Ranabaali is not a freedom struggle film, says director Rahul Sankrityan

Director Rahul Sankrityan has made it clear that Ranabaali is not a freedom struggle drama. In a recent interview he said the period film tells a lesser known story of Rayalaseema and its people.

The idea came from a trip to his father's village on the Kurnool Kadapa border. A local festival there had started again after a gap of nearly 50 years, and its rituals, crowds and music stayed with him. Rahul said he wanted to show the region's raw culture, its language and its rocky landscapes without falling back on the usual faction and violence formula.

His team spent close to three years on research. They visited villages, museums, archaeology departments and archives, and attended jatara celebrations. The story is set in a famine period, and for it Rahul went through British gazettes and old records. He said the team feels a strong duty to get the history right.

Burrakatha also shaped the film. In this tradition, stories of local heroes are passed down through songs and performances, and Rahul said Ranabaali is told with that flavour. After years of research, he believes the script is some of his best writing.

He also held test screenings for two separate groups of viewers. Based on their feedback, he toned down two violent sequences that audiences found deeply disturbing and that hurt the portions after them.

Reports say Ranabaali releases on October 16.