Rangasthalam will transport you to a different era: Ram Charan

Nearly 16 months after wowing audiences with his portrayal of a tech-savvy cop in the slick thriller Dhruva, Ram Charan is back on screen again, only this time as Chitti Babu — a lungi-clad villager with a thick Godavari accent in Sukumar’s rural drama Rangasthalam. And as Tollywood’s Mega Power Star turns 33 today, he says the film is a reflection of how drastically his approach to cinema has changed.
“Wanting a change in every film and doing something that will challenge you is most important for any actor.Especially now, the audience is so smart and clever, they want something new all the time. They want to see that you have put in some effort into your character. And that doesn’t happen if you are not excited. Which is why I decided to take up films that will excite me right from when it is narrated to me,” says the birthday boy, explaining why he took up Rangasthalam straight after Dhruva.
“I know this is going to be a sure shot hit. This movie will reach out to more audience and will become a milestone both for Sukumar and me. It will cross all boundaries,” he says confidently.
Set in the backdrop of an imaginary village called Rangasthalam, in Rajahmundry of the 80s, the film will transport viewers into a rustic milieu, devoid of all the technological trappings that define our lives today.
“It is very authentically shot, whether it’s the locations or the costumes. You’ll believe that you travelled back to another era once you enter the theatre,” says the actor who has made a hitherto unseen fashion statement with his eclectic lungi-clad look, a complete departure from his suave onscreen image.
But the actor says that wearing lungis is nothing new to him. “Not many know this, but I wear a lungi at home. Not the ones I’m wearing in the film, but plain white ones. In fact, when Sukumar came home to narrate the script, I was wearing one. After the narration, when I asked him what my look would be, and he said ‘What you are wearing right now’. He was delighted to see that I was already comfortable with wearing lungis,” Charan recalls.
However, mastering the Godavari dialect was most challenging part playing Chitti Babu. “I always struggled to understand the Godavari slang because they speak very fast. And Sukumar was particular that I pronounce every little word exactly the way it is supposed to be with the right intonation. That was the hardest part,” says the actor, who has just finished dubbing for the film.
Admittedly he was extremely skeptical about doing this character initially, given how different it is from the films he has done in the past. “Chitti Babu is partially deaf, he can hear only when spoken to loud enough. When I heard the script for the first time, I was doubtful about how Sukumar will balance the heroism in the characterisation, but the way he used the physical impairment to elevate the drama, comedy, romance and action is phenomenal,” admits the actor adding, “It is a political drama, and why we chose a semi deaf protagonist will become apparent beautifully when you watch the film.”