Osey Ramulamma

Osey Ramulamma is a 1997 Telugu action drama written and directed by Dasari Narayana Rao, about a Dalit woman’s rebellion against feudal landlords in Telangana. Vijayashanti plays the title role, with Dasari himself and Rami Reddy, and Krishna in a cameo. Released on 7 March 1997, it was a huge success, one of the few woman-centred Telugu films to become a big hit, and won Vijayashanti the Nandi and Filmfare awards for Best Actress.

What the story is about

Ramulamma is born a Dalit in a feudal village in Telangana, where the landlords, the Doralu, keep peasants in bonded labour and debt. As a young girl she is abused by the village landlord, Jagannayak Patwari, who then tries to have her killed. A Dalit couple take her in and treat her as a sister, and she later works as a maid in the landlord’s household. When the landlord’s son attacks her, she fights back and kills him, and is rescued from Patwari’s revenge by Komaranna, a Naxalite leader who takes her into the forest. There she learns the movement’s ideas and slowly becomes a leader herself. Her long war with Patwari is the rest of the film.

Cast and crew

• Vijayashanti as Ramulamma
• Dasari Narayana Rao as Komaranna
• Rami Reddy as the landlord Jagannayak Patwari
• Narra Venkateswara Rao as Ramaswamy
• Telangana Shakuntala as Ramaswamy’s wife
• Ashok Kumar as the landlord’s son
• Krishna as Krishna Mohan, a CBI officer (cameo)
• Ramki (cameo)

Writer-director: Dasari Narayana Rao. Music: Vandemataram Srinivas, who also sang all but two of the songs. Runtime: 165 minutes.

Reception

Looking back on its 25th anniversary, NTV Telugu described it as a sensational blockbuster, praised for its story, its direction and Vijayashanti’s performance, and as one of very few heroine-led films to succeed on that scale. At the time, a critic at Andhra Today called it “a big hit for the dashing, dare-devil heroine Vijayashanti after a long time”; the film was also reviewed by Zamin Ryot. It was screened in the mainstream section of the 1998 International Film Festival of India. We have not found collection figures from a named outlet.

Awards

Vijayashanti won the Nandi Award for Best Actress and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu. Vandemataram Srinivas won the Nandi Award for Best Music Director and the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Telugu.

Where to watch Osey Ramulamma

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

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