Ahead of SS Rajamouli's RRR, take a look at the portrayal of Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem in Telugu cinema

RRR, the multi-lingual historical fiction drama that's to hit theatres later this year, is an important film for reasons beyond its stellar cast and crew, comprising names like SS Rajamouli, Jr NTR, Ram Charan Tej, Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn. The entire world is gearing up to watch the fictional tale of a friendship between two iconic Telugu figures, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, who've inspired their community with their selfless sacrifices and the causes they stood up for. This Independence day, let us take a look at their reel-life and real-life stories.

While Alluri Sitarama Raju dedicated his life towards the independence struggle, Komaram Bheem is a deity-equivalent among the Adivasis in the Telangana region, a leader who held multiple agitations during the Nizam rule to protect the basic rights of his community. The two were fearless, the voice of the voiceless, stood up for the people around them and were sons of the soil whose contributions still ring relevant nearly 8-9 decades after their death. Alluri Sitarama Raju, born in a village Pandarangi, near Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh (then Madras Presidency) is certainly the more popular and celebrated figure in comparison to his Adilabad-based counterpart Komaram Bheem. 

Popularly hailed as Manyam Veerudu (the warrior of the jungle), Alluri led several agitations calling for the abolishment of British rule, conducting raids and stealing guns from police stations to attack British officers, uniting tribal groups from various parts of the East Godavari and Visakhapatnam region for rebellions. He may have met his end while being executed by the British in Koyyuru, but he lives eternally in the Telugu land where the very mention of Alluri has its people swelling with pride.

Komaram Bheem's efforts, no less iconic, were directed at the Nizam rulers who failed to provide basic rights for the Adivasis to lead a life of dignity. Besides championing the cause of his community, Komaram Bheem was a man passionate about weapons, determined to end the Nizam rule. He eventually led a group of warriors who fought tirelessly protesting against the injustice meted out to them. Komaram Bheem and his group breathed their last at a battle against policemen in 1940 and (in more ways than one) had also sowed the seed for the subsequent creation of the separate Telangana state.

SS Rajamouli's RRR establishes a common link between Alluri and Komaram Bheem during the late 1910s and 1920, a strange phase where no historical documents or evidence inform us about their whereabouts. Given the two battle heroes used similar methods to unite the people against tyrannical rulers later, Rajamouli has tried to forge a bond between them in a fictional story in 1920, establishing a firm foundation for the path they eventually treaded. This gives a scope for a lot of 'mischief' in terms of historical authenticity, but one must look at the larger picture of how the stories of two Telugu warriors will now have a global audience.

In Telugu cinema, many early generation actors since the 1950s nursed a dream to play Alluri Sitaramaraju on-screen at any given opportunity. Probably the best Telugu actor to have lived, NTR too was no exception to this. He was part of several look tests to play Alluri since the mid-1950s but nothing had materialised. Shooting at live locations wasn't a popular practice then and it wasn't practical for the star to be part of long outdoor schedules amid forests with huge crowds who would throng at the location. Besides, most writers who approached NTR for the biopic on Alluri came up with conflicting versions of the story. NTR didn't want to risk such liberties while playing such a popular figure. The project kept getting delayed.

While NTR was still keen to do a film based on Alluri's life, destiny didn't favour him. Actor Krishna, not even a decade into films then, finally took the plunge and went ahead to play Alluri based on a superbly written script by Maharadhi that had its fair share of cinematic liberties and factual inaccuracies. Krishna, delivering the performance of a lifetime, sunk his teeth into the portrayal of the freedom fighter with an intensity, ferociousness and composure like no other film in his career. It was a career-defining act that even made NTR say, 'I don't think so anyone could have done justice to Alluri Sitaramaraju on screen as much as you.' Directed by KSR Das and V Ramachandra Rao, Alluri Seetharama Raju is the most popular Telugu film based on an independence hero to date.

The fictional liberty that was taken in Alluri Seetharama Raju, the film, attains more significance when we talk of RRR. Writer Maharadhi created an emotional hook for audiences in the 1974 release to emotionally invest in the lead character by introducing a fictional role named Sita, a distant cousin of Alluri and his supposed love interest. In the film, Alluri, who was known as Rama Raju till then, renames himself, Sitarama Raju, after the premature death of Sita (in honour of her). The fictional role yet again finds a place in RRR with actress Alia Bhatt playing the role.  

NTR fulfilled his desire of essaying Alluri Sitarama Raju on-screen finally with Dasari Narayana Rao's Sardar Papa Rayudu, a social film about a freedom fighter who's put behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. The director smartly visualised NTR in the garb of Alluri for an episode, a burra katha highlighting the contributions of independence heroes. It was a press meet organised during this shoot that the actor-politician talked about his interest to serve the people. Even in the film that NTR had last shot for, Major Chandrakanth, we see him as Alluri briefly for a song sequence.

Sadly, the only popular film to have solely focused on Komaram Bheem's life, named after him, was directed by Allani Sreedhar, a former associate of Dasari Narayana Rao. The writer S Pran, Sreedhar spent several days understanding the lifestyles of the tribals in Adilabad before they set out to make the film. These were lives of the marginalised communities that hardly made it on the big screen in Telugu and the makers had to be doubly sure to do justice to their on-screen representation. The film that was made in the early 90s had to 'agonisingly' wait for nearly two decades to make it to theatres in 2010.

Komaram Bheem, the film, had taken a few liberties, especially with the man's personal life where he was believed to have multiple wives. The makers felt this would unnecessarily divert the viewer's focus away from the story and instead portrayed him as a one-woman man. The attention to detail in the marriage sequence highlighting the customs and practices of the Gonds makes for a terrific watch. Bhoopal Reddy was cast in the title role for the same. Despite its delayed release, the film resonated with crowds and ran for over 100 days. 

While the director of Komaram Bheem, Sreedhar had aspirations to helm the biopic of the Adivasi leader for Hindi audiences, he's still happy that SS Rajamouli has taken the initiative to tell his story with a universal appeal. Another film Veera Bheem also focused on the warrior's life, though it went relatively unnoticed. RRR doesn't only have the burden of pleasing the fans of stars like Jr NTR and Ram Charan but also shoulders the responsibility of telling the stories of two Telugu warriors to a new generation of film-watching audiences without diluting facts too much.

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