Chiru makes a splash as Uyyalawada

It was an early birthday present for Megastar Chiranjeevi’s fans as the teaser of his eagerly-awaited historical period drama, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy was unveiled today. The 80-second video which recounts the tale of India’s unsung freedom fighter Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy gives a glimpse of the protagonist holding the fort almost single-handedly and spearheading the rebellion against the British in the battlefield. “Whose war is this?” asks Narasimha Reddy (Chiru) as the video ends with him performing his signature courbette.

The gala event was graced by Chiru’s mother Anjana Devi, his wife Surekha Konidela, actor-producer Ram Charan, director Surender Reddy, Paruchuri Brothers and the other crew of the film.

Veteran writer Paruchuri Gopala Krishna revealed that it was their dream to see Chiranjeevi in this historical role. “The story of Sye Raa... stayed with us for 12 years. Like Pushkaralu which is observed once in 12 years, it took Chiranjeevi garu that long to start his ambitious project. Of all the 356 films we have written, only a few give us immense satisfaction. We take pride in writing this landmark film, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, which I believe will rewrite the history of Telugu cinema,” he said.

Ram Charan explained that the team did thorough research before commencing the shoot. “To avoid any inaccuracies, director Surender Reddy spent one year to gather all the details. The film has been dad’s dream for 12 years. He had a deep regret of not working in a costume drama in his career. We have neither fixed a cap on the budget nor we are worried about the profits it will make. We wanted to make this film on a grand scale,” said Charan.

Also starring Nayanthara, Amitabh Bachchan and Sudeep, Sye Raa...will release in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada in Summer 2019. The film has music by Bollywood composer Amit Trivedi.