One opinion that many movie lovers share is that there is a dearth of classics and captivating love stories that feel like a warm hug. Sita Ramam has managed to somewhat rectify this.
Despite the fact that the story may not be well-known to you, the audience will still feel the film's main emotion and dynamic as it is experienced by the characters.
While Bollywood films still struggle to find a home in the hearts of theatre audiences, they perform well on OTT. South films, on the other hand, have proven to be a huge success in theatres and on OTT platforms both.
Hanu Raghavapudi's old-world romance story 'Sita Ramam' is one such film that has left everyone awestruck.
Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur give endearing performances that contribute to the movie's sincerity.
Sita Ramam’s Plot
Through two timelines—1964 and 1984—Sita Ramam solves the mystery surrounding its protagonists, Sita Mahalakshmi and Lt. Ram. In order to find Sita and deliver a letter that Ram has written for her, 20 years ago, Afreen, a student of Pakistani descent, travels from London to India. Balaji, a college senior who is presently in Hyderabad, assists her in delivering the letter to Sita.
The Reasons Why The Film Became So Popular Among the Masses
Storyline Is Heart-Felt
Sita Ramam has a universal language of love, and the plot has been nicely fleshed out. This is a film that has been suggested by many individuals, and word of mouth has played an important role in promoting the film due to the sincere nature of the plot.
On the premise that humanity matters more than conflict, boundaries, and religion, Hanu, Raj Kumar Kandamudi, and Jay Krishna wrote the screenplay and script.
The ensemble cast, the abundance of sentiments, the sense of whimsy, and the fact that "Sita Ramam" is so colorful for a period drama give the entire picture a lovely vibe. The sequences in the film between the main characters are meant to evoke sentiments of melancholy.
Sita And Ram’s Love Story Evokes All Sorts Of Emotions
Despite religious turmoil and war, the passion between the lovers endures; it's one of the most wonderful aspects of our country, its diversity. The story revolves around Ram, an orphan boy played by Dulqer Salmaan, who joins the army and receives the love of the nation through letters for his valor on the battlefield. While responding to the numerous letters, Ram comes across one from Sita Mahalakshmi played by Mrunal Thakur, in which she pretends to be his wife. In order to solve the mystery behind the letter and actually put a face to his imagination, Ram becomes immersed in her writings. The plot is about Ram meeting Sita and how their lives are altered.
A love story with unexpected surprises at every turn, Sita Ramam has viewers on the edge of their seats the entire time. Despite the fact that you may have seen a lot of Indian-Pakistan war movies, a love tale from that perspective is unusual.
The Acting And The Characters
Ram Played By Dulquer Salmaan
Once again, Dulquer Salmaan has captured our hearts. He has often impressed us with the way he acts and his performance's simplicity and honesty. Nobody else could have portrayed Ram in the movie, in our opinion. He uses all of his charms to depict it in an elegant and innocent way. The character of Ram is portrayed as a pure soul who is ready to put himself in danger by standing between a group of Muslims and a party of Hindus in order to prevent terror from falling on Kashmir. While maintaining his patriotism, Ram looks beyond religion and for him, humanity comes first.
From making the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the country to playing the nice guy, he masterfully captured every feeling, and at the end of the movie, many will find themselves teary-eyed.
Sita Mahalakshmi Played By Mrunal Thakur
Although her character had some vulnerable moments, it was good to see Mrunal play a strong character in her debut Telugu movie. For the most part, she handled herself with grace and elegance. Mrunal was able to portray the audience's emotional upheavals by putting herself in the shoes of her character, Sita.
Afreen Played by Rashmika Mandanna
Rashmika Mandanna is not depicted as an audience eye candy and is instead portrayed as a strong-headed girl with her own beliefs. The film featured not one but two leading female actors who performed admirably in both roles. Afreen, a Pakistani character, had issues with resentment toward India and Indians, but it was great to watch her progress towards the end.
Sachin Khedekar, Sunil, Priyadarshi, Bhumika, Jisshu Sengupta, Prakash Raj, Praneeta Pattnaik, and Rahul Ravindran are among those who briefly appears in the film.
The Additional Effects By The Team To Give The ‘Oomph’ Factor
The Cinematographer
The Sita Ramam crew did an excellent job, especially the cinematographers P S Vinod and Shreyaas Krishna, who were able to capture the spirit of the movie in two different time periods and the stunning Kashmir with its frozen topography in all its majesty and rawness.
Production And The Art Direction
The production design by Sunil Babu, the art direction by Vaishnavi Reddy and Faisal Khan, the costumes by Sheetal Sharma, and the Peter-pan collar blouses for Sita all helped define the 1960s and the 1980s well.
Soulful Music Adds The Spark
The uplifting score from Sita Ramam has recently become very popular. Vishal Chandrasekhar wrote the music and soundtrack. Oh, Sita Hey Rama was the first song, then afterward came S. P. Charan's rendition of Ala Nemaliki's Inthandam Reprise. According to the composer himself, every song in the film is an extremely odd combination of different ragas.
Sita Ramam is not like today's love stories
Sita Ramam is a story of sincere and unadulterated love. The movie entirely does not contain any forced or unpleasant humor. The gorgeous Kashmiri locations and set in the 90s add to its uniqueness. Probably because it's set in simpler times, there are no unnecessary, pretentious, and over-the-top gestures of love. It's authentic and not a made-up tale of love in its purest form.
In an interview with TNN, Dulquer, who portrays the role of army commander Ram, discusses how the movie differs from other love stories.
“He’s an orphan who’s very happy-go-lucky by nature. As an army man, he’s very patriotic and bound by duty. Sita is this girl next door who begins writing letters to Ram while he’s away on duty. She’s independent and progressive, but who she is and why she falls in love with Ram is what the film is all about.”
The Mythology Reference In The Film
The movie also defends the Ramayana, a Hindu epic that served as a loose inspiration. When Ram saves Sita, a fire traps the duo, precisely like in the scene from the movie Sita Ramam. Ram sets out to find Sita, whose whereabouts remain unclear in the film. The myth is mentioned frequently, yet it is done so delicately that the main plot remains on track.
Sita Ramam Ending Explained
(Spoiler alert: Retreat at this point if you are yet to watch the film)
Final Page Of The Love Story
Afreen is given the final chapter of Sita and Ram's tale by Vishnu. He admits that the burden of his deeds' remorse has been causing him pain for the past 20 years. Additionally, he says that Waheeda, the young woman Ram tried to save when he was taken prisoner by the Army, is actually none other than Afreen herself. Afreen was filled with shame and disbelief as she realized that an Indian, whom she had previously detested, had risked his life to save her.
The letter is delivered to Sita in Kashmir by Afreen's senior, Balaji. Ram got to know that she was Princess Noorjahan when he was imprisoned and got hold of a newspaper clipping stating that "Princess Norrjahan fell in love with a simple guy". He refers to this letter as the last page of their relationship, declaring his love for her and mourning the time they wasted.
Ram was accused of betraying the Nation but Sita disclosed the truth with the letters as proof and was able to clear Ram of all charges. Due to guilt and an inability to endure the disgrace that would come with realizing the truth, Vishnu kills himself as Vishnu was the traitor and not Ram.
As a result of the change of heart, Afreen can now look past her earlier animosity toward the country and appreciate its compassion. Sita responded, "No," when Afreen enquired whether Ram is still alive.
(Source: India Times)
