“Sita Ramam” is a Telugu-language film that has been re-released in Hindi dubbed version. Directed by Hanu Raghavapudi, the movie is a period romance set in the 1960s and 1980s. The film’s plot revolves around Ram (Dulquer Salmaan), an Indian Army officer, who saves a village in Kashmir from attackers aided by Pakistan in 1965. Ram receives numerous letters of admiration, including one from Sitamahalakshmi (Mrunal Thakur), declaring her love for him. Eventually, Ram and Sitamahalakshmi meet, and they plan to get married, but Sitamahalakshmi is hiding a secret that the screenplay of the movie tries to justify through alternate history involving the Nizam rule in Hyderabad, India-Pakistan tensions, and Hindi-Muslim ties.
The film also features Afreen (Rashmika Mandanna), a Pakistani national who arrives in India in 1985 to deliver an unposted letter from Ram to Sitamahalakshmi, as her inheritance depends on it. The story shuttles between the present and the past, with Afreen uncovering the truth about Ram and Sitamahalakshmi.
While the film’s production value is high and the romance epic in scope, the screenplay is overstuffed, and the movie runs for 163 minutes. The cameos, including Sumanth, Ashwath Bhatt, Jishu Sengupta, and Tarun Bhascker, are distracting and take away from the central relationship between Ram and Sitamahalakshmi, which is underwritten. However, Dulquer Salmaan’s charisma, Vishal Chandrashekhar’s melodious songs, and Hanu Raghavapudi’s sincerity keep the movie engaging.
Overall, “Sita Ramam” is a love story that tries to justify its plot through alternate history but ends up feeling silly and overstuffed. The film’s premise and promise are not fully realized, and the characters’ behavior often feels implausible, making it a movie that is sometimes challenging to watch.
