I've lived in Hyderabad for the last eight months, and hadn't visited the famous
Ramoji Film City in all this while. Until last week.
Karen and Brad, of
no.w.here were here in Hyderabad, and wanted to go filming in
Ramoji. I decided I'd take the day off to accompany them. I fixed an appointment with the International Marketing Manager, we rented a cab for the day and set off to
Ramoji.
It was a spectacular place. Larger than I imagined, sprawling over acres and acres of beautiful
Andhra landscape - coconut trees, large loose rocks and tiny hills. When we arrived at what turned out to be the ticket counter, we were told that the heart of the film city was still 8km away.
We were greeted by a friendly manager, who had us refreshed with a cup of tea and then introduced us to the general manager, who heard our plan and request and then agreed to allow us to shoot at a couple of locations within
Ramoji. They arranged for a
coordinator to take us around in our cab and we set off.
I was at once amazed by the lovely landscaped gardens, and the neat roads with fountains and abstract statues. The
coordinator was friendly and cheerful, as was, we soon found out, everyone who worked at
Ramoji.
The first location/set he took us to, was a village square. Indian village square. Very nice. Small shops. Pan
wala, bullock carts, stalls and small houses. All against a stunning backdrop of a steep rocky hill. Karen and Brad at once decided that they would film there.
The other location we shot at, was a lovely
Hindu temple. Just the kinds you see at the movies, with white pillars and bells. The funny thing was our guide told us that the pillars were of plaster of
Paris and could be taken off and moved around. So, of course, it wasn't really a temple, and there was no idol in the inner chamber. But, he insisted that we take our shoes off if we wanted to go into the inner chamber.
That's the duality of our rituals and beliefs. Unreal and real at the same time.
After that, we went to an airport, a railway station, a Kings courtroom - straight out of an episode of the Mahabharata - and one location that we were really, really lucky to see.
A film had recently been shot at
Ramoji and a grant set worth 1.3
crores had been created. The film was something to do with
Yama - The Angel of Death and the set, was a dark chamber, ornate with golden carvings and marble floors. It was an incredible set. And the only place where we weren't allowed to take photos. But then, we were very lucky to see that set. It would soon be taken down.
But more than the large area of
Ramoji and its brilliantly designed and maintained land, what we were also impressed by, was the looming legend of Mr.
Ramoji. The man who owned it all.
Mr.
Ramoji owned all of this. It was incredible. The film city has its own broadcasting center and owns 12 regional TV channels. They have a state of the art film processing and editing lab and post production and fully
equipped sound studios. They said, all you need is to come to
Ramoji with a script, and you can leave with a film.
We drove past Mr.
Ramoji's house.
Brad said he was reminded of Citizen Kane. It's true. The man's aura seemed ev
erywhere. AT the desk of an employee whose office we
visited, was a photograph of him and I asked if that was Mr.
Ramoji. The man, a manager of the building which held all kinds of props,
fervently nodded and said, 'He's my God.' We couldn't help but be very intrigued and a bit awed by what we heard.
Ramoji Film City has existed for 8 years now. But hundred of Indian films and a handful of international films have been created with the help and magic of
Ramoji. I want to make a film there. I will, I think.
More pics here.
I love the light in the water. But the point here is the extremely ordinary camera I've used for most of my photography, and got excellent results.
I've made great pictures from running trains, and speeding bikes, and what not. This one from a moving train - but an almost perfect composition.
i'm very bored. so bored, that i went through all the thousands of photos on my computer and collected all the photos with anything ROUND.
erywhere. AT the desk of an employee whose office we visited, was a photograph of him and I asked if that was Mr. Ramoji. The man, a manager of the building which held all kinds of props, fervently nodded and said, 'He's my God.' We couldn't help but be very intrigued and a bit awed by what we heard.
