Mullapudi Venkata Ramana

"Maata, maata mukhyamoyi, ee dabbu daskam poye tappudu moota kattukupotaamaa .... harishchandrudu chudu, maata migilipothundi ....

"Sarelevoyi, harishchandrudu matram poye tappudu maatani moota kattukuni poyada"

I have always been a fan of Bapu's movies ..... Recently after reading a few literary works by Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, I now know where does the characters get their irony, satire and sarcasm from .....

A few pieces of excellence in writing (films or books) made me want to read all the books written by him .. The magic his words has created with Bapu's lens on screen is beyond any words ....

In "Buddhimantudu", a social drama, the religious ANR, who is a priest at a local temple, starts to have visions of Lord Krishna, appearing to him in person, talking to him. At one point Lord Krishna even says

"asalu nenu lenu emo, nenu nee kalpana emo",

when the priest starts straying away from humanity toward religious fanaticism.

"Asuya ghataina prema ki thermometer " says a character while trying to reason his possessiveness,

"maa rendo bavamaridi adda gaadidalle tirugutunnaadu, mee office lo emaina udyogam unte chudaradu"
"nenuuuu, adda gaadidalaki, aa maata meere annaru, udyogaalu ivvanu" says the one of the main characters leading to the crux of the story.

"Cegatri, akasam lo murder jariginattu ledu, suryudu nethuru gadda la ledu" says villian in introduction and the way we perceive the character changes from there on ...

Take a raw emotion, add right amounts of sensibility, throw in capability for good measure, mix it up well with a humorous lightening rod, allow it to settle in a volatile container. The concoction sums up Sri Ramana's characters. His characters usually spread out on the far sides of the colorful spectrum. Either they are truly sensible, looking at the world without any hang ups or they are completely outlandish bordering on biting sarcasm, fantasy and cynicism (basu baavamaridi in pelli pustakam).

Its too sad that articles by people like Sri Ramana are not published frequently in websites, like they used to in magazines earlier. If it can be believed that to study a subject from various authors gives students much better understanding of the subject, what else can be the best way to learn about life rather than reading works by people like Sri Ramana.

Ramana's enthusiasm is ruled by Bapu's sensibility. Bapu's vision is enhanced by Ramana's brilliance in writing. They remain the two sides of the same coin. Their association has broken many accepted truths - artists good on paper can never be great on film; only opposites attract; nobody would watch mythological characters in a social setting; telugu heroine should never look like one from telugu land; heroism in a movie is directly proportional to the body count in the fights; heroine should always be dependent on the hero for her existence.

I hope to read a lot and let you guys know the proceedings ....

Let me finish off this post with a dialogue between Budugu and Ceegana Peesunamba .....

budugu walks in front of a mirror, looks into it, folds his hand (in namaskaaram fashion) and starts singing:

okkade mahaanubhaavudu, aa okkadiki vandanamulu...

Pesoonamba rushes into the frame and starts yelling:

mashtaaru,veedu, paatanu khooni chestunnaadu

budugu looks at Peesunamba, obligingly and corrects his song, this time turned toward her:

iddare mahaanubhavulu,aa iddarikee vandanamulu...

Ceegana Peesunamba is pleased!