Telugu mega star Chiranjeevi’s ambitious big budget period drama Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy releases worldwide on 2 October. Directed by Surender Reddy and produced by Ram Charan, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is set around 10 years before the uprising of 1857, and is the story of Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, who is believed to have fought the first war of independence against the British. Apart from Chiranjeevi, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Vijay Sethupathi, Sudeep, Nayanthara, Jagapati Babu and Tamannaah. The film will released in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.
Here are 5 things you wouldn’t have known about the Chiranjeevi - Amitabh Bachchan-starrer:
1. Chiranjeevi Delayed Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy for 10 Years
Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy would have been made and released almost a decade earlier had it been not for Chiranjeevi’s detour into politics. Chiranjeevi revealed this during a conversation that he had with Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar recently. Bachchan also mentioned that he had advised Chiranjeevi to not get into politics, but the Telugu superstar did not listen to him. “Chiranjeevi told me that he needed to join politics. I told him ‘Sir please do not make that mistake. I have told Rajini the same thing’. But he (Chiranjeevi) never listens. Anyhow he went in,” said Bachchan. Chiranjeevi then said that he had been narrated the script of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy 12 years ago, however since he went into politics, he took a break from films for over 9 years, which ended up delaying the film. Chiranjeevi also added that he regretted not taking Bachchan’s advice to keep away from politics.
2. Malayalam Star Prithviraj Was to Act In Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy
When the casting for Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy was on, Chiranjeevi wanted Malayalam star Prithviraj to be a part of the project. Chiranjeevi was impressed with Prithviraj after having seen him in the Hindi film Aiyya. When Chiranjeevi was recently in Kochi to promote the film, Prithviraj was the chief guest at the event. It was here that Chiranjeevi revealed that he had approached Prithviraj to do a role in Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. "Prithviraj’s presence here made my day. After seeing him in Aiyya, I wanted to give him a role in Sye Raa. Unfortunately, we couldn’t cast him because he was in Spain for some other movie. We missed you," said Chiranjeevi. It looks like Prithviraj regrets not doing the film too, "After seeing the footage, I feel sad because Chiranjeevi sir had called me to act in it, but I was busy with other projects. Now, I really wish I was part of it," is what the actor had to say.
3. Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy has More VFX than Baahubali
If you thought SS Rajamouli’s blockbuster Baahubali had lots of VFX going for it, wait till you watch Sye Raa Narasimha. Chiranjeevi’s ambitious period film has more visual effects than Baahubali and this has been confirmed by filmmaker Rajamouli himself. Speaking to the media after seeing the rushes of Sye Raa Narasimha, Rajamouli revealed that the film has about 3800 VFX shots while Baahubali had only 2300. He also said, "I know how difficult it is to make an emotional film in the milieu of VFX. I congratulate director Surender Reddy for pulling it off."
4. Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy Gets Highest Price for Satellite Rights
The buzz and hype over Chiranjeevi’s Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is so high that the film has been picked up for a record rate as far as satellite rights for a south Indian film is concerned. According to sources close the the film, Zee Network has apparently bought the rights to broadcast Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy for a huge Rs 125 crore. The success of Baahubali, and the star power of Chiranjeevi and Amitabh Bachchan apart from the overwhelming feedback that the trailer has received must have pushed the network to grab the rights for such a high price.
5. AR Rahman Out, Amit Trivedi In
The makers of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy wanted Academy Award winning composer AR Rahman to do the music of their big budget period drama. However, in November 2017, after considering the project initially, Rahman had to back out of the film because of his heavy schedule. The next year, as pre-production on the film commenced, Amit Trivedi was signed on as the music composer of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. Trivedi has composed 4 tracks for Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, you can listen to them here:
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