Maestro Ilaiyaraja New Albums 2011 - Hello Jaihind / Sri Rama Rajyam

[Plum]

Before further comment, one has to get out the citations first. Balakrishna certainly deserves the appreciation for playing what is more or less a supporting role. He is not on screen most of the time, and when he is, he is either moping or at the receiving end of a few home truths from some one or the other. He does adequately otherwise in what is not a taxing role but demands much in terms of presence, dignity and charisma. Now, outside his fan community, NBK has the charisma of a dry autumn leaf and is not helped by Banthulu-era blue make-up, but helped by a sensible director, who is a tasteful artist known for his painting skills, he musters enough dignity to keep the role above water. Given the nature of the role, it is fair to say, there aren't many alternatives for him in today's scenario.

[Plum]

Mullapudi Venkat Ramana has been an invariable shadow of Bapu, and while it would take a Telugu expert to pass judgement on his writing, as a layman, what struck me is the simplicity of the dialogues, which were kept minimal in the first place, yielding to Raja's music as the chief mover of the movie. This might be either because Ramana passed away unfortunately during the making of the movie, or a conscious decision. Either way, the move away from padhyams in pure telugu suited me in two ways - a) easy to understand the dialogues b) music moving the movie which is my preference. RIP, Ramana. This may not be a showcase vehicle for you to sign-off with but you played a wise secondary role, and for that, we are grateful.

[Plum]

Mullapudi Venkat Ramana has been an invariable shadow of Bapu, and while it would take a Telugu expert to pass judgement on his writing, as a layman, what struck me is the simplicity of the dialogues, which were kept minimal in the first place, yielding to Raja's music as the chief mover of the movie. This might be either because Ramana passed away unfortunately during the making of the movie, or a conscious decision. Either way, the move away from padhyams in pure telugu suited me in two ways - a) easy to understand the dialogues b) music moving the movie which is my preference. RIP, Ramana. This may not be a showcase vehicle for you to sign-off with but you played a wise secondary role, and for that, we are grateful.

[Plum]

Yelamanchala Sai Babu must be a relieved man. It isn't easy backing a mythological vehicle, helmed by a 80 year old Director, and a past-his-prime hero, who is reduced to a supporting role. The script is old-fashioned, the techniques rusty, the art deco a gamble between being called pleasant or garish. In the end, it seems to have succeeded but he had no reason to be optimistic when he started off. He deserves a small bow.

[Plum]

Finally! Bapu, the 80+ Director, who firmly keeps belief in his old fashioned techniques - at one stage you have Rama speaking out his thoughts to a statue to give us a clue of what the scene is about - he shrewdly invests on two major strengths - a) his own aesthetic sense; an artist first, he helps in shaping the rather middling graphics to tasteful ends, his magic touch straddling the line between garish and grand very effectively. Even the Smooth Blue on Rama isn't as jarring as it could have been. b) his second shrewd choice is to bring Raja's music as the central force of the movie - a choice, it must be emphasised, is not the most obvious. The earlier movies in the genre, while they had pleasant and classic music, paid extra ordinary attention to verses and lyrics, so much so that the tunes and music themselves were subservient to that aspect. Bapu has been shrewd enough to realise that in this era, the one man in his crew who stands heads and shoulders above is the music director. I firmly believe the choice is conscious and pays off brilliantly.Known for his sensitivity, and focus on human relationships, Bapu succeeds in portraying Rama, the human being, for most part. Inescapably, there are several screenplay moments when he has to succumb to the Godliness of his characters - and these are the least engaging moments that bring down the movie from what it could have been. It seems to me that while Bapu is old-fashioned, he is not that conservative to not see the human aspect of the story but is restrained by the need to cater to the divinity-seeking audience. Nevertheless, he captures several sensitive moments of Seetha and Rama, and these are the moments that give the movie its emotional quotient. Sadly, it is not fully realised thanks to the sensitivity of the audience which cannot face a full length human drama starring these characters. In the end, Bapu is part of that audience as well, and I think the movie is exactly what could have come from this internal conflict of Bapu himself - between a free thinking artist sensitive to femininity, and the conservative, religious male underneath. Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine Raja will get a better vehicle and a better director who can dignify his songs/BGM with prime position in the movie. For that, I shall be grateful to the veteran.

[Plum]

Before I go to the subject and purpose of this series posts, a last note on the supporting actors. The performances range from theatrical to amateur to competent. There isn't much to do for them anyway - Srikanth has exactly two actions to do - be part of the background folding his hands in the presence of elder brother, and resigned anguish in other scenes; the two kids just manage to hold the second half together without being particularly cute or eye-catching; Brahmanandam is gone before you blink. But I have a confession to make - in that, I had to question my strong opinion on two actresses - we'll come to Nayanthara later, but first KR Vijaya. Regulars here know that I have nothing but contempt for her ponga paanai style of "ennangaaa" acts. As Kausalya, she has nothing to do but cry for her son and elder daughter in law, in this movie. So, recipe for disaster? There's a pleasant twist in the tale - Bapu is in control here, and reins in her brilliantly to result in a very, competent, moving performance which brings out the matronly goodness of Kousalya very effectively. Her breakdown in Sita Rama Charitam as Lava-Kusa narrate the Agni Pariksha neatly segues the song into building high emotional pressure, and then as Rama appears on scene and signals the children to continue the tale, it moves into a relieved aftermath of the aGniariksha - the act is clearly an embarassment but they all move on. KRV's breakdown enhanced this segue very well. More you live, more you are surprised and humbled. One last post on Nayanthara before moving on to the main course of my dissertation

[raja_fan]

It is a firmly old-fashioned movie, so much so that I am skeptical of the national awards so confidently predicted. In an era of Anurag. Kashyap style reinterpretations, the only way such a movie would work is if it is a modern rework with Seetha possibly being a politician's wife who moves in with Ravana or something after he banishes her. I can imagine the awards committee looking askance at each other at the old fashioned story telling and screenplay techniques. So, let's get that out first - no national awards, not even for the music, for if the movie fails to engage them, what attention they'll pay to the music. Likely to be dismissed as melodramatic. Yet, that is precisely what appeals to fans of a bygone era of mythological costume drama. Afterall, Ravi Varma is art, too, though he is likely to be sneered at by World-Art patronising Picasso and Van Gogh (only). (Contd)

Plum,

Whether you are religious or not, I don't know or care. But please understand that there are people who are religious, and try to
respect their sentiments. You cannot write your own perversion story and name it Ramayana. And I think you are one of the moderators of this forum. Please act responsibly and be a role model for others.

[teja]

>>>>

Wish someone would record the end credits of 'SreeRamaRajyam' and post in on the web.

<<<<

Wish granted I just uploaded it to Soundcloud. Enjoy!
http://soundcloud.com/pkiran/sri-ram...am-theme-track

[Plum]

Raja-Fan, easy, friend. I ain't writing no story . I am not a moderator of this forum nor do I aspire to be a role model therefore your chains don't bind me. If your sentiments are hurt merely by someone writing something you don't like, those are pretty fragile sentiments, indeed. I don't know if I am religious but I believe and have a particular affinity and fascination for Sri Rama and his story. Please spare me your sermons - you are the type that gives a bad name to religion. You are a believer right? Let the Lord determine if I have blasphemed him or not. I am sure that He doesn't need middle-men. P.S: It will also help if you understood what I wrote in the first place

[Plum]

The selection of Nayanthara for the role had been raising question marks from most people - there were our esteemed "religious" fastidians, looking askance at her christian birth; there were the cultural bodyguards, appalled at her sensuous image; there were the moral guardians who were miffed with her rather "fast" personal life; all these factors being somehow linked to her unsuitability for the role. Even yesterday, a hubber laughed at a movie which had "Balakrishna as Rama and Nayan as Sita, ha ha!", no doubt for a concatenation of above reasons. I had my own reservations - but primarily linked to my perception of her (lack of) skills. Probably biased by Bala Karthik's hilarious description of her screen presence as "always exuding 'adhu', irrespective of the shot requirements", I didn't expect even a competent performance. What I saw, though, was a very competent performance, serenity and poise sitting calmly on her features, sure to bring a Nandi Award. She exuded a calm dignity, and emoted quite well with the turmoil she goes through while trying to figure if Rama had remarried(given that he was performing a Yagna, which is prohibited without a wife), brought out beautifully. It is one of the sequences which starts out beautifully - an estranged wife doubting if her husband had remarried, going through the turmoil but is resolved in the Divine way, with Valmiki arranging for some soul transportation mechanics thereby removing the emotion. This is what I meant when I talked about the Divine element taking away from the human drama. Note that I am not accusing Bapu of pandering to the audience - it is merely that he is also the audience and he cannot resolve it any other way; this is the inner conflict in Bapu that I talked about. Speculation, ofcourse but I am convinced. She is spectacularly comfortable in her skin, and brings poise, grace, charm and elegance to the role. I never thought I would ever say that last sentence so one more dhandakam to Life