It’s been two weeks since I saw the film Mallesham and something about it still lingers on; actually a lot of things. Until a year back pitching a fiction film with out and out Telangana backdrop would have been a herculean task while finding producers and collaborators. Now there’s a reference and a promise of a market. Perhaps the biggest contribution by the makers of Mallesham is that fimmakers like me can now confidently quote budgets required and show narrative potential in the existing market scene which now has space for films rich in Telangana flavour. It has perhaps changed forever.
While cinema history saw filmmakers like Shyam Benegal and B Narsing Rao locating their stories in Telangana, their language was distant from anything popular often carrying the burden of the tags like ‘art-house cinema’. And their reach was also quite narrow, usually limiting to film festivals audiences. The only exception in this context perhaps is Maa Bhoomi (1980) by Goutam Ghose which was a commercial hit during its release; Gaddar’s song (Bandenaka Bandi Katti Padahaaru Bandlu Katti) written by Bandi Yadagiri contributing to much of its success. Later earnest attempts by R Narayana Murthy collaborating with Vandemataram Srinivas saw some cinema in that direction but they couldn’t breakout much into the mainstream due to various sociopolitical factors within the film culture.
Now a lot has changed. In the urgency to find its own mark and identity on the map of Cinemas of India, Telangana idiom has been in its formation since the bifurcation from Andhra Pradesh. There’s an audience and a market since the formation of the separate state in 2014. But no film has tapped this opportunity until two Fridays back. It required high risk and a stubborn conviction. And the director-producer of the Mallesham, Raj R seems to have sailed this journey with a singular vision – to make a popular film thick with Telangana language, landscape, music and culture. And he does succeed this with a lot of grace by not only pulling off aesthetically rich storytelling but also seeing box office success..
I initially thought choosing a story of Padma Shri Chintakindi Mallesham had a safe bet in it as it had the potential to feed in the Telangana pride for the audience that’s been hungry for a cultural assertion. After seeing the film, I realised how it was tightrope walk that could have fallen flat on its head. While the story choice did contribute to a pan-India international visibility, it was only riskier as many knew the story back home.
With mild hiccups in the narrative flow and some beats, Mallesham engages with memorable performances by the entire cast with Ananya Nagalla and Anchor Jhansi standing out with their ease. Actor Priyadarshi in the lead delivers some significant cinematic moments carrying the whole narrative burden on this shoulders.
For all the visual medium that cinema is, much of the film’s realistic treatment and earthiness is contributed by its production design by Laxman Aelay and cinematography by Balu Sandilyasa that looks simple on the surface which is only strenuous to achieve when it comes to details and making the camera invisible. Knowing them personally, I can say how they were a blessing to the project for their commitment and passion for the image. Additionally the dialogues by Peddinti Ashok Kumar along with Raj R, (sync) sound design by Nithin Lukose and music by Mark K Robin adds to that nuanced realistic image. The songs render the earthiness with measured amounts of instrumentation that keep the folk flavour of less-heard Telangana music. Audiences in theaters have never experienced such a thick image drenched in the Telangana flavours and presented in a consumable format with tickling humour and relatable drama. It now seems like the film was bound to win hearts.
Finally the people behind the refreshing promotional strategies and market positioning have helped the film effortlessly standout in the loud mainstream commercial noise. Kudos to them!
Guess i’ll write a separate post on just the film some other time focusing on the cinematic choices that shaped the film’s idiomatic nuances. For now, i’ll conclude here… Congratulations to the entire team of Mallesham the movie for being a part of this historic project that will be remembered as the first popular Telangana film and for the way it has ushered the Telangana idiom in the Cinemas of India. A project like this could not have been possible without a stubborn conviction and continued enthusiasm.
Originally posted on my Facebook wall dated: July 8, 2019
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