Dulquer Salmaan was the first and only choice: Sita Ramam director Hanu Raghavapudi; EXCLUSIVE

Sita Ramam is a love story set in the backdrop of a war in 1965. Dulquer Salmaan will be seen as Lieutenant Ram.

Khushboo Ratda
Written by Khushboo Ratda , Journalist
Updated on Aug 04, 2022 | 06:58 PM IST | 564.4K
Sita Ramam director Hanu Raghavapudi Interview
Dulquer Salmaan was the first and only choice: Sita Ramam director Hanu Raghavapudi; EXCLUSIVE

Director Hanu Raghavapudi has geared up for the release of Sita Ramam and is super 'confident' about the film that has Dulquer Salmaan in the lead role. "I am confident that when they go to the cinema halls, they will love the experience of Sita Ramam," said Hanu Raghavapudi in an exclusive chat with Pinkvilla. 

Hanu also said 'he feels no burden' on being asked if there is a burden of expectations since it's his first multilingual project. "There's definitely no burden because the story is very strong. It's a story anybody can relate to, irrespective of the vernacular. Since the story is so easy for everybody to relate with (we could have gone for subtitles), but the release in each language is purely to provide and enhance each audiences' best experience of the world of Ram & Sita Mahalakshmi. Therefore, I don't feel a burden about it being a Pan India film," said Hanu who has also penned the story of the film starring DQ, Mrunal Thakur and Rashmika Mandanna. 

It can be very painful if what's been conceived is not translating on screen

director Hanu

"If anything, I'm just expecting and hoping that all audiences feel compelled to go and watch it in theatres because, I am confident that when they go to the cinema halls, they will love the experience of Sita Rama. So, my prayer and hope is that all audiences go to the theatres," he added. 

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Hanu Raghavapudi, who hails from Kothagudem of Telangana also stated that 'Dulquer Salmaan was the first and only choice' for the film. The love story is set in the backdrop of a war in 1965. Dulquer Salmaan will be seen as Lieutenant Ram, an orphan, serving the nation. 

The Andala Rakshasi fame director also shared that 'Army backdrop' was the toughest part of the research. "A lot of research went into making this film. Usually, for a period film, most significance is placed on the research of costumes & art. But for Sita Rama, it was most important to understand the working of the Army back in the 60s. So, a lot of our research was focused on the relationships that were shared between high-ranking officers and other soldiers. Generally, (the Army) is an organized place and so the human relations between soldiers may be different now from back in the 60s. Back then, were there distinctions in human relations between soldiers of different Cadres and if so, how - was a big question for us to answer, given that people back in the day were different from today. To crack these answers pertaining to the Army backdrop was the toughest part of the research. Finally, only after we found answers we could proceed with working out the scenes in the barracks," and added that Suresh Babu in production design and Sheetal Sharma in costumes worked very well on their ends of the research. 

It's absolute bliss to shoot in Kashmir. It is a wonderful place and very picturesque

Sita Ramam maker Hanu Raghavapudi

The major part of Sita Ramam has been shot in snow-clad mesmerizing terrains and gleaming lakes of Kashmir. "My biggest challenge was to then transport the audience to those locations: by being able to translate the same depth of beauty along with creating a similar experience for a theatrical audience as close to reality as possible. Since we began the very first schedule with shooting in Kashmir, we had planned it well enough to get everything we needed, wanted and more," the filmmaker shares on shooting the film in Kashmir. 

As a director, how much does it affect that what you conceive does not make it to the final cut? To this, he replied, "It can be very painful if what's been conceived is not translating on screen. But that definitely has not been the case with Sitaramam. Almost 100% of what was written on paper could be released on screen. This (huge feat) was possible because of the complete support I got from everybody on set and Swapna Dutt's backend strength." 

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Sita Ramam will be released worldwide in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam on 5th August 2022. 

ALSO READ: Sita Ramam Trailer OUT: Dulquer Salmaan and Rashmika Mandanns's next is a tale of love, fate and courage

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A post-graduate in journalism and an alumna of KC College, Khushboo, a Mumbai-based writer has a keen interest in

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Credits: Pinkvilla
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