Ramoji Film City set up by visionary and media baron Ramoji Rao, who passed away in Hyderabad on Saturday, is a cinema lover's paradise. For filmmakers across the country, it is where their dreams became a reality. From S S Rajamouli's 'RRR' and Baahubali to Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Chennai Express' and Shankar's 'Robot', the city has offered a plethora of infrastructure and space where directors could create their own sets and shoot.
A few filmmakers in Kerala too flew to Hyderabad to shoot their films there. Ace filmmaker Rosshan Andrrews's 'Udayananu Tharam' was among the first Malayalam movies to be shot in the film city. According to Rosshan, 25 per cent of the movie was shot in the film city, including the Princess Street and other locations. “Our film required a film studio setting. We heard about the Ramoji Film City when we began searching for such a studio space. Shooting in that location was not as expensive then. We could complete the project at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore,” he said.
The song 'Karale Karalinte Karale', featuring Sreenivasan and Meena, was shot there. “Before finalising on our shoot, producer C Karunakaran and myself visited Ramoji Film City and clicked pictures from there. When we returned home, we decided to include the city as a character in the movie,” he said.
The filmmaker admitted that a few other Malayali directors had dissuaded them from shooting the movie in the film city. “They told us the place was not lucky for filmmakers. Despite that, we went ahead with our project there. The movie became a huge hit,” he said.
Apart from 'Udayanu Tharam', 'Kanal' directed by M Padmakumar and featuring Mohanlal and Anoop Menon was shot in the film city. A portion of Nadirsha's hit movie 'Amar Akbar Anthony' was also filmed there. Mohanlal-starrer 'Shikkar' and 'China Town' were also shot there.
