THE HINDU
Friday, September 29, 2023
Vijayawada
X
New role Gayatri Chaganti and Raashi Singh; Sreerama Chandra;;
(below) Srividya Maharshi. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Singer Sreerama
Chandra talks about the
magic of the song ‘O
Rendu...’ in Baby and his
acting in a web series
Caught in the
web
Neeraja Murthy
neeraja.b@thehindu.co.in
ingle, confused and in a
S marital crisis. That describes
singer Sreerama Chandra
Mynampati’s role as Kranthi in
Papam Pasivadu, a web series set to
drop on Aha. Sreerama Chandra is
excited to be playing a character he can
relate to. “Kranthi is a little confused
about which girl to pick in his life and
what is the right thing to do. Whenever
he’s in crisis, he is confused between
‘yes’ and ‘no’ which is almost my real
life story,” he says with a laugh.
While he played a romantic role in
the film Prema Geema Jaanta Nahin
opposite Barbie Handa in 2014, this
OTT debut has him playing a confused
but sophisticated urban youngster.
Produced by The Weekend Show and
directed by Lalith Kumar, the
five­episode web series takes a hilarious
turn when three women, played by
Gayatri Chaganti, Raashi Singh and
Srividya Maharshi are all smitten by
Kranthi.
The Indian Idol Season 5 (Hindi,
2010) winner’s association with Aha
began as an anchor for the streaming
platform’s Telugu Indian Idol Season
One in 2022. He made a mark as a
performer with impressive short skits in
every episode. The team approached
him with the story of the series; he did
a few workshops in July 2022 to build
the character with the help of the
director.
Bringing forth Vittalacharya, the master of folklore cinema
Written by the film scribe Pulagam Chinnarayana,
‘Jai Vittalacharya’ is a collection of anecdotes, info
and lesser­known facts about the legendary
director­producer
M L Narasimham
. Vittalacharya’s movies
B might not have won
appreciation from film critics
of his time, but he never cared for it.
He believed that movies are meant
for entertainment and his job was to
entertain the audience from
the opening scene to the last.
After a couple of
unsuccessful attempts with
social themes, he found the
route to success through
folklore films. Children,
and even adults among a
generation of the
audience, were
awe­struck watching the
hero fighting with
dinosaurs, giant lizards
and other wild
animals. Computer
graphics and
advanced technology
CM
YK
metroPLUS
Shooting for Papam Pasivadu began
in September 2022 and was wrapped
up in a month, followed by
post­production work. With music by
Jose Jimmy, the title rap track ‘Okati
kadu rendu kadu teen nahi chaar
mama’ sung by Aditya Rao Gangasani,
was released at CMR Institute of
Technology recently.
He has made a smooth transition
from singer to actor. Cinema is an
emotion for a South Indian, especially
for those from the Telugu states, he
says. “I lived in Bombay for 10 years but
I hail from here, a local boy born in
Visakhapatnam, and raised in
Secunderabad; Rag rag mein Hyderabad
aur Secunderabad ka pyar daudta hai.
(The love of Hyderabad and
Kranthi is a little confused
about which girl to pick in
his life and what is the right
thing to do...which is almost
my real life story
did not exist those days. Just by
using matte shots, assisted by his art
director Nagaraj and expert
cinematographers H. S. Venu, S. D.
Lal and Ravi Nagaich (to name a
few), he created incredible visuals
on the silver screen. No wonder
Vittalacharya’s brilliance in the
conception of folklore films won him
the epithet ‘Janapada
Brahma.’
Vittalacharya is
well­known to the
present generation
of Telugu movie
buffs too, thanks to
reruns of his
movies on
television channels.
Some among them
may be curious
about his personal
life, his foray into
tinsel town and his
subsequent growth
as the torch bearer
of folklore in South
Secunderabad runs in every vein)
Thanks to the masala films he grew up
watching, his love for movie stars
inspired him to see himself on the
screen.
Back with hits
Though his singing career has been
rising steadily in Bollywood, he is
unhappy about not singing much in
Telugu. In the movie Baby however, he
got a breakthrough with ‘O Rendu
Prema Meghalila’ where he also had a
one­minute role. Baby’s director Sai
Rajesh had loved ‘Gelupu Thalapule,’ a
track he sang for Pawan Kalyan a
decade ago in Teen Maar and had
approached him.
Calling it his comeback song in
Telugu, he shares that ‘O Rendu...’
starts with a kids’ chorus and has a
unique sound. It was challenging, says
Sreeram, as he had to make an impact
on screen in just a minute. “The lyrics
and composition by Anantha Sriram
and Vijay Bulganin were beautiful. I
tried my best and I am glad people
loved it.”
Sreerama also captivated music
lovers with his ‘Not Ramaiya
Vastavayya’ in Telugu and Tamil and
the ICC World Cup 2023 cricket song
‘Dil jashn bole....’ As he looks forward
to his career in playback singing,
Sreerama says: “I am not married yet,
so I might use the energy and time in
the work that I love to do; I don’t like to
sit idle at home.”
Papam Pasivadu drops on Aha on
September 29.
X of the book are the anecdotes. Here
Fantasy trip Jayamalini and Narasimharaju in ‘Jaganmohini’; (below left) The book on
the life of Vittalacharya. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
cinema. The book, Jai Vittalacharya,
on the legendary illustrious career
addresses that need, to some extent.
Long overdue, this biography of
the elusive auteur took a lot of work
to pen. Except for a couple of
interviews and articles published in
popular periodicals at the beginning
of his career, no substantial material
on him is available. Though
well­known for his monetary
discipline as a producer and
Peek into native cultures
Artists from tribal communities showcase their works at the Tribal
Freedom Fighters Museum
B Madhu Gopal and
Nivedita Ganguly
madhugopal.b@thehindu.co.in
nivedita.ganguly@thehindu.co.in
alking through the
W hills and valleys of
Chintapalli and
motoring up the winding dirt
roads of the interior areas of the
Agency of Alluri Sitharama Raju
district makes one wonder
about the travails of tribal
revolutionaries who had
revolted against the British with
crude weapons.
The Tribal Freedom Fighters
Museum (TFFM) coming up at
Lambasingi in Chintapalli
mandal, about 120 kilometres
from Visakhapatnam city, plans
to take visitors into the past by
making them visualise the
scenes as they walk through the
artefacts, weapons and other
materials used by the
revolutionaries in their fight
against the British.
The TFFM is an offshoot of
the vision of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to celebrate the
unsung tribal freedom fighters
from various parts of the
country.
Lambasingi, which has
earned the epithet Andhra
Kashmir for registering sub­zero
temperatures during the peak
winter season, is poised to get
the new tourist attraction soon.
Being developed at a cost of ₹35
crore, the project is a joint
venture of the Ministry of Tribal
Affairs, Government of India,
and the Government of Andhra
Pradesh. Tribal artistes from
various States in the country are
presently engaged in the work of
doing large paintings and art
works, reflecting their culture at
the Tribal Cultural Research and
Training Mission (TCRTM) at
Rushikonda in Visakhapatnam.
These paintings would be
displayed at the museum.
The work on construction of
the museum at Tajangi, near
Lambasingi village of Chintapalli
mandal in ASR district, is
progressing briskly. An extent of
21.67 acres of land was allotted
for construction of the museum.
The museum will have an
entrance plaza, tribal haat with
restaurant, and an
amphitheatre.
“We had visited some of the
tribes like Konda Dora, Sarika
and others, who had migrated
from Chintapalli region to
Andhra and Pachipenta in
Vizianagaram district. We had
also visited Jeypore, which was
then in Vizagapatam district,
and presently in Odisha to get
director, his generosity as a
philanthropist was known only
when the beneficiaries revealed it.
It would be a daunting task for
any writer to author Vittalacharya’s
biography. But Pulagam
Chinnarayana’s zealous, relentless
pursuit for months led him to
interview the ace director’s sons,
daughters and other family
members, the heroes, heroines and
technicians who worked for his
X
A connect with Nature Members from the Savara tribes from Addakulaguda
village in Parvathipuram Manyam district of Andhra Pradesh showing their tribal
art; a veil of fog covering the hills of Lambasingi. KR DEEPAK
information on the objects,
weapons and chains used by
their ancestors. They gave us
useful information and some
artefacts for display,” says
museum curator P Sankara Rao.
The hills and valleys at
Chintapalli and surrounding
areas, in combined
Visakhapatnam district, are
reminders of the historic Rampa
Rebellion, one of the important
tribal freedom movements
against the British, led by the
revolutionary freedom fighter
Alluri Seetharama Raju.
“We have gathered
information on lesser known
freedom fighters from their
ancestors living at Gondipakalu
village of Chintapalli mandal.
The Rutherford Guest House at
Lambasingi, where Rutherford
had visited in 1924 to catch
Alluri Sitharama Raju, is located
about four kilometres from the
museum. All the information
pertaining to this guest house
will be made available at the
museum,” he says.
films, as well as senior journalists.
The result is a 528­page long
megabook, Jai Vittalacharya, that
unveils the personal and
professional life of the legendary
director.
With three Nandi awards in his
repertoire, Pulagam Chinnarayana
with his racy narration style, takes
us to the magical world of
Vittalacharya’s universe by reviewing
30 plus of his directorial films.
Interestingly, the peek into the
‘behind the scenes’ while making a
movie is referred at the beginning of
each review.
Do you know that Vittalacharya
directed hero Krishna’s first
multi­starrer? The fascinating parts
is one such reminiscence, a hilarious
incident on the sets of a
Vittalacharya movie:
A perfect disciplinarian,
Vittalacharya never allowed any lead
actor to play truant with him. Once,
a popular hero did not report to the
shooting of one of his folklores.
Vittalacharya immediately changed
the script, and transformed the hero
into an animal as cursed by a sage.
To quote Vittalacharya: “I called an
animal trainer who brought an
animal and shot the scene. From the
next day, I did not face any problems
13
The storyline for making a
33­minute documentary
covering the entire episode of
the Rampa Rebellion has been
developed, and information on
various tribal freedom
movements in Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, Chhattisgarh and
Odisha has been gathered.
“These documentaries would be
screened in the 300­capacity
amphitheatre being constructed
at the museum complex,” says
Sankara Rao.
“The museum complex will
also have cafeterias on two
floors, souvenir shops and
replicas of tribal huts and
articles reflecting their traditions
and culture. Though the
timeline for completion of the
museum project is November
2023, heavy rain,
non­availability of manpower
and technical issues have
resulted in delays. However, at
present the work is progressing
at a brisk pace, and we expect to
complete the project by April,
2024,” he adds.
from the hero. He reported to the
sets on time.”
Vittalacharya once said, “Folklore
films have no death. As of now they
might have lost their prominence,
however, they are bound to regain
their past glory, If new generation
filmmakers with new thoughts
employ changing technology to
make folklore films.” Quoting him in
his book, Chinnarayana adds, “His
prophecy has come true. S. S.
Rajamouli’s Baahubali proved that
Vittalacharya was right.”
A comprehensive book on
Vittalacharya, his style of making a
movie, his journey with his works ,
and his personality, Jai Vittalacharya
comes with rare personal
photographs of the veteran director,
besides stills from his films.
Zeelan Basha Shaikh, a film buff
and journalist from Movie Volume
Media, turned a publisher with this
book.
Attractively printed on art paper,
the book is a treasure trove for
movie buffs and researchers on
Telugu cinema.
(Jai Vittalacharya by Pulagam
Chinnarayana. Hardbound edition.
Pages: 528 Price: ₹650. Publishers:
Movie Volume Media, Kavuri Hills
Phase 1, Hyderabad­500073.
Contact: 040­35113522 /9640254786)
M VJ-VJE