2011, it was well reviewed, did good business and won seven Nandi Awards, including Best Feature Film.

What the story is about

The film tells the Uttara Kanda, the last part of the Ramayana. Rama has returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana and rules over a peaceful, prosperous kingdom, until his spies report that a washerman has publicly questioned Sita’s purity after her long captivity in Lanka. Bound by his duty as king to put his people before his own happiness, Rama orders Lakshmana to leave the pregnant Sita in the forest near the ashram of the sage Valmiki. There Sita raises her twin sons, Lava and Kusha, who are taught by Valmiki and grow up singing the story of Rama without knowing who their father is. The film follows the familiar epic from there.

Cast and crew

• Nandamuri Balakrishna as Rama
• Nayanthara as Sita
• Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Valmiki
• Srikanth as Lakshmana
• Gaurav as Lava and Dhanush Kumar as Kusha
• Vindu Dara Singh as Hanuman
• K. R. Vijaya as Kousalya Devi
• Roja as Bhudevi
• Brahmanandam as Chakali Tippadu
• Sudha as Sunayana
• Nagineedu as Rishyashrunga

Director: Bapu. Screenplay and dialogue: Mullapudi Venkata Ramana. Producer: Yalamanchali Saibabu (Sri Sai Baba Movies). Music: Ilaiyaraaja. Runtime: 172 minutes.

Making of the film

Bapu said the title was inspired by the 1943 Hindi film Ram Rajya. Mullapudi Venkata Ramana wrote the screenplay and dialogue but died in February 2011, before the film was released (The Hindu). Mamta Mohandas was the first choice for Sita but had to withdraw for cancer treatment, and Nayanthara took the part; Balakrishna shaved off his moustache to play Rama. Shooting began on 22 November 2010 and took place entirely at Ramoji Film City. Costume designer Anu Vardhan recreated jewellery that Balakrishna’s father had worn, and the visual effects team at Pixelloid built the palace and the pushpaka vimanam around a partial set.

Ilaiyaraaja’s 15-track soundtrack, with Telugu lyrics by Jonnavithhula Ramalingeswara Rao, was launched on 15 August 2011 at Bhadrachalam. It won him the Nandi Award for Best Music Director.

Reviews

Critics were warm. CNN-IBN gave it four stars and called it “one film that the Telugu film industry can be proud of”. The Deccan Chronicle (three stars) said Balakrishna “finally stepped into his legendary father NTR’s shoes” and praised Bapu for “retaining the soul of the original”. Sify rated it “Good”, noting that Bapu and Ramana stay close to Lava Kusa while keeping exaggeration in check, and The Hindu applauded Bapu for “re-inventing the mythological” and drawing understated performances from a glitzy cast. Rediff later included it in its top five Telugu films of 2011.

Box office and release

Postponed from 10 November, the film opened on 17 November 2011 and was shown at the 42nd International Film Festival of India on 28 November. The Deccan Chronicle reported that it completed 50 days in 49 centres on 5 January 2012. We have not found a reliable collection figure. It was dubbed into Tamil and Malayalam under the same title and into Hindi as Ayodhyapati Sri Ram.

Where to watch Sri Rama Rajyam

We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for Sri Rama Rajyam on file. If we verify one with a platform, it will appear on this page.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Sri Rama Rajyam and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.