Hyderabad, Sep 14 (IANS) Rahul Sankrityan, who has written and directed the eagerly awaited period film, ‘Ranabaali’, featuring actors Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna in the lead, has now disclosed that he gave Rashmika Mandanna’s character in the film his mother’s name.
Taking to his X timeline to announce the news that the actress had completed shooting for her portions in the film, director Rahul Sankrityan wrote, “While writing #Ranabaali, I found myself walking down memory lanes for every little detail of its world.And when I sat down to write my female protagonist, I began with something deeply personal, I gave her my mother’s name. Jayamma.”
The writer and director of the film went on to add, “Through every emotion she goes through, I took utmost care to make sure she remains a woman who could inspire the women of today, even though she belongs to another time.”
Stating that the unit “adorned her world with beautiful silks and cottons, zari and vintage colours, antique gold and all the warmth of a time gone by”, the director said and went on to describe Rashmika’s character in the film.
“She is the love in Ranabaali’s heart. The spirit in his soul. The grit in his spine. And the sweetness in his madness,” he explained.
“Then came @iamRashmika. She didn’t just make Jayamma real. She made her eternal for all of us. You all will witness this on 16th October. We will always love you. And now, we already miss you, Jayamma. That’s a wrap on that intoxicating smile. #Ranabaali #Jayamma @MythriOfficial @RanabaaliFilm @TheDeverakonda,” he wrote.
The film is slated to hit screens the world over on October 16 this year.
The film was earlier scheduled to hit screens on September 11 this year.
For the unaware, Vijay Deverakonda essays the role of Ranabaali, while Rashmika Mandanna plays his wife Jayamma in the film. Arnold Vosloo, best known for his work in ‘The Mummy’, plays the antagonist Sir Theodore Hector.
‘Ranabaali’ is being produced on a grand scale by Naveen Yerneni and Y. Ravi Shankar, with T-Series presenting the film. The movie is set against a British-era backdrop and is being made as a period action drama. Set in the 19th century, the film is based on real historical events that took place between 1854 and 1878, and is being mounted as a massive pan-India project.
Sources claim ‘Ranabaali’ is inspired by real incidents from the 1850s that never found space in mainstream history books. They say it will be based on real incidents in the time period of 1850-1900 and that the film will look to showcase incidents that the British misrepresented in history.
Sources have also pointed out that Ranabaali will not be a biopic, and not a textbook retelling but will be a cinematic reconstruction of an era built from multiple real accounts, oral histories, and suppressed records.
After ‘Geetha Govindam’ and ‘Dear Comrade’, ‘Ranabaali’ will be the third film in which Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda will be seen appearing together as a pair.
–IANS
mkr/