Movie 'RRR' - and remembering Alluri Sitarama Raju, this day !

 

తెలుగు వీరలేవరా..ఆఆ ..ఆఆ - దీక్షబూని సాగరా.  Heard this song !  "Telugu Veera levara " – written by Sri Sri and sung by Ghantasala, V. Ramakrishna that won the National Film award for best lyrics in 1974.  The film in which this song was featured  ran for 175 days and grossed more than a crore !! 

Alluri Sitarama Raju (4^th July 1898  – 7 May 1924)[1] was a great  revolutionary involved in the Indian independence movement. After the passing of the 1882 Madras Forest Act, its restrictions on the free movement of tribal people in the forest prevented them from engaging in their traditional podu agricultural system, which involved shifting cultivation. Alluri led the Rampa Rebellion of 1922, during which a band of tribal people and other sympathisers fought in the border areas of the East Godavari and Visakhapatnam regions of Madras Presidency, in present-day Andhra Pradesh, against the British Raj, which had passed the law. He was referred to as "Manyam Veerudu" (transl. 'Hero of the Jungle') by the local villagers.

Harnessing some aspects of the earlier non-cooperation movement and with widespread support among the tribal people, Alluri led raids on police stations in and around Chintapalle, Rampachodavaram, Dammanapalli, Krishna Devi Peta, Rajavommangi, Addateegala, Narsipatnam and Annavaram. With his followers, he stole guns and ammunition and killed several British police officers, including two near Dammanapalli. Alluri was eventually trapped by the British in the forests of Chintapalle, then tied to a tree and was executed by gunfire in Koyyuru village. His tomb is in Krishnadevipeta village.

Alluri Sitarama Raju was born in Pandrangi village in Padmanabham mandal in the Visakhapatnam district.  This  lies in the Bheemunipatnam legislative assembly constituency. Contemporary reports indicate that he had an undistinguished education but took a particular interest in astrology, herbalism, palmistry and horse-riding before becoming a sannyasi at the age of 18. His father died when he was in school and he grew up in the care of his uncle 'Rama Krishnam Raju', a tehsildar in Narsapur in the West Godavari district.  

After the passing of the 1882 Madras Forest Act in an attempt to exploit the economic value of wooded areas, its restrictions on the free movement of tribal peoples in the forests prevented them from engaging in their traditional podu agricultural system, a subsistence economy which involved shifting cultivation. The changes meant that they faced starvation and their main means of avoiding it was the demeaning, arduous, foreign and exploitative coolie system use by the government and its contractors for such things as road construction. Alluri harnessed the discontent of the tribal people to support his anti-colonial zeal, whilst also accommodating the grievances of those muttadars.

 

Alluri adopted aspects of the Gandhian non-cooperation movement, such as promoting temperance and the boycott of colonial courts in favour of local justice administered by panchayat courts, to attract support. Although the movement died out in early 1922, it had reached the plains area and he had been involved in propagation of some of its methods among the hill people as a means to raise their political consciousness and desire for change.  The armed rebellion began in August when Alluri led 500 people and raided  police stations at Chintapalle, Krishna Devi Peta and Rajavommangi, from which he gained possession of guns and ammunition. He subsequently toured the area, getting more recruits and killing a member of a British police force that had been sent to find him. The British struggled in their pursuit, in part because of the unfamiliar terrain and also because the local people in this sparsely populated area were unwilling to betray Alluri.     Alluri ambushed a police party from a high position as they went through the Dammanapalli Ghat, killing two officers and cementing his reputation among the people.   

Alluri was eventually trapped by the British in the forests of Chintapalle. He was tied to a tree and shot dead in Koyyuru Village. His tomb is in Krishna Devi Peta Village

The Telugu-language movie Alluri Seetharama Raju (1974), featuring actor Krishna, depicted Alluri's life.  The film  directed by V. Ramachandra Rao from a screenplay by Maharadhi Tripuraneni starred Krishna, Vijaya Nirmala and Jaggayya, the film was produced by Padmalaya Studios marking the 100th film of Krishna.  The movie is considered to be South India's first CinemaScope film.  Here is the award winning song :  Telegu veera levara : 

RRR is an upcoming action drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli. The film is produced by D. V. V. Danayya of DVV Entertainments. It stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, and Olivia Morris.   It is stated to be a fictional story about two Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Rama Rao), who fought against the British Raj and Nizam of Hyderabad respectively. The film's music is scored by M. M. Keeravani with cinematography by K. K. Senthil Kumar. The film's  expected release in Jan  2021 has been deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is now scheduled to release on 13 October 2021 in multiple languages including Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
4^th July 2021.