Hanu Raghavapudi’s antique-worldwide romance saga brims with earnestness and is helped thru charming performances from Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur, It isn’t always wrong to love your country, but you don’t need to harbour such hatred for a neighbouring country, a clever man tells a more youthful woman withinside the film. In a few different scene, even as she is given a few references, with all the names pertaining to one religion, she asks in exasperation if there isn’t all and sundry from her community. Director Hanu Raghavapudi’s Sita Ramam is a lot extra than handiest a love story.
The story, screenplay and dialogues thru Hanu, Raj Kumar Kandamudi and Jay Krishna adventure on the idea that humanity subjects extra than war, barriers and religion. The idea is ever relevant particularly in times even as discussions of ‘them’ and ‘us’ threaten to take over the discourse all spherical us.
Sita Ramam unravels the mystery surrounding its become aware of characters, Sita Mahalakshmi (Mrunal Thakur’s debut in Telugu cinema) and Lt Ram (Dulquer Salmaan) via timelines — 1964 and 1984. Afreen (Rashmika Mandanna), a Pakistan-beginning vicinity scholar arrives in India from London, even as she is tasked with tracing Sita to hand over a 20-year-letter written to her thru Ram. She takes the help of her college senior Balaji (Tharun Bhascker), who is now in Hyderabad.
There is the unmistakable Mahanatihangover in the ones characters trying to piece together a story from the past, like Samantha and Vijay Deverakonda. Beyond this big similarity, happily Sita Ramam is a wholly new canvas. The discovery in Mahanati begins offevolved from a place of lack of knowledge and the reporter’s need to find out a well story on the identical time as here, the journey proves to be transformative and makes someone empathetic and shed preconceived notions of looking at people via the lens of religion and nationality.
The 1960s are presented like a dream. Posted on the borders of Kashmir on the snowy terrains is Lt Ram.
His fellow soldiers are his worldwide; there can be a high priced friend (accomplished thru Shatru), a jealous officer (Sumanth as Brigadier Vishnu Sharma) and a commanding officer Major Selvan (Gautham Menon). An All India Radio journalist (Rohini Molleti) terms Ram a lone ranger and requests listeners to jot right all the way down to him. Letters pour in, Including one from Sita who chides Ram for forgetting that he has a partner decrease again home and that he isn’t an orphan.
We pay attention Sita (Chinmayi excelling at her dubbing pastime) an lousy lot in advance than we see her. Vishal Chandrashekhar’s music taps into the retro mood for every the Indian classical flourishes withinside the songs similarly to the western-brought on playful score in a few scenes.
Cinematographers P S Vinod and Shreyaas Krishna present the hostile, icy terrain in all its glory and eeriness.
The breathtaking landscapes apart, they navigate the cold interiors artistically. For instance, test how the slight streams in via the patterned walls even as Major Selvan is addressing soldiers in advance than a mission.
The try and make the romance appear poetic is obvious from the time Ram embarks on a journey to meet Sita; the technical institution and the actors pull all stops to offer a charming, antique worldwide romance that could sweep someone off their feet. At first glance, Sita may also come across like someone from a costume drama of the past, have become out in her best the least bit times, with winged eyeliner to boot. As the story progresses and we understand her for who she is, the regal way seems all the extra appropriate.
Costumes thru Sheetal Sharma, production format thru Sunil Babu, paintings course thru Vaishnavi Reddy and Faisal Khan, make contributions to defining every the 1960s and the 80s.
There’s Ram, Sita and a Hanuman (Vennela Kishore as Durjoy, a theatre actor). But the film pulls a surprise at the intermission component that modifications everything thereafter.
Certain beats of the story and some of the twists can be foreseen. Occasionally the narrative wavers or tries too difficult to make the story appear poetic. The ‘kurukshetra’-like situation (sic) in which Ram saves Sita, for instance. But the ones are occasional niggles. The romance remains absorbing and might keep you invested.
The writing does now now not use its woman characters as props. In her first Telugu film, Mrunal gets to play someone that is powerful and however vulnerable. She does it with a whole lot of poise and conveys the emotional upheavals.
Sita Ramam is among Rashmika Mandanna’s better films.
She isn’t always presented as an eye candy and given the scope to play a self-focused individual with preconceived notions, she plays it sure-footedly and shows that she is pastime to address well-written parts.
Ram is someone that looks tailormade for Dulquer Salmaan and he channels all his charm to portray it with grace and innocence. Tharun Bhascker is straightforward withinside the supportive aspect that speaks a wonderful Hyderabadi Telugu.
Several others make their presence felt in quick parts — Sachin Khedekar, Sunil, Priyadarshi, Bhumika, Jisshu Sengupta, Prakash Raj, Praneeta Pattnaik, Rahul Ravindran… the list is long. Sumanth is convincing as an officer showing his advise streak.
Not everything about Sita Ramam works to the amount of making it a conventional love story the makers favored it to be. Yet, the earnestness with which they are trying to narrate a moving story of romance holds it all together. The key characters may be known as Ram, Sita and Afreen. Change their names and religion but the essence of what the story conveys will despite the fact that preserve true. Therein lies the beauty of the story.
