Edida Raja ‘Seethakoka Chiluka’ has brought to mind climate change
In an exclusive interview with Cinema Express, Edida Raja said that Bharathiraja accepted his father’s suggestion and re-enacted the climax. “The original climax ended on a tragic note, and those scenes were already shot. However, my father suggested that it should be changed to a happy ending,” he said.Raja adds that his father wanted the film to send a positive message. “He felt that since the story revolved around two people falling in love and getting married and belonging to different castes, the film should encourage such relationships and end on a positive note. Bharathiraja garu liked the suggestion and agreed to reshoot the climax with a happy ending,” he recalls.The film went on to become a huge success and won the National Award for Best Telugu Film, the Nandi Award and many other awards. Raja said the film remains one of the most memorable titles produced by Poornodaya Creations.
How Bharathiraja came to direct ‘Seethakoka Chiluka’
Raja also talked about how the project started. Vamsi, who worked as an assistant director at Poornodaya Creations, suggested to his father that he watch Bharathiraja’s debut film ’16 Vayathinile’ and consider working with him.“Our production house had just delivered the sensational blockbuster ‘Shankarabharanam’, completely focused on music. We approached Bharathiraja garu, and that’s how ‘Seethakoka Chiluka’ came about,” said Raja.He also clarified that ‘Seethakoka Chiluka’ is not a remake. Bharathiraja shot the Telugu version separately along with the Tamil version, ‘Alaigal Oivathillai’. Raja said the death of Bharathiraja is a great loss to Indian cinema.
