Film Trailer Launch and Director's Vision

The director Rahul, who is going to introduce World to all of us, is here.

Good evening, everyone!

It has been many years since I made a film.

After many years, I took the time to bring you a great

film.

It took this much time. Now, once again, I am very proudly presenting

this film to you

all. First, since we just launched the trailer,

and you will all be watching the film on the 16th, the purpose behind making this film

and what my vision is, I will give you a brief

about the film.

So, after making my last film, Shyam Singha Roy, while thinking about what

to do for my next film,

a Burrakatha came to me.

The story of a hero from Rayalaseema.

Before cinema existed as a medium, people used to tell stories as Burrakathas

in villages.

Now, with all this social media and Instagram,

word of mouth spreads, people talk about each film, and films

are doing well.

In the days when none of that existed, a story would travel for hundreds of years.

From one generation to another, through these Burrakathas.

So, I happened to hear one such Burrakatha.

When I heard it,

I was shocked. It was the story of a hero I heard there.

The gods speak with him, he faces demons,

he fights great battles, he rides horses,

he came from Rayalaseema. When I heard the story of such a hero, this—this kind of

film, I

decided should be my next one.

Ranabali’s journey began with the thought that I should tell a great film rooted in Telugu, in beautiful Telugu,

with powerful emotions.

So, when I tried to tell it that way, I thought, “Okay, what should I say?”

When I considered what the story's content should say,

I began reading the history of Rayalaseema.

When I did, I read only about this one famine

That famine was not just for Rayalaseema, but for Coastal Andhra and a part

of Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Mysore.

It was the same famine that affected everyone.

It was a great famine that lasted for one or two years. We call it a famine.

Its name was the Great South Indian Madras Famine.

It's even on Wikipedia, if you want, take a look.

When I read about it, I was shocked.

The news that ten million people died in just two years made me wonder,

“Is this even possible?”

If something this huge happened, why didn't I read about it?

Why wasn't it written about in my textbook? I thought it might be a mistake.

But after researching it, reading many books about it, and so much more…

I traveled and met many historians, did all that research.

When I realized it was

real history, I decided then this would be the next story I'd tell.

This is definitely a story that needs to be told to the world.

By then, I already had a film to make with Mr. Ravi at Mythri.

So, while discussing a few ideas with Mr. Ravi, when we first thought of making this film,

I first went to Mr. Ravi with an outline, saying it would be like this and this.

I explained the structure to Mr. Ravi.

When I said I was going to make a film with this kind of character and backdrop,

I...

Mr. Ravi supported me a lot. He was very excited.

He said, "The film will be great. We definitely have to make it."

At the same time, we both wondered, "Who do we need for this?"

We need a powerful, power-packed actor for this.

Why a...

When we see one, from the Chandamama storybook magazine cover pages of our childhood,

what would a hero look like? He'd have a sword and a horse.

He would.

Who is a person with that kind of cutout, a character with that kind of cutout?

Who would work that hard? Who would devote so much time to us?

All of that was because, when I was writing the script, I knew that whoever was going to do this,

he

wouldn't have an easy year in his life.

So when I saw someone like that, Vijay, none other than Vijay Deverakonda,

as Ranabali, was the only option I could see.

So I immediately approached Vijay, and Vijay loved the idea. Luckily, Vijay

also loves history. At the same time, he was also reading the same

history.

He was reading it. So when I told him, we were sure this was

a story that had to be told to the world.

We both decided that. That was when our journey began.

From there, this entire journey took about four years.

Two years of research and writing, two years for the entire production.

Having spent four years bringing it all together, on October 16, to you

we are going to present it.

So, such a severe famine, one that took ten million

lives,

because of things some foreigners did for their own selfish interests,

is not a story that happened long ago.

It was 150 years ago, in the generations before

our grandparents and great-grandparents.

So, all our ancestors in those generations experienced this.

Today, if we place an order on Swiggy, in five days—five minutes, ten minutes, Bolt

delivery brings us food.

But just think, simply because there was no food,

entire families, families like ours, all had to die.

As many as ten million people died. The story of what happened to our ancestors

made me angry. That anger, that

rage gave rise to

this Ranabali.

So now you've seen it in the trailer.

To free those crazed ghouls from the demon, what if Kassapur

Manjaneyaswamy comes face-to-face with them, that's what Ranabali is about.

So, the name of Ranabali, the slayer of Suryasimha and Tarakasura,

is what I gave this film. Kumaraswamy, before going to war,

is said to assume the form of Ranabali. So he is called Ranabali Murugan.

So that's the meaning of the title Ranabali. The film, too, is set amid a war.

On the sixteenth, I say this with great pride, from the house of Maitri, we

are bringing you

an absolute cinematic experience, that is Ranabali.

I hope you enjoy the trailer. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mr. Rahul. Wishing you all the very best