Sita Ramam: A Stunning Visual Experience
When I first heard about Sita Ramam, the excitement was real. Another visual spectacle produced by the one and only Vyjayanti network. The first look had Dulquer Salman behind the camera, capturing a photo of Mrunal Thakur, who was introduced as Sita in the film. The frame looked absolutely unreal, and it took me back to the days of watching Mahanati for the first time. That is a film that absolutely dumbfounded me, and looking back at it three years later, I still run out of words to describe it.
The trailer on the other hand, dropped no particular hints of how the story was going to unfold. As someone who’s spent the last two years choosing between a wide variety of films on various OTT platforms, something felt off about this. Maybe it was the shared disappointment from Kurup, Dulquer Salman’s last outing which is also incidentally a period piece set in the 70’s, which made me think twice about this film.
To be fair to Dulquer, he is one of the finest actors in the country right now. With films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi, he’s been building his own quiet fan base over the last decade. But there are some films he’s dabbled in which haven’t really done justice to the quality he possesses. Like the lacklustre comedy ‘The Zoya Factor, or the romcom ‘Aye Sinamika.
Then the reviews started pouring in. Some positive, some negative, but overall the kind of chatter about the film was quite a lot. Before I knew it, I found myself in a half empty theatre on a Monday evening, with a hyped up Telugu audience.
And I was pleasantly surprised. This was the first time I saw any of Hani Raghavapudi’s work, and I’m 100% sure I’ll be going back for his next. Because what Hani Raghavpudi achieves in Sita Ramam, is an absolute milestone for Indian cinema, let alone Telugu cinema.
The visuals, from the first frame to the last are absolutely stunning. I was immediately drawn into the world of Sita Ramam, where a young Pakistani student, Afreen (Rashmika Mandanna), is handed a letter by her grandfather to deliver to Sita Mahalaxmi, a woman who lived in India almost 20 years ago.
As she travels to India, she is introduced to the stories of Lieutenant Ram (Dulquer), the author of the letter. While unravelling his identity, she learns about Sita (Mrunal Thakur) as well. What follows is an epic romantic saga, carried over by letters and set in a time of war.
We follow the life of Lieutenant Ram as an officer in Kashmir, dealing with cross border issues, communal clashes and more. During one communal incident, Ram steps up to save hundreds of people from getting hurt and thus acquires a name for himself in the camp and the country.
Ram is an orphan. While he’s getting interviewed by All India Radio, he confesses that as far as the army goes, they are all the family he has. Right after this, he finds himself bombarded with letters from people across the country. Some send him sweets, while others express their gratitude for his service and invite him to come visit. Among them is one particular letter which catches his eye, which is from Sita.
Sita teases him and asks him why he claimed that he had no family, when he had a wife (Sita) right at home. Ram reads through it, and finds out there is no return address. For the next few weeks, all he gets are letters from Sita, with no way to return them. Until one day, she mentions her location and Ram jumps at the chance to go see her.
What follows is an epic love story, with some old tropes mixed with new. Even with some predictable routes, the film stands out like a breath of fresh air. Mrunal Thakur as Sita is fantastic. She gets into the skin of the character right away, and plays it with an almost quiet grace.
Rashmika Mandanna as Afreen is also a joy to watch. After playing a series of roles as just the pretty girl, she delivers a performance that is on par with her performance in Dear Comrade. Dear Comrade, which came out in 2019, had her in a more complex role and it was an absolute treat to watch her live up to her quality as an actor.
The music is brilliant. Hani Raghavpudi mixes in some brilliant choreography to each track of the film. Kaanunna Kalyanam, which is a song shot with the background of the Himalayas is an absolute standout.
The craft in Sita Ramam is real. Reportedly made on just a budget of 30 crores, the film is visually on par with any other 200 crore budget period pieces. The costumes, the art, the production design transports you back to a simpler time, a time when technology was all letters and telephone booths and radio.
Don’t miss out on this one. Sita Ramam is streaming on Amazon Prime.
