Geetanjali (1989) — Enni Rojulu Bratukutaaro Teliyadu...

After The Interval (Interval Ke Baad) — Season 1, Episode 5

Remember that feeling? The theater goes dark, that first note of music hits, and for the next three hours, nothing else matters.

You asked. We heard you. Today, we come home.

1989. A country cracking open. A new India is emerging. And in the misty hills of Ooty, a director who had never made a Telugu film walked onto a hillside at five in the morning to catch the light just right, and made the most beautiful love story Telugu cinema has ever seen.

Bharath and Neelima rewatch Mani Ratnam's Geetanjali — the film that made Nagarjuna, discovered Girija Shettar at a wedding, gave Ilayaraja one of his greatest albums, and permanently changed what Telugu cinema could aspire to be. Why did the film that broke every rule of Telugu cinema in 1989 outlast every film that followed the rules? Why did Nagarjuna wait outside a director's door every morning for a month — and was it worth it? And what does it say about a film when its most iconic line was never in the original script?

This episode: The 1989 Telugu cinema landscape and why Geetanjali succeeded where no formula could, the extraordinary stories behind the casting, the Ilayaraja soundtrack that played on every radio before the film even released, a tribute to SPB whose voice is the soul of this film, and a personal revelation about our connection to the man whose words made it all possible — Veturi Sundararamamurthy.

This one is for every Telugu person who grew up far from home and still carries this cinema, this music, this language in their bones.

Because the best part of any movie isn't the movie — it's always the conversation after. New episodes every week.

Because the best part of any movie isn't the movie — it's always the conversation after.

New episodes every week.

Interval ke baad, the real conversation starts.

Follow us: @aftertheintervalpod
Email us: aftertheintervalpodcast@gmail.com

Produced by The LuminACE Group, LLC

Transcript

SPEAKER_07 0:11

Hey, nun and chapel, we level at easy and nano I put a moy no mural and time church and chamala and while like a matriam.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Time nala Indi.

SPEAKER_08 0:37

Those words, friends, you just heard. If you know Telugu, you already know exactly which movie it's from. And if you are hearing them for the first time, welcome. You are about to understand why an entire generation never forgot those lines. Hello, friends. I am Bharat. This is Neilima. And welcome to After the Interval, Interval Kebad. Since our very first episode, so many of our friends have been asking us, some of you politely, some of you not so politely, hey, when are you doing a Telugu film? Today. This one's for every Telugu movie fan who carries the language, the cinema, the music in their bones. We see you, we hear you, we are you. You've been patient. Thank you. Today, we come home. And our first Telugu movie is a fan favorite. And I'll say this is not just one of my favorite movies in Telugu cinema. I'll say in cinema, period. And it's directed by a legend who also happened to make only just direct one Telugu movie with a composer aptly named, and just the magic of his composition in this movie. And two lead performances so perfectly matched, so unforgettable that an entire generation of Telugu people fell in love with the film and because of the film. And ilma, the cast?

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Naga Juna Akineni, Girija Shatar, Vijay Kumar, Vijay Chandar, Sumitra, Shakar Janike, and many more.

SPEAKER_08 2:14

Yeah, but it's film it's a movie of really just two actors and then and then a host of technicians, and we'll get into that. Today we are re-watching Gitanjali because the best part of any movie is not the movie, it's always the conversation after. And friends, as we rewatch Gita Anjali, our first segment, we are calling it Manchirojalu. Nilma, we talked about 1989 when we did our first episode of After the Interval. And so what a banger of a year for movies, right? So 1989, crazy year for the world, crazy year for you and me, finishing 10th grade. We had the collapse of the Berlin Wall. We had the Tiananmen Square, and then Rajiv Gandhi lost his elections with V. P. Singh becoming prime minister. Sachin Tendulkar makes his debut. But while all of this is going on, a young actor from a very famous family is standing outside a famous director's door and begging him to make his first Telugu movie, and it is being shot in Uti at the time. Am I right?

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Yes, yes, absolutely. Going uh towards the entertainment front, I want to make an argument. And I think every Telugu person listening already knows where I'm going with this. 1989 was Nagajuna's year. Two phenomenal films, two completely different characters, same year, 1989 belong to Nagarjuna. Gita Anjali released in May a romantic drama about love and death directed by Mani Ratnam with Ileira just beautiful soundtrack, gentle, poetic, heartbreaking. The film that made women across Andhra fall completely in love with Nagarjina. And then in October Is that right? Yeah, you could say most most most women. And then in October, Shiva.

SPEAKER_08 4:36

Folks Nilma is blushing as she's describing this. I can see it on the screen.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Yeah, I mean, we all had a little crush. Yeah. We have to accept that. We have to accept that. And then in October, Shiva. Naam Hikafiere, Ram Gupalvarma's directorial debut, no written script. Ajivi just walked up to Nagajna and narrated the story to him verbally. Raw, gritty, violent, completely unlike anything Telugu Cinema had done before. The first Indian film to ever use steady cam. And this film made every young man in Andhra want to be Nagarjuna.

SPEAKER_08 5:13

Oh yes. Who didn't? Who didn't? I mean, every teenage boy. So it's funny. I I guess 1989 has to be one of the great that period between 88 and 91 has to be one of the great periods for teenage boys, just in terms of Hindi movies, all the heroines being introduced. And and funnily enough, we talked about this with Maine Piarkia. That heroine, one and done. This heroine, one and done.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 5:41

Right?

SPEAKER_01 5:42

Yeah, and maybe that's where they've remained favorites till till date. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 5:46

Oh, but when that's that song that introduces Girija comes on screen. Yes, massive crush on her. And and uh probably liked the Siva version of Nagarjuna more than the Gitanjali version, but no doubt that 1989, and we'll get into some of the movies. The other megastars had some amazing hits, but 1989 belonged to Nagarjuna.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

And it belonged to Telugu Cinema as well. We had many great movies there. And Bharat, what's your first memory of watching Gitanjali?

SPEAKER_08 6:19

I have watched that movie, I don't know, half a dozen times in the theaters and maybe a dozen times after.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

You're a true fan.

SPEAKER_08 6:27

Oh, Gitanjali has to rank in one of my top five favorite Telugu movies, maybe top ten for sure. I was just spellbound, Ilima. I was just spellbound, would be the word that comes to mind. I hadn't seen a lot of Nagarjuna movies until then. His portrayal of the character, absolutely the way Girija portrays Gitangeli, Maniratnam's directions, the songs. And if I recall, Gita Anjali was either the first movie or in that early era where the cassettes would come out before the movie came out. The album itself was doing amazing things. It was playing everywhere. So I couldn't wait to watch it. And I was just spellbound. What about you?

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Uh I remember one of my close friends, uh Madhvi at the time, who recommended this movie. And I remember be loving the movie and Equal Parts being shocked by the some of the lines the girl was saying. But overall, a great experience was spellbound by you know the locales and how beautifully PC Sri Ram and Maniratnam portrayed Uti. So yeah, uh, those are the things that come to my mind uh when when I remember recall watching it for the first time.

SPEAKER_08 7:44

I remember usually movies have a bit of a shelf life. The movie came out in 89. I started, you and I started college in 91. They were we were still singing Oh Priya Priya in 92, 93, 94. I mean, I have some crazy stories, but without a doubt, a an absolute banger. Folks, if you haven't re-watched it in a long time, it's on YouTube. Go see it. We'll tell you, we'll tell you what parts to not watch, what parts to watch. But it is if you're a movie fan, Git Anjali has to be up there.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Absolutely. Absolutely. Let's move on to our next segment. Meripula Merisawa. The movie was released on May 9th, 1989, directed by Mani Ratnam. His first and only Telugu film, like Bharat mentioned earlier. Produced by C.L. Narisa Reddi, Raveen Kumar Reddy, and Piyat Prasad. Music by Masro Ilai Raja. Cinematography by PC Shri Ram. Lyrics by the great Vedurisundaram Murtigaru. Dialogues Raj Shri. Art Direction by Tota Trany. And let me read you the list of awards it won. National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Seven Nandi Awards.

SPEAKER_08 9:06

Full sweep.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Yes. And SP Wal Subramaniam won National Award for the best male playback singer for this film. And your guess for which song?

SPEAKER_07 9:20

Oh Priya Priya.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Absolutely. The song that an entire generation grew up humming without ever knowing all the words.

SPEAKER_08 9:45

In this was 93, he got the front and back of the entire cassette deck recorded just with O Priya Priya.

SPEAKER_07 9:57

Wow.

SPEAKER_08 9:58

So what was it? 45 minutes, 40 minutes on each side? So eight times the song is a long song. It's almost six minutes long.

SPEAKER_05 10:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 10:07

So seven, eight times on this side, seven, eight times on that side. That's how popular that song was. And it probably played on the streets of the cities for a good four or five years, Neilma. I have to say, one of the most iconic songs in Telgu movies, period.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Yeah, yeah. Uh the lyrics, the music, the picturization, I mean, everything was extraordinary. It ran 50 days in 15 centers and celebrated 100 days in seven centers. It was dubbed in uh Tamil as Ideyate Thirudade, uh, which means don't steal my heart. It was released with uh 16 prints, a record number at that time, and was even a bigger success in Tamil Nadu than it had been in Telugu.

SPEAKER_08 10:49

Nili Ma?

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Uh huh.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Oh, I understand Tamil, but I can't respond. But I know these are dialogues from the movie.

SPEAKER_08 11:03

Yes, it it is the Tamil translation for Enti Nikunin Achana, Manitram Uru Dileti Podama. And here's the part 36 years later, so the movie comes out in 89. We are still in high school. In 1990, we go to Chennai for some sports event. And as soon as we land, the first guy we can grab, we grab him. We're like, hey man, we need you to translate this line into Tamil. Because we plan to use this the entire week we are here. I still remember this line so well in Tamil. That's probably one of the few lines I remember.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

But didn't you get into trouble for using this line on anybody?

SPEAKER_08 11:44

We may have to do a separate podcast on uh how many times I got into trouble thanks to Gita Anjali. But uh, I mean it is yes, no doubt massive it in Tamil too, because by then Maniratnam had already established himself as the pre-eminent director, uh taking over from Balachandar and others.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

The box of numbers only tell part of the story. The other part is what happened on the streets of Andhra after the film was released. Every young woman wanted the Githanjali dress, a three-quarter skirt with a long top, a dupatta, mirror, and chumkey work. Tailors across the state were, you know, so busy replicating it. College girls were wearing it, it had a name, not Girija's dress, Gitanjali dress.

SPEAKER_08 12:30

So I asked you about the friend cam from Maine Pyarkia. You can be honest. Did you buy the dress? Absolutely. Did you have a Gitanjali dress?

SPEAKER_01 12:38

Me and a million other girls in Andhra got it. So it would be surprising if I didn't get it.

SPEAKER_08 12:45

I mean, the entire streets would be lined up with that dress.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

Absolutely. And so many girls in colleges and schools were wearing it. And yeah, it looked very pretty at that time.

SPEAKER_08 12:56

Unbelievable. And the movie, What a Blockbuster. I mean, it just from the theaters into our hearts. And there's a bit of story in Iluma about how the name Gitanjali came into being.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

Yeah. Uh the title Git Anjali was inspired by Real Girl, an 11-year-old girl from Delhi dying of cancer, whose diaries were published. Maniratnam read her diaries and was so deeply moved that he named both the film and his heroine after her. Kirija Shatar, uh the London-born uh actress of Gitanjali, she had never acted before. She was discovered at Maniratam's wedding. She came as a guest accompanying the sister of uh cricketer Krishna Chari Shrikant. And Maniratam saw something in her that nobody else had. She spent two months preparing for the role. Since she's not a native Telugu speaker, her voice was dubbed in post-production by Rohini. Rohini. Who did a fabulous job. I mean, it just feels like uh Girja speaking. That's how completely she inhabited Gita Anjali.

SPEAKER_08 13:57

Without a doubt. And uh mad props to Nagarjuna as well, Nilima, because he comes from such an iconic film family. Certainly his dad launches him, but the two directors he put his complete faith in in 1989, mad props to Nagarjuna. And of course, that is the only Telugu movie, native Telugu movie that Maniratnam ever made.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

Absolutely. Yeah. Full credit to Nagarjuna for taking chances. Yeah. And here's the detail that stops me every time I think about it. The most quoted dialogue in the movie, the line you heard at the opening of this episode, it wasn't in Maniratnam's original script. The film ended originally very differently, more tragically. And the president of Nagajana's fan club watched it and said, no, both of them can't die. The audience will not accept it. He requested them to add something. And then this line was added by the fan club president, not, you know, not by the director. And the most uh resonant line emotionally in the movie, and this line uh defines the entire philosophy of the movie, written not by Maniratnam, not by Raj Shri, but by a fan who loved Nagajna too much to let the film end in pure tragedy.

SPEAKER_08 15:21

What a genius move that was. I think I shared with you a recent article, Neilema, where Dalit Tahil in I think the Hindustan Times said that for Kayamatse Kayamatak, there was a similar thing about, hey, don't make it too dark, don't let the lead characters die. And there was a big hue and cry. And believe it or not, they shot a second version of that ending where Amir and Juhi don't die.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_08 15:56

But Mansour's heart was never in it. He told his dad, listen, if you're gonna release this version, like I'm out, like I'm not gonna promote the movie. So I appreciate Mansur sticking to his guns and the president of the fan club. I think split the middle very nicely, which is if they were if they had shown one or both dying, then maybe it would have been the whole movie carries this irreverence. One of the reasons it is so pathbreaking is the way they handle life-threatening, and we'll get into that situation. Until that, Neilma, you and I have seen enough Telugu movies, Satyanarana would say, Blood cancer, and like it would be like a Kapur serial, the head would turn four times. But this movie handles the cancer, the heart disease in such a soft, gentle, humorous kind of way, which was pathbreaking on its own. So, again, just phenomenal approach towards all of that.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

Let's move on to our next segment. Maya Bazar.

SPEAKER_08 17:07

Oh, this will be fun because I think people will be surprised to know how well Gita Anjali did as you go through the movies of Chiranjeevi, Bhavakrishna, Nagarjuna, and Mankitesh. So please.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Chiranjeevi alone had four releases.

SPEAKER_05 17:45

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

I think the first two were massive hits. Ilay Raja composing music, Vijay Shanti opposite uh uh Chirenjivi, pure mass entertainment.

SPEAKER_08 17:56

So that mass thing was still underway, right? Chiranjee was doing his usual stuff, and Chiranjeevi's uh trilogy happens a year or two later, but Chiranjeevi was already Chiranjee by then and banging out hits.

SPEAKER_01 18:12

Absolutely. And then we had Balakrishna's Muddulamavaya, another blockbuster with uh very like hit music. Uh Venkatesh, who was still establishing himself as a leading man, had four releases too, including Prema with Revati. Also with a beautiful movie.

SPEAKER_08 18:28

We should rewatch Prema Neilima.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Sure, sure. Yeah, I'm all for it. I I was a huge Venkatesh fan too in those days.

SPEAKER_08 18:34

Me too.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_08 18:37

Till late 1989. Let's just say that.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Yeah, yeah. So this movie was released along with uh Gita Anjali, worth noting because Prema is a lovely kiln, but it didn't do the business that Gita Anjali did. Of course. Not even close. Nagajana himself had three releases in 89, Gita Anjali in May, Vikidada with Ju Chabla somewhere in between, and uh Shiva in October. Three films in one year. Then Jandhyal Garu gave us Jay Munishemura, and Barat, we have to do a Jandyala movie too.

SPEAKER_08 19:06

Yes, we have to do a Jandiala movie. I think I want we all know which one we will want to do, but we need to do a Jandyala movie soon.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

Yes, absolutely. Rajandra Prasad and Sumalitha, one of the purest, funniest comedies of the entire decade. And uh two films, two more films that deserve special mention Indradu Chandradu with Kamal Hasan and Vijay Shanti, Elay Raja's music. This is unusual. Koduku Diddina Kapuram, Krishna and Vijay Shanti, and a very young boy named Mahesh Babu in one of his earliest appearances. Nobody in the audience knew what they were looking at. And this is what 1989 looked like. This is the company Gitanjali was keeping.

SPEAKER_08 19:43

That is no small feat. Again, Nagarjuna, what a year to cut through formula number one for success at that time. To trust Maniratnam with a Telgu movie and RGV later with Siva to completely immerse himself in two characters. I think you could argue that Siva was a much more formulaic hero, even though the film was anything but formulaic. But to want to do Gita Anjali, to trust Maniatnam to do that. So amazing that Gita Anjali and Siva just cut through what was by any stretch a great year for Telugu movies, too. And uh, all right, so those are the movies, but I want to take a few minutes and talk about the director. Nilima, let me tell you, I'm gonna read out Maniratnan's filmography. I have it up on the screen from 1986 to 2000. So that's a 15-year stretch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 movies, okay? Here we go. Mauna Ragam, Naya Kudu, Agdi Nakshatram, which was Garshana in Telugu, Gita Anjali, Anjali, Dalapati, Roja, Donga Donga, which you and I love for its music. You and I are always exchanging Donga Donga songs.

SPEAKER_07 21:08

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_08 21:09

Bombay, Iddaru, Dilse, Saki. I mean, how unbelievable is that stretch? And you already knew that the genius was underway because Naikudu comes out when, uh, two years before Gita Anjali. And Naikuru is what, in Time magazine's all-time hundred list. Maniratnam has, I think there was, you could say maybe two, at least from his initial first movie, Pallavi Anu Pallavi, through 2000, maybe two distinct approaches, Nilima. The first is all these interpersonal, human, love, uh, longing. Even even with Naikuru and a couple of these other movies, even Dalapati, right? Yes, there is, there is the Typical warring groups and all of that, but it's still a very interpersonal dynamic movie before Roja comes, before Bombay comes, and then he's now starting to pivot to the social issues also maintaining some level of importance to the storyline. So for me, of all those movies, where does Gita Anjali sit? I would say, again, I'm biased. His first and only Telugu movie, comfortably top five. Where does Git Anjali sit for you?

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Gita Anjali did what nobody else was doing in 1989. It trusted the audience. It did not explain any anything. It did not spell out every emotion. It let PC Sri Ram's camera and Ile Raja's music do the talking. And look at the pure films list that I just walked you through. The formula was working. The formula was printing money. And then Mani Ratnam walked in with no formula at all. No village backdrop. No mass action sequence. No mandatory five songs with item numbers. Just the lead pair to terminally ill people falling in love in the ultimate. And it worked. This is what makes 1989 extraordinary. Not just that Gitanjali was made, but it succeeded in that environment.

SPEAKER_08 23:14

Oh, no doubt, Tilema, no doubt, because I think a new formula was being developed. And this is what I feel, even Siva, much more urban, much more intimate, and cinematic in a way that Telugu Cinema had not seen before. It was new for the audience, but I just love the fact that we all just fell in love with that new approach. And between Git Anjali and Siva, I think 1999 essentially laid the foundation for what Telugu Cinema would become in the 90s. And for me, the question I always ask myself is okay, what made Gita Anjali special? So I think the first one, without a doubt, Elai Raja, one of his best compositions. I mean, every song is so unique, so different.

SPEAKER_01 24:08

And uh and the background score, Barat, how it elevates each scene.

SPEAKER_08 24:25

Absolutely. Music, background, just Ilai Raja and Mani Ratnaam probably number one reason. Nagarjuna right up there.

SPEAKER_00 24:34

At their peak, yes.

SPEAKER_08 24:35

At their peak best. Absolutely. Then second thing, of course, Nagarjuna. The willingness to go from this sensitive, charming, heartbreaking, romantic hero, and then the violent version we see a few months later. And the and female fans love both versions of him. So kudos to him for being able to pull that off. And for me, the third thing is just Maniratnam. Even starting with, I think the way he visualized the whole movie. Even the poster. I don't know if you remember like he's hugging it.

SPEAKER_01 25:15

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_08 25:16

The Opria Priya poster where he's chained and Girija is in a princess costume. The singing, the music, the marketing, Mandratram's magic. They figured out the marketing mix too, right? They did a, I don't know if it was all pre-planned, but they did a phenomenal job of just setting all the posters, the music, everything just led to this build-up for everyone who wanting to watch that movie.

SPEAKER_01 25:44

Yeah. I remember watching O Priya Priya before the movie released uh on TV and uh imagining this movie to be some kind of uh you know royal drama or video. I didn't know what to expect. And the movie turned out to be something totally different when I watch it on screen. And when you watch the movie recently, what still holds up and what doesn't?

SPEAKER_08 26:03

First of all, PC Sri Rams cinematography is just unbelievable. When we get to the section of our favorite scenes, I'll talk about it. And uh, as I mentioned earlier, there's a bit of irreverence, it's not the same old way of portraying terminally ill patients. Nagarjuna is getting his blood drawn and he's he's like trying to uh he tells the doctor, hey, will you marry me? He's trying to like have fun with her, right?

SPEAKER_02 26:35

Doctor.

SPEAKER_08 26:46

So even though he doesn't know at that point, but just I think the irreverence, but also the vision, the clear vision in which they made the movie stood out. What has not aged well, I have no idea. I what when I rewatched it, I was like, what is the point of this Disco Shanti and Chandramohan comedy track? And for the love of God, why did Chandramohan agree to do this? I look it has nothing to do with the movie. It was inserted because maybe the distributors thought the film won't run and they needed some kind of comic relief. So not a big fan of the whole comedy bits here and there. You can cut another 20 minutes. It's a short movie by Telugu movie standards. It's about two and a half hours at most. But you can that the comedy sketch definitely didn't age well for me. You?

SPEAKER_01 27:49

Yeah, say, same. The comedy bit didn't age for me well. And I, if I recall correctly, some of uh Mani Ratnam's earlier movies used to have this separate comedy track, which feels jarring right now. And that one part where you can feel commercial formula fighting back against Maniratnam's instincts. And uh thank God he let go of them later on. And uh, you know, his later movies didn't have those separate comedy tracks.

SPEAKER_08 28:14

Yeah, and I think maybe it was his way of getting us to the point where we would all feel like, okay, maybe we don't need the comedy track to really enjoy a Maniratnam movie anymore. I have a fun uh little game that I play when I go to movies or when I watch them at home. If you see Mani Ratnam's first few movies, they will start with scenes within 15-20 seconds. A few names, a few technicians, editor, lyrics, music, screenplay direction, boom, movie. I think Garshana even actually starts with the movie, and the names are coming top right, top left. That's how quickly Maniratnam gets into it. These days, four producers, eight partners, the average number of screens we you and I have to look at before the movie begins is somewhere in the 20 to 25 range. So, Mani, sir, kudos to you for getting straight into the meat of the movie. All right, Neilima. The next segment, friends, is Ragala Palakilo. So, Neelima, I will let you do the honors of going through the music, but I just want to spend a couple of minutes to just talk about how I felt about the music because Ilai Raja needs special mention. There are composers who write music for films, and then there is Ilai Raja, who writes music that music that outlives the films that they were made for. And by 1989, we know he was already a legend. He had composed music for Mani's movies earlier, Maur Ragam, Naikudu. But for Gita Anjali, I think he understood Mani's vision or visual language better than anyone because what he gave with Gita Anjali, we could argue whether it is his single greatest album or not, but we can say it's one of his greatest albums. And no one won't debate that.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Yes, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 30:19

I don't think it was his most technically complex or its most complete in any way. It is just perfect, perfect, perfect for these movies. And critics that have studied Ilai Raja's catalog across Tamil Telgumala. I mean, he's made so many 15,000 songs or roughly around there, right? They think Gitanjali, along with Maunaragam, uh, I think Anveshana is up there too. Everybody believes that Gitanjali is right up there. So this is Mani's first Telugu movie. And he wants, of course, the lyrics to be written for the songs in Telugu. And he had to translate the lyrics into English to truly understand what the lyrics were saying. And he was so touched, so moved that Veturi was a permanent lyricist for money till he passed away in 2010. So a creative partnership, born in the hills of Uti, and just I think sealed by the weight of Veturi's words and Ilai Raja's music. What do you think?

SPEAKER_01 31:33

Definitely agree with all your points. And uh uh hats off to Ilai Raja, sir, for such beautiful background score. I still, I mean, it still haunts me. And whenever I listen to the music, I know it is it is from Gitandri. Even the background music, it's still so I mean it feels so fresh. It is fresh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 31:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 32:15

What can I say? I mean, it would be blasphemy to for me to even uh you know talk about Veturigaru. His his lyrics are like out of the world. Let me just walk you through the songs uh in the order in which they appear in the movie. Uh the first one, uh Jagada Jagara Jagadam.

SPEAKER_02 32:31

Jagada Jagada Jagadam, K Sam, Jagada, Jagada, Jagadam, Jagadam May Me Rafa.

SPEAKER_01 32:39

SPB with chorus, the energy of the album, pure moment, pure celebration. The song reminds you. Uh, the film is also before everything else about being alive.

SPEAKER_08 32:50

Love that song. I mean, love every song in this movie. But it starts off with a banger. Within five minutes, you are into Jagada Jagada.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

The next one is Jallanta Kavinta, which introduces us to Girija's character.

SPEAKER_08 33:15

Every boy between the ages of 15 and 25 skips uh skips a heartbeat or two when this song comes on screen. Amazingly picturized, too.

SPEAKER_01 33:26

The Uti mist, Gitar just dancing, you know, free form. I mean, it's hard to believe it even had a choreographer. It just feels like you know, she was just behaving naturally. Uh, but it was choreographed by uh Sundram Master, the father of Prabudeva. He made a cameo uh also in the sequence. The next is my favorite, Amani Padavay, uh SPB solo, the most romantic song on the album, Lush Sweeping for Spectacular Views of Kuti. Kind of melody that makes you want to stand very still and just listen and just feel feel them feel the song.

SPEAKER_08 34:25

No doubt. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 34:27

Yeah. The next one is Nandi Kundavagulama. Uh STB and Chitra, the song that carries the film's bittersweet undercurrent. Love and loss braided together so tightly you cannot tell where one ends and the other begins.

SPEAKER_08 34:55

And then we come to my favorite song.

SPEAKER_01 34:57

Yeah, why don't you why don't you tell us about it?

SPEAKER_08 35:00

Oh I'll tell that. I mean it's in my next section, but uh the next song is uh Umamahanayana Sutalaku. All the songs in the movie were sung by SPB, male, Chitra for female, except for this one. I don't know why he chose. Maybe for the depth he wanted. Chitra's songs were much more playful. He wanted a little bit more of emotional depth, but this is a Janike special shot in a single take, using a trolley, the camera moving, the two of them, the song unfolding. I will I will give this a PhD level description when we get to the next section.

SPEAKER_01 35:57

Okay, okay, great. And the next song, Oh Priya Priya, SPB and uh Chitra, the song played on every radio in Andhra before the film released.

SPEAKER_06 36:07

Oh Priya Priya.

SPEAKER_01 36:36

SPB won the National Award for Best Male Playback Singer for this song and deserved every honor. It's warm, it is aching, it is completely in love with its own melody, and Vetu Rigaru's words float over Ilay Raja's composition like they were always meant for each other. And last but not the least, Oh Papa Lali. The soft, soothing lullaby that's the last song. The guy is comforting the girl in his imagination while she's struggling for her life in reality. Cinematography, music, and lyrics come together to create one of the most artistically brilliant songs of the album.

SPEAKER_08 37:10

Alright, and uh great list, but two people deserve special mention. The first one, of course, SP B sir. I mean, we don't need to spend a lot of time talking about how great uh SP Balasubramanium is. I mean, he was the voice of Telugu Cinema for what four decades, national award winner. But for Gita Anjali Nilema, he brought a certain warmth, a certain vulnerability, and a trembling it the balance between being vulnerable and also a trembling aliveness to especially Nagarjuna's character Prakasha's songs. And when you hear O Priya Priya, you literally, and it's a long song, it's almost six minutes, and uh he starts with a hum and it gets into the rhythm, it slowly builds up, but just sheer genius, and the other sheer genius, we talked briefly. So, quick uh film association and trivia. My great-grandmother was a Veturi, so we are uh related to the Vaituri family, and uh Veturi Sundaram Utigaru, my he had a special affection towards my dad, and uh they met several times, they had a great time together. But that is a family of scholars, Nilima. The whole family, they're all amazing poets, scholars. This apple has fallen far from that tree.

SPEAKER_01 38:55

No, I mean I beg to differ. Your love for literature, music, sensitivity, free-flowing expression. I think I think the Veturi gene is uh pretty strong in humanity.

SPEAKER_08 39:05

Maybe a very small one somewhere, but the whole family, uh Veturi Prabhakar Shastragaru, he, I believe, if I recall, uh, translated some of Anamaya's Kirtanas, uh, the whole family, just amazing group of scholars, poets, uh, literary folks. So no surprise that Veturi um is that special. Nilima, we have to take a second. Our Asha Bosle concert was so well received. So many people wrote to us telling us how much they liked it, the approach we took. Maybe you and I should do a Veturi top 10 soon.

SPEAKER_01 39:48

Absolutely. Yeah, thank you all for the responses. It just helps us a lot. And uh yeah, thank you for all the feedback. We'll definitely do one Veturi uh top 10.

SPEAKER_08 39:59

Fantastic. All right, our next segment, a brief segment where we we call this Manasa Tullipadake, where we debate some casting what ifs. So, Nilima, the big casting what if, of course, is Maniratnam taking a chance on I mean, what are the odds? You're getting married, you see a guest show up at the movie, you see this spark in her, and then you give her two months of training, the only movie she ever does. She's born and raised in London. So, big question. Can or should Maniratnam have gone the conventional route?

SPEAKER_01 40:42

Um, no, I think Maniratnam did the right thing in uh casting a fresh face. Uh, I know he he must have uh had to train her a lot because she didn't come from an acting background, but yeah, many paid off and how we still we still remember Girija as, you know, the Gitanjali girl, and uh, she's forever etched in our memories. Uh, her freshness and you know, her maybe her not speaking the native language also added to her appeal uh because her expressions were so true on point. Uh and I mean not to mention Rohni's dubbing suiting her so well. So I think Maniratam Garu did the right right thing by casting a new girl there.

SPEAKER_08 41:22

I I tend to agree. He could have, I think we can agree that if not Girija, he could have tried somebody else and it was so well written, maybe they would have brought that same energy and impishness to the role. Who knows? But I think a known face just brings a known history. The audience comes with expectations, with associations, and Girija was just, I think, herself, and that certainly she was just Gita Anjali completely, entirely, only Gita Anjali. And I think that that purity, that total absence of any kind of cinematic baggage, yes, yes, right, is what was so amazing about her performance. So we could on behalf of all teenage boys, so we could all just fall in love for her with her for the first time, exactly the way Nagarjuna did.

SPEAKER_01 42:13

Yeah, yeah. And my what if is about the hero? Because Venkatesh was doing Preva the same year, also a romantic film, also with Ele Raja, and also a love story. Do you think Venkitesh would have suited the role of Prakash instead of Nagarjuna? My honest answer is it would have been a completely different film. Venkitesh's warmth is open, immediate. You like him the moment he walks into the frame. There is no mystery to Venkatesh. You I mean, you you like what you see. Nagarjuna brought something else, uh, a certain stillness, a charm that had some something slightly withheld, you know, behind it. Something that made you feel there was more going on. And this is what Rakash's character already needed exactly.

SPEAKER_08 42:58

I would agree. As a Venkatesh fan, do I want to think that he could have pulled it off? Yes. Because he did Brahma and he's done some movies like these where he's done some hotkey roles. But I definitely think that Nagarjuna's persistence about move making a movie with Mani Ratnam, he gave it his all. He put a star persona aside, he was willing to take on this role about a terminally ill patient, he didn't really care for what the fan club would say. So I think when you want to do something with someone that you respect and admire so much, you do the work. And the beauty of the work he put in was that it was, like you said, very layered instead of the typical Paisiva, the first frame you walk in, you kind of know what to expect from him in the movie, but the various Slayers he carries on in the movie. I think I think this is definitely a Nagarjuna special. Neil Mahi, why did Mani Ratnam not make another Telugu movie?

SPEAKER_01 44:10

Uh maybe he didn't find anyone as persistent as Nagarjuna. And maybe he got everything he wanted from Tamil, and uh most of his movies were anyway dubbed into Telugu. So he probably preferred to stay in a language he's more comfortable with or in a setup he's more comfortable with. I mean, that's what comes to my mind. What do you think?

SPEAKER_08 44:29

What I think is that uh the present crop of stars should go to Mani's house in Tennai, stand outside his door for 60 days, wait till he comes out for a walk and beg him to do something very different. Because he's still continuing to make different movies. I mean, it's really hard to have a career of 40 years and not make some duds along the way, but that 15-year stretch is one of the most unbelievable amazing stretches of filmmaking in Indian cinema period and story. So, for all young heroes uh listening to this great podcast, please go out and uh and beg Manisar to make make another movie. All right, Neilima. Our last segment is called Chinukula Raleigh. And this is our Hindi version of CT Mar. You and I pick three scenes each and uh share some of our favorite scenes from the movie. My first favorite scene in the movie is literally the first scene of the movie. I mean, talk about a CT Mar scene as you begin the movie. Shaukar Janiki is uh screaming into the phone. He has smoke coming out of his mouth, and he says, I love you.

SPEAKER_05 46:21

I love you.

SPEAKER_08 46:23

Money introduces the fact that this is going to be a very different movie right from the first scene, and that's one of my favorite scenes of the movie.

SPEAKER_01 46:34

My first favorite is uh Amani Padavay, uh the amazing backdrop of Uti with all the mist, and then it introduces us to the uh contrast between Prakash and Gita's temperament. Uh, you know, Prakash is just uh uh so sad, and she's coming trying to come to terms with the fact that he's not gonna live long. And Gita with her tally of uh sisters just following following him, and you know, just you know, with all the expressions on their faces, and when they when they get caught at the end, she just sings the song to his face and runs away. Uh, I mean, yeah, that beautifully brings about the contrast in their characters. That's my first favorite.

SPEAKER_08 47:38

That's a great point because when I re-watched it, I was thinking about when Nagarjuna finds out that he's terminally ill, his first reaction is to leave the city, leave his loved ones, and he's like, I want to get away from you all because you all bring me down. And they introduce her, and she's so firmly entrenched within that family world. Her sisters, her grandmother, her dad, her town, right? So just this contrast of how two people are dealing with. I mean, that is the crux of the story. Dealing with uh being terminally ill is such an amazing scene. Wonderful pick. Okay, my next one. This is after the interval, interval kebad, there is a 15-minute stretch that for me is some of the most cute, funny, romantic, loving, heartfelt, emotional, sensual stretch. He climbs through the window, asks her to marry him, she doesn't, her dad finds out, then yeah, you know, he escapes, then she goes to his place, and then for the first time he tells her that he loves her, then she leaves, and then she comes back, and I will never for the rest of my life forget the scene where she opens the door and the mist kind of travels to him on the other end of the room, and then it hits him, and then he turns around, and then they both meet in the middle of the room. I would say one of the most, at least back then for me, radical technical achievements. I thought in Tel Gusinma history, because most people didn't realize until they saw it a few times, that whole stretch, that 15-minute stretch is just unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 50:25

So lovable and so endearing. Yeah, yep, totally agree. And my second favorite is when Gita explains her philosophy of living in the present moment. And also the scene where you know she pulls him out of the quicksand in Oh Priya Priya. I think it's symbolic of her pulling him out of depression.

unknown 50:54

Oh priya priya!

SPEAKER_01 51:06

Yeah, and all this leads to a transformation in Prakash's character. And that's what that's my second favorite.

SPEAKER_08 51:12

What an amazing pick for a movie that has taken a light touch to the two terminally ill characters. The movie on rewatching carries so much depth. So, great pick on your side on how she chooses to live life knowing that she's terminally ill. But my next pick is that unbelievably moving scene where she walks into her dad's bedroom and uh asks him to hug her, and she says, This this trans transition or transformation from and because she wants to live, and then he's a doctor, right? So Nuna ku nuna tandri vikadana, then nachainana. So the movie starts, she knows she's terminally ill, she's she's she says, hey, like, you know, this is it, like it's okay, I'm going. But then towards the end, when she found falls in love for her to go to her dad and say, please nakbat, it's just gut-wrenching, it is, but so well made.

SPEAKER_01 52:44

Yes, absolutely, absolutely wonderful pick. And my uh next favorite is the confrontation scene in the railway station when Gita comes to know that Prakash's condition is worse than hers, and uh she expresses her shock and worry to Prakash. She says she can't bear to see him getting closer to death. And then you see the sensitive, caring, and real side of Gita. That's different from, you know, just the fun-loving girl, but deep down she she cared so much about uh Prakash.

SPEAKER_08 53:25

Absolutely. What what a great big amazing story. So, Neilmas, some quick closing thoughts.

SPEAKER_01 53:31

Gita Anjali is a film I think of when someone asked me why Telugu cinema matters, not because it's the most technically accomplished or it had the biggest stars or the grandest production values, but because it understood something that the best cinema always understands that the most universal stories are the most specific ones. Two people, one hill station, a little time, and a choice to spend that time being alive rather than being afraid. That choice, that specific personal, intimate choice is what makes the film belong to everyone who has ever watched it. 1989 or 2026, it does not matter. Git Anjali is yours, the moment you see it, it stays yours forever.

SPEAKER_08 54:14

No doubt. Even today. So my closing thoughts, even today, there are so many of us. If you said, hey, what's one of your favorite Telugu movies? Instantly we will say Git Anjali. It is an absolute banger, folks. It's a must-watch. For me, one, it broke the formula, it broke the formula from movies that were being made in 1989. Number one, number two, Mani Ratnan's genius for us to be able to watch it firsthand directly in Telugu. And you he was already building up and making all these amazing movies. And so Gita Anjali at an interpersonal level is one of the classics. So just being able to break the formula, try something different, and uh Uti, PC Sri Ram, all of that, unbelievable. Because we talked about this in some ways with uh Janebhara, right? Sudhirmishram makes one movie and it's a classic. Good, goodbye. We don't need to make another one. Similarly, Maniratam, if you're gonna make one Telugu movie and you made Gita Anjali, we are eternally grateful for you, Manissar, for such an amazing movie. So those are my closing thoughts, folks. If you if you haven't seen Gita Anjali in a while, please do watch it and let us know what you think. We're getting so many comments, so much feedback. Thanks for all the love. Nilima, what are we doing next week?

SPEAKER_01 55:36

What do you think? Should we go back to our Hindi originals or should we do one more musical or Telugu?

SPEAKER_08 55:43

I think there is some pent-up demand. I think we're getting some uh fan mail slash hate mail that we've covered some cons, but not uh some of the some of the other cons. We can't we have to make everyone happy. So I think it's time to do another movie.

SPEAKER_01 55:59

Okay, okay. And what is this movie about?

SPEAKER_08 56:03

Uh our next movie is about a film that about a man nobody believed who he said uh who he was. Weer Bahadur, Kate Khan.

SPEAKER_01 56:15

Rajput, Rajput.

SPEAKER_08 56:17

Oh man. But I have to say, folks, next week's movie has a song that is the favorite of some of my favorite people in the world. We will unveil that next week. But uh until then, Nilima, thank you. Thank you for watching. Our first episode in Telugu. Uh, I think we had a great time doing it. If you have feedback and suggestions, please keep it coming. You can reach us at uh after the interval podcast at gmail.com. You should see us on social media here pretty soon. We're going to unveil some cool things. But until then, Alvida, goodbye, and talk to you all next week.

SPEAKER_01 56:57

Bye.