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

[KV]

looked like you guys needed some sorta divine intervention in your movie streak!

Mine's a case of battle of one man versus an army.
kuroop: we're watching tintin today. be there.
me: i'm watching another movie today. you guys carry on.
k: where? which one? we'll also come
me: er.. sriramarajyam.. telugu..
k(gulti guy): orey... you seeing balliah movie na? entra aindhi neeku?
me: no no.. jesht for music
k: cut the crap. tintin it is.
I was kidnapped thus and made to watch tintin (in 3D, where I don't seem to get the 3rd D at all).

[Plum]

Tell your gult friend it is not a Baliah movie, it is a Bapu movie. Surely he knows the director's standing in telugu cinema. While the conflict I talked about might never make rest of India warm up to Bapu, he is a giant locally, and sure garners enoguh respect to outgun the Baliah factor? Infact, that is the case among my telugu acquaintances. Bapu_Ir factor easily overrides the Baliah factor.

[Punnaimaran]

Nice write ups Plum. Makes me want to see the movie somehow.

[raagas]

Tell your gult friend it is not a Baliah movie, it is a Bapu movie. Surely he knows the director's standing in telugu cinema. While the conflict I talked about might never make rest of India warm up to Bapu, he is a giant locally, and sure garners enoguh respect to outgun the Baliah factor? Infact, that is the case among my telugu acquaintances. Bapu_Ir factor easily overrides the Baliah factor.

Bapu is famous in the North also Plum. He made many films in Hindi, in 80s. Infact, it was Bapu who discovered/introduced Anil Kapoor. I loved many of his films!

Ofcourse, his sensibilities can be appreciated only by Telugus. His shot taking etc. The frames we get to see in his films, are just extensions of his paintings/sketches. Every shot has an accompanying sketch. Just like a director has script in hand while filming shots, Bapu has 2 things - script book and sketch book. India has never seen an artist-cum-filmmaker like Bapu. If only we can get hold of his sketchbooks - they themselves are worth millions. I do have some books (of cartoons/jokes) by him. classic stuff!

[Plum]

Oh yes that's what I meant - even in SRR titles, you can see some of the sketches (most likely made by Bapu for this movie). Long back, when I was just getting introduced to Telugu, I heard the term "Bapu geesina BommE nuvVA(implying a beautiful woman)" in some film song, and that's how I got interested and learnt that he is an artist-cum-filmmaker. It is pretty obvious that he has an uniquely telugu sensibility and that of a previous generation, and needs to be seen in that context to be appreciated.

[raagas]

About Sri Rama Rajyam - I wont say I liked it but i admire their conviction to remake a classic film (Lava Kusa).

Positives: Restrained performances, Songs and great background score, simple language, nice sets designs.
Negatives: The costumes were not right for some characters. I mean the colours... the rings worn by Rama/Lakshmana looked like streetpicks. The citizens of Ayodhya looked so common. and like ArvindMano said, they all wipe tears at the same time. Also, the excessive graphics. Even the deer and peacock are graphics. And generally, a lot of footage is on graphics.

But then, I know we cant expect the makers to do another Lord of the rings kind of graphics. Within the means they had, they did. commendable.

Loved the background score. And i think I can now predict when exactly would IR prefer a Budapest orchestra. After Pazhassi Raja, Hey Ram, Guru, Lajja, SRR and Happi - it is now easy to predict which films would entice him to use the orchestra.

[app_engine]

Great write-ups, Plum!

[rajasaranam]

I've posted 3 BGM clips from the movie SriRamaRajyam Here:
Doubting Rama whether he has remarried, Seetha visits Rama's palace in invisible form. She looks at her own statue and gets know Rama's love for her. Rama senses her presence and starts searching heart wrenching scene enhanced by equally heart wrenching music!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/anYq3zMl7sw
Rama Decides to Send Seetha to Forest the next day and visits her Bedroom! She is asleep. He looks at her with heavy heart! A small scene but made meaningful with BGM of Raaja!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/lfx6xNY6CHc
Decided her work is complete in the world Seetha prays her mother Bhoomidevi to take her back. Earth opens up and engulfs her amidst the cry of Rama, Lava & Kusha.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/tXO7M6vPKjg
enjoy!

[KV]

nEnu choosEnu! Not bad, really.

I didn’t go expecting to see a drama (didn’t read any review/posts) and was pleasantly surprised. It’s like as though Bapu picked a tale about a lovelorn couple and then decided to set it in a grand, godly setup. You could easily place the central theme in any setting or timeframe and it’d still make an interesting watch. It surely doesn’t need look-at-me graphics or kilos of glittering ornaments (that could put a mallu wedding to shame) to enhance it. And this is what gives the movie an edge over the Doordarshan-Sunday-morning format mythological movies. Frankly, I know very little about this director and his repertoire and I even feared being put through some white-painted-bodies-with-big-black-wigs sort of stuff from some god movies of the yore (blame it on my ignorance and Baliah’s blue paint). Surprise again, there isn’t a villain in the movie at all and Bapu doesn’t tread the line of the done-to-death triumph of good over evil. Quite shamefully on my part, I wasn’t even aware of such a tale in the Ramayana where Sita is abandoned by her kin when in a condition where a woman is expected to be showered with affection and care. And the Sita portrayed here is no meek woman of the household. She is strong-willed and takes things in her stride, even though she’s emotionally torn by the unjust turn of her fate. I could’ve misread the scene here (thanks to my weak Telugu), but when Lakshman leaves her in the forest and tells a puzzled Sita that it is the king’s order to abandon her there, she tells him that she, while being his anni/thalli, is also the queen of the kingdom and challenges the value of her command, which she expects to be, at least somewhat, as powerful as the king’s. The climax is again, in a way, is an ode to her strength. She has the choice of uniting with her husband, whom she has been yearning for in all the years of separation, but instead, she stays firm on her decision of going away with bhoomi maatha. Whoever said there was no feminism whatsoever back then!
Can someone throw some light on the exact meaning of this ending, please? Is it that she’s punishing herself for suspecting Rama, who she thinks could’ve married another woman before performing the yagna? Or is it an act of retribution against Rama for having abandoned her and the kids?

Talk with any AP guy about a movie, and you’re sure to hear the term ‘taking’. Bapu, like plum pointed out in his review, tries to saddle two horses at the same time and the end result is evidently mixed. There are some very touching and poetic moments but they’re all packaged in a garish mix of silk, satin, velvet and gold. Some of his framings, like the scene with Rama on his knees sitting next to Sita, have a poetic beauty and canvas-painting-like quality to them. The lead pair was adequate, no great shakes but restrained, and thankfully not annoying, quite in contrast with the rest of the ensemble that seemed to memorize and recite every single word uttered on screen. The kids were nearly unbearable in their goody-goody tone and attitude, but heck, what else can one expect from godly offspring!

Whenever Sita cried out ‘Rama Rama’ on screen, all my ears heard was ‘Raja Raja’! It isn’t really an expect-the-unexpected score like Azhagarsami, but a majestic one tailored beautifully to travel along with the movie. The recurring theme of sweeping violins playing bits from Sree Rama Lera is hauntingly lovely. And his special liking for the oboe shows here as well; some very nice pieces. The songs are placed aptly and utilized well in the story telling (and I like the songs even more now). My only gripe is the synth beats creeping in even into a mythological, that too when the rest of the score is such an acoustic delight. Anyway, that’s too little in comparison with rest of the score, so its fine. The hall had three people including me and it was glad to see a full movie without a mobile annoyingly ringing somewhere. I managed to record most of the score, but will have to do some editing (to remove the dialog-only portions) before sharing it.

[KV]

nice posts there plum!
AM, matching matching andi.. same bloodu!