Return of the native in Telugu cinema

Telugu cinema is back to telling tales with a rural or small town backdrop

Lush green fields, rustic farms and old-world traditions; Telugu cinema is returning to its roots and increasingly making use of the non-metropolitan milieu in its stories. Continuing their love for life outside the metros, filmmakers have made their backdrop a strong parallel element in the storytelling, right from Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju to the recent Krishnagadi Veera Prema Gadha (KVPG) andGuntur Talkies.

In this, filmmakers are not only going back to their own roots but also drawing lessons from counterparts in other regional cinema, including Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam and Bengali ones. The rural and small town backdrops are also being explored to narrate fresh stories, away from the faction feuds that are more common in such a setting.

A still from Krishnagadi Veera Prema Gadha

Temper, that was supposedly set in Visakhapatnam, released just a few days after Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju. Since then, there has been a flurry of films that were set in that city. For instance, Nenu Sailaja, Express Raja, Kshanam, Tuntari, etc banked on locations like Jagadamba Centre, Rushikonda and Ramakrishna beaches and Gajuvaka for their setting. The locations of Nenu Sailaja and Express Rajawere critical for the narrative to go forward.

There have been other interesting examples too. There was Dagudumootha Dandakor (remake of the Tamil movie Saivam) set in a village, which broke the mould by speaking against cruelty to animals.Guntur Talkies, despite the label, was shot significantly in Hindupur. Hindupur also figures in KVPG. In fact director Hanu Raghavapudi spent a good three months in Anantapur district to get a feel of the place. Moving way from the stereotype of showcasing the region’s idiosyncratic pronunciation, the film’s hero (Nani) is shown to be a fan of actor Balakrishna (who is also a public representative from that region) and bringing in popular landmarks, particularly the Hindupur fort, into the narrative.

A still from Soggade Chinni Nayana

In Son of Sathyamurthy too, director Trivikram took considerable creative liberty in setting his story in Reddiarpettai in Tamil Nadu, making its residents mouth a reasonable mix of Tamil and Telugu, as is the wont in the border areas of TN and AP. Srimanthudu was a game changer in espousing the cause of giving back something to the villages, inspiring celebrities to actually adopt districts and develop them.

Soggade Chinni Nayana (set in Sivapuram near Rajamundry despite not shooting there) too brought in the energy and entertainment quotient inherent to rural stories. The national award winner Kanche, set in Rachakonda, decrying regular commercial touches, talked of rural caste politics and how discriminating on caste lines have perilous repercussions, as parallels in World War II.

Krishnamma Kalipindi Iddarini (set near Prakasam barrage), Speedunnoodu (set in Rapthaadu-Anantapur), Tripura and Subramanyam For Sale too explored the rural backdrop, but had little to show in terms of freshness.