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Sri Rama Rajyam (transl. The Kingdom of Lord Rama) is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Bapu who co-wrote the film with Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, and produced by Yalamanchali Saibabu. The film stars Nandamuri Balakrishna, Nayanthara, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Srikanth, and its music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.[4] The film was Bapu's final directorial venture. Based on the epic Ramayana, it 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. Sri Rama Rajyam is a reboot of the 1963 blockbuster film Lava Kusa.[5]

Sri Rama Rajyam
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bapu
Screenplay by	Bapu-Ramana
Story by	Bapu-Ramana
Dialogue by	Ramana
Based on	Ramayanam by Valmiki
Produced by	Yalamanchali Saibabu
Starring	Akkineni Nageswara Rao Nandamuri Balakrishna Nayanthara Srikanth
Cinematography	P. R. K. Raju
Edited by	G. G. Krishna Rao
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Production company	Sri Sai Baba Movies
Release date	17 November 2011 (2011-11-17)[1]
Running time	172 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹32 crore (US$4.0 million)[2]
Box office	₹72 crore (US$9.0 million)(India)[3]

Upon its release, Sri Rama Rajyam received positive reviews and became a commercial success.[6] Sri Rama Rajyam garnered seven State Nandi Awards, including the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film; three Filmfare Awards South, and one SIIMA Award.[7] The film was featured at the 42nd International Film Festival of India on 28 November 2011.[8][9] The film was simultaneously dubbed into Tamil, and Malayalam with the same title, and in Hindi as Ayodhyapati Sri Ram.[10]

Plot

The film begins with Lord Rama returning to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana along with Goddess Sita and being crowned as the emperor, settling down to a harmonious lifestyle. At that point, his spies inform him that his reputation may be at stake as Sita had spent over a year in Ravana's Lanka. So, he dictates Lakshmana to ensure that Sita is sent to exile. A devastated, pregnant, and distraught Sita is rescued by Valmiki, who shelters her at his ashram by renaming her Lokapavni, where she gives birth to twin sons Lava- Kusha. Moreover, Lord Hanuman also serves Sita in the form of tribal child Balaraju. Valmiki trains them as jake of all trades 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 & Sita also recite the Ramayan. Whereupon, they get the knowledge that Srirama has ostracized Sita. Later, they back with an aversion and refuses to invoke the Ramayan. Sita fails to endure, and fumes which indicate fright. However, she calms after Lava-Kusa re-chanting the Ramayana. After a while, Vashitha instructs Rama to conduct Aswamedha Yagam for the welfare of the country which is impracticable without a wife. Then, Vashista proclaims it can be feasible with the golden ideal of Sita. Plus, the gold required for it is bestowed by the civilians as an atonement for their sins. Now all the sages and saints are invited to the ritual and news spreads to Valmiki's ashram. At this, Sita is perturbed, suspects Srirama's spirit, and collapses. Accordingly, Valmiki relieves her soul to Ayodhya where she is startled to see golden Sita and Srirama's adoration on her.

Soon after, Valmiki states that the meaning of Rama Avtar is standing on one word, one arrow and love is for only one wife. Herewith, Sita repents and performs a pooja as contrition as per the advice of Valmiki. Meanwhile, Srirama begins the ritual and leaves the horse which the twins obstruct, confronts Lakshman, and defeats the entire Ayodhya army along with him. Being cognizant of it, Srirama proceeds to recoup the horse and an altercation carry out between father & sons which leads to war. Spotting it, Anjineeya hurriedly rushes to Sita in his original form and informs her of the catastrophe. Immediately, she impedes the battle and proclaims Lava-Kusha as the progeny of Srirama. Thus, the two embrace their father when everyone requests Sita to be back as queen which she denies and returns to her mother Bhudevi. At last, Rama and his brothers renounce the throne by crowning Lava-Kusha. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with Rama & Sita merging into their original forms of Vishnu & Lakshmi at Vaikuntha.

Cast

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.[11] 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.[12] Bapu said that the title of the film was inspired from 1943 Hindi film Ram Rajya.[13]

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'.[13] For the character, Balakrishna had to shave off his moustache.[14] Sandhya Janak was selected to play the role of queen Sumithra.[15] Saikumar was initially approached to the enact the character of Bharatha but he was eventually replaced by Sameer.[16] Gaurav, Dhanush and Pawan were selected to play the characters of Lava, Kusa and young Hanuman.[17]

Filming

The filming began on 22 November 2010.[19] 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.[20] 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".[21] The film was entirely shot at Ramoji Film City with a set erected resembling a kingdom.[18]

Music

Sri Rama Rajyam
Soundtrack album by Ilaiyaraaja
Released	15 August 2011 (2011-08-15)
Recorded	2011
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	50:25
Language	Telugu
Label	Aditya Music
Producer	Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja chronology
Gaayam 2 (2010) Sri Rama Rajyam (2011) Dhoni (2012)

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.

Telugu version

Tamil version

All songs written by Piraisoodan.[22]

Malayalam version[23]

Release

Theatrical

The film was released on 17 November 2011.[1] 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.[24]^[when?] Producer Sai Babu has said that a good response has come from Malayalam movie lovers and was planned to release the Hindi version.[25]

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".[26]

Reception

Box office

The film completed 50 days on 5 January 2012 in 49 centres at the box office.[27]

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".[28]

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".[29] NDTV described as "In all, Sri Rama Rajyam is a feel-good film that brilliantly showcases our ancient culture".[30]

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".[31] 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".[32] 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".[33] 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".[34]

Accolades

Ceremony	Category	Nominee	Result
Nandi Awards - 2011	Best Feature Film – Gold	Sai Babu	Won
	Best Actress	Nayanthara	Won
	Best Music Director	Ilaiyaraaja	Won
	Best Cinematography	Raju	Won
	Best Make Up	P. Ram Babu	Won
	Best Female Dubbing Artist	Sunitha	Won
	Best Choreographer	Sreenu	Won
59th Filmfare Awards South[35]	Best Actress – Telugu	Nayanthara	Won
	Best Female Playback Singer – Telugu	{{ublShreya Ghoshal | ("Jagadhananda Karaka") }}	Won
	Best Lyricist – Telugu	{{ublJonnavithhula Ramalingeswara Rao | ("Jagadhananda Karaka") }}	Won
1st South Indian International Movie Awards	SIIMA Award for Best Cinematographer (Telugu)	P. R. K. Raju	Won

Legacy

Director K. Viswanath compared the duo Bapu and Ramana to "technically perfect and smooth" Rolls Royce.[36] Novel of the film based on the screenplay was released in 2012.[37] Rediff included the film in their list "Top Five Telugu Films of 2011".[38]

References

External links

• Sri Rama Rajyam at IMDb

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