Alluri Seetarama Raju (film)

Alluri Seetarama Raju
Alluri Seetarama Raju
	Poster
Directed by	V. Ramachandra Rao
Written by	Tripuraneni Maharadhi
Produced by	G. Hanumantha Rao; Krishna (presenter)
Starring	Krishna; Vijaya Nirmala; Jaggayya
Music by	P. Adinarayana Rao
Production; company	Padmalaya Studios
Release date	1 May 1974;
Running time	187 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Alluri Seetarama Raju is a 1974 Indian Telugu-language biographical action film directed by V. Ramachandra Rao and written by Tripuraneni Maharadhi. The film stars Krishna, Vijaya Nirmala, and Jaggayya and was produced by Padmalaya Studios. Notably, it marks Krishna's 100th film as an actor and is recognized as the first Telugu film made in Cinemascope.^[1]

The film portrays the life of Alluri Sitarama Raju, a prominent Indian revolutionary who led the Rampa Rebellion against British colonial rule from 1922 until his capture and execution in 1924. The narrative highlights Raju’s leadership and the rebellion's impact against repressive British legislation.^[2]

Alluri Seetarama Raju received critical acclaim, winning the National Film Award for Best Lyrics for the song "Telugu Veera Levara," written by the Telugu poet Sri Sri. It also won the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film and was showcased at the International Film Festival of India and the Tashkent Film Festival. The film was a commercial success, running for 175 days and became the first Telugu film to collect a distributor share of ₹1 crore.^[3]

Plot

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 as a celibate 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.

Cast

Source^[4]

Krishna as Alluri Sitarama Raju
- Ramesh Babu as Young Alluri Sitarama Raju
Jaggayya as Rutherford Scott Coward
Rajanala as Major Goodall
Vijaya Nirmala as Seeta
Chandra Mohan as Govindu
Sreedhar as Tirupathayya
M. Balayya as Aggi Raju
Kanta Rao as Padalu
Pandari Bai
Mikkilineni as Seetha's father
Dr. Prabhakar Reddy as Gam Malludora
Rajababu
Manjula
Rajasree
K. V. Chalam
Gummadi as Gamgantam Dhora
Tyagaraaju as Sebastian
Ram Mohan as Venkatapathi, Sitarama Raju's brother-in-law
Rao Gopal Rao
Allu Ramalingiah

Production

Development and casting

D. L. Narayana, producer of Devadasu (1953), initially sought to make a film based on Alluri Sitarama Raju featuring Sobhan Babu as the title character. However, as the film failed to take off, Narayana had given the story to Krishna 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.^[5] N. T. Rama Rao also planned to make a film on it but dropped after he felt the subject was too dry and would not work commercially.^[6]

According to Maharadhi, the casting was done thorough discussions that involved everyone concerned with the project. S. V. Ranga Rao was originally for the role of Ghantam Dora but he got hospitalised before the film went to sets, he was replaced by M. Balayya.^[6]

Filming

Filming took place around Chintapalli forest and Krishnadevi Peta forest of Andhra Pradesh around 60 days with 15 days being shot in Madras.^[5] Ramachandra Rao passed away after completing one third of the film. The rest of the film was directed by Krishna; K. S. R. Das handled the war and fight scenes.^[6] 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 Kamal Amrohi who used them to can Pakeezah (1972).^[6]

Soundtrack

Soundtrack was composed by P. Adinarayana Rao.^[7]^[8]

"Viplavam Maraninchadu" – S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
"Jamaira Jaru" – S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, L. R. Eswari
"Vasthadu Naa Raju" – P. Suseela
"Padmalayam" – S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
"Telugu Veera" – Ghantasala, V. Ramakrishna

Reception

Critical reception

The film received critical acclaim and became a cult classic of Telugu cinema. The film received a positive review from Andhra Patrika dated 5 May 1974.^[9]

Box office

The film ran for 200 days.^[10] It was the first film to collect a distributor share of ₹1 crore (equivalent to ₹30 crore or US$3.6 million in 2023).^[3]

Awards

National Film Awards

National Film Award for Best Lyrics – Sri Sri for "Telugu Veera Levara"^[5]

Nandi Awards^[11]

Best Feature Film – Gold – G. Hanumantha Rao

Legacy

The film was screened at the Patriotic Film Festival held at Coimbatore in 2017, jointly presented by the Indian Directorate of Film Festivals and Ministry of Defence, commemorating the 70th Indian Independence Day.^[12]