Sri Rama Rajyam

The movie vividly captures the emotions of Ram & Sita, the chemistry they shared. The small small things Sita used to do fro Rama with utmost Love & care were captured so well. I had always this question, why Ram left Sita, but this depiction left me with no more queries. Certain things are too delicate to put up in words. ALso the movie captures the plight Ramis going through after leaving Sita. Particularly the scene, where Sita comes in the Spirit form to visit Ram's Private chamber & while leaving ram Enters & he instantly realizes that Sita must have been here & the way he calls out Sita, moved me into tears.

The first movie of Nayanthara I watched & got to know her potential.

I thank the entire cast, crew, producer, director, Story & screenplay writer & all other associated with the production of the movie for taking such a initiaitve & making such a marvel.

Having read some rave reviews of this movie, I started watching with high expectations. That was probably what undid it for me.

I only watched the first 10 minutes of the movie and I am very disappointed. The movie does not have a single authentic frame so far. The introduction song that should have captured the joyous and celebratory mood of the people, is reduced to a dull background song featuring some uninspired choreography. The song is nice, thanks to Illayaraja, but it is not in the right place.

Nayantara is horribly miscast as Sita. She has no grace so far, and her body language is that of a super model than Maha Sadhvi Sita. It is sad that there seems to be no other actress who could have been a better fit. The graphics are unrealistic and substandard. I am not sure why they tried to create everything in CGI instead of using some good sets. Has that become so costly nowadays?

It seems like just being old was the only requirement to cast Balaiah as Maharshi Vasishta. He cannot even pronounce his words correctly and this guy is supposed to be a Maharshi! Well, that did it for me. I am sure I will try to continue this movie sometime later and since I will be watching with much lower expectations this time, I hope that I won't find it so off-putting. Or maybe the movie does get better...No, no, I should not get my hopes up.

Just finished the movie. I don't want to waste anymore words on this wasted effort. Skip this movie and watch a good quality version of the original (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206877/combined)

Synopsis:

Sri Rama Rajyam is the remake of Legend NTR's Lava Kusa. It is an interestingly woven subject of Lava Kusa using latest technology of Grading, Digital Intermediate, Sets. The story is basically the later part of Ramayana written by Valmiki Maharshi when Rama sent Sita to forest and later how the twin boys of Rama – Lava and Kusa reach Ayodhya and later Sita joins her Bhoodevi in the end.

Performances:

Balakrishna at his best, a top class notch reminds his father legendary NTR with his fabulous and award winning action..

Nayantara looked serene in the role of Sita in normal clad clothes in the forest.This is her best performance till date. Akkineni Nageswar Rao, the living legend lived up to his stature as Valmiki Maharishi and proved his mettle as an actor. Srikanth as Lakshman is good but can do better. Brahmanandham as Chakali Tippadu does good in the little role. Roja is good as Bhoodevi. The kids who played Lava and Kusa does well too. Rest of the characters all performed to their requirement.

Technical Departments:

Bapu – Ramana, what can we say about this combo. They are proud offspring of Telugu culture and heritage. One would wonder at the dedication and application this duo even in eighties. Even though Ramana is not amidst us today, no body can take the credit from him. He scripted one of the finest movie for the current and forthcoming generations to protect our epics. Take a bow!

Bapu is an outstanding example for current generation. He took care in every minute details of the movie right from make up. He drew best performance from each and every artist including the kids. His hard work can be seen in every frame on the screen.

Ilayaraja – Music is the important detail for a mythological movie to get people connected to it. Even though the music released few months ago, the songs are still chart busters. And coming to the Back ground music, I wonder what magic did he spell on the screen. The story of Lava Kusa require subtle and soothing back ground score as the movie portrays the emotions of characters in the movie. He did perfect justice and set perfect mood for the movie. Jonnavithula's lyrics are crystal clear with out difficult language and will enthrall all the audience irrespective of classes

The production values in the movie are awesome, an enriched quality product – The sets by Magadheera fame Ravinder, Visual effects by Top VFX companies including Kamal Kannan (Magadheera fame).

Final verdict: Most awaited Mythological Magnum opus 'SreeRama Rajyam' finally deserves -It's a masterpiece from Bapu-Ilayaraja n Balakrishna..Fanatabulous n award winning performance by NBK...Maestro Ilayaraja at his best..Its a visual feast to all movie lovers...Gonna be a feather in TFI's cap..Enriching qualitative product ..Takes place among one of Great Classics n a must watch movie..

NT Rama Rao as Ram, Anjali Devi as Sita, Nagayya as Valmiki. Written by Samudrala Raghavacharya and music composed by Ghantasaala Venkateswara Rao. The 1963 film - Luva Kusha was a moving, dramatic and poetic rendition of the aftermath of "Rama Pattabhishekam". It was a celebration of the spirit of the Ramayana and a depiction of the life and times of one of our most loved and cherished Kings - Lord Ram. An unforgettable musical that will live in our hearts for generations to come.

Now - Sri Rama Rajyam (2011) does have some heavyweights in its credits - the Bapu/Ramana duo and Ilayaraaja. There ends the comparison. Balakrishna is no match for NTR and Nayanthara does not carry the poise and subtlety of Anjali Devi. But I will concede that both of them have put in a great deal of hardwork and have acted much better than in any of their previous films. Although Balayya is fat and old (am sorry but its the truth), his emotions are true and his majesty is commendable. Bapu has made Nayanthara "act" for once and that in itself is a great feat. Apart from the 'Jagadananda Kaaraka' song, Raaja's music does not deserve special mention. I am a huge fan of Raaja, but Sir, even your prowess cannot recreate what Ghantasaala did for us back in 1963.

I agree that it is unfair to compare the two movies, but for the fan who has watched the original (multiple times), it is inevitable. Even if I were to go with an open mind, I still find a half-dozen flaws and inadequacies. The children who play Luv and Kush in Sri Rama Rajyam completely lack the capability to emote. Yes, they are kids, but we have seen in many movies that talent defies age. Also, in many instances the language that is spoken shifts to a much more contemporary style and does not represent the actual spoken dialect of the time. One must remember that Ramayana was in the Treta Yuga and hence represents a period in time that is at least a few hundred thousand years prior to the present day. The battle scenes of the older Luva Kusha(lacking in mordern technology and graphics of course)were so detail-oriented and captivating that with the kind of imagery we have today, it is disappointing that Bapu could not do a better job with it and appallingly, has cut the movie abruptly short at the end.

Bottomline: It is a good effort from a once-great artist and director, but it a'int a 'classic' or a fitting 'homage'/'remake'.

Yes, there were some flaws and inaccuracies in the story told by Bapu. Yet, it is a very genuine and excellent effort by the master craftsman Bapu to bring the mythological classic to the present day iphone wielding, ipad flashing and no-care attitude neo generation and it is an introduction to Ramayanam. Bapu specifically seems to have omitted 'Padyamulu" ( poems) keeping in view of the modern generation in view. However, I find this movie enthralling and captivating especially some emotional scenes like Rama seeing Seetha for the last time the night before sending her away to forest. The way he touches the saree and tries not to disturb her sleep, shows the emotional quotient of the movie excellent shown by Bapu. Similarly, the sitting posture of Seetha during vanavasam when lava and kusha were singing Ramayana is a straight scene from Bapu's bommala raamayanam. The title song "jagadananda kaarak" is very divine. I feel we can not compare this movie with original NTR's LavaKusha, however, it is a modern classic for modern generation.