Alluri Seetarama Raju

<p>The film depicts the life of Alluri Rama Raju, a staunch opponent of British rule from a young age. Rejecting British education, Rama Raju immerses himself in traditional Indian yogic practices. As he travels across the country, he becomes aware of the suffering and issues faced by the people under British rule and renounces non-violence. Rama Raju and Sita fall in love and obtain the consent of their elders for marriage. However, Rama Raju, determined to fight for national freedom, informs Sita that he will return to celibacy and dedicate himself to the cause of India’s liberation. Unable to accept this, Sita commits suicide. Following this, Rama Raju adopts the name Sitarama Raju. Moved by the exploitation and plundering of natural resources in the forest regions, Sitarama Raju incites rebellion among the local people. With the help of leaders like Ganta Dora and Mallu Dora, he organizes a resistance against the British authorities. He attacks police stations, destroys false case documents, and seizes weapons. Despite several attempts by the British government to capture Sitarama Raju, the revolutionary forces achieve victories. However, internal conflicts weaken the movement. British Collector Rutherford escalates his attacks on villages in the forest region, torturing the people and ultimately lures Sitarama Raju out of hiding. Though Rutherford and other officials are personally impressed by Sitarama Raju’s sincerity and integrity, they execute him as part of their duty. As Sitarama Raju’s death is announced, he proclaims that killing one Sitarama Raju will only give rise to thousands more. The film concludes with his martyrdom, emphasizing the enduring spirit of the freedom struggle. Source D. L. Narayana, producer of (1953), initially sought to make a film based on featuring as the title character. However, as the film failed to take off, Narayana had given the story to who was willing to produce it thus becoming actor’s 100th film as an actor. Incidentally it was Tripuraneni Maharadhi who wrote the script for producer D.L. Narayana too. also planned to make a film on it but dropped after he felt the subject was too dry and would not work commercially. According to Maharadhi, the casting was done thorough discussions that involved everyone concerned with the project. was originally for the role of Ghantam Dora but he got hospitalised before the film went to sets, he was replaced by . Filming took place around and Krishnadevi Peta forest of around 60 days with 15 days being shot in . Ramachandra Rao passed away after completing one third of the film. The rest of the film was directed by Krishna; handled the war and fight scenes. The film’s cinematographer V. S. R. Swamy who “managed the whole movie with just two lenses, one for closeups and another for long shots”. Since this technique was absolutely untested before, the makers had to import the necessary equipment like Aeriflax and Michell cameras, 45 mm & 70 mm lenses from who used them to can (1972). Soundtrack was composed by . The film received critical acclaim and became a cult classic of Telugu cinema. The film received a positive review from dated 5 May 1974. The film ran for 200 days. It was the first film to collect a distributor share of (equivalent to 30 crore or US$3.5 million in 2023). The film was screened at the held at in 2017, jointly presented by the Indian and , commemorating the 70th .</p>