#telugu community

[todayworldnews2k21]

Madurai Bench of Madras HC dismisses actor Kasthuri’s anticipatory bail petition

A view of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. File photo | Photo Credit: R. Ashok The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday (November 14, 2024) dismissed a petition filed by actor S. Kasthuri seeking anticipatory bail. Ms. Kasthuri had moved the court fearing arrest by the Madurai Police for her alleged remarks against the Telugu community during an event in Chennai earlier…

[donynallecheru]

What business can one start with 30k rupees?

30,000 rupees is a good amount of money to start a small business in India. There are many different business ideas that you could pursue with this budget, but here are a few of the most popular and profitable options:

Online tutoring: If you are an expert in a particular subject, you can start an online tutoring business. This is a great way to share your knowledge with others and make some extra money on the side.

Freelance writing or graphic design: If you have a knack for writing or design, you can start a freelance business. There are many websites that connect freelancers with clients, so you should be able to find work without too much difficulty.

Home-based food business: If you love to cook, you can start a home-based food business. This could involve selling baked goods, snacks, or even prepared meals.

Social media management: Many businesses are looking for help with their social media marketing. If you have experience with social media, you can start a social media management business.

E-commerce store: If you have a passion for a particular product or niche, you can start an e-commerce store. This is a great way to sell products online to a global audience.

These are just a few of the many business ideas that you could pursue with 30,000 rupees. The most important thing is to choose a business that you are passionate about and that you believe in. If you do that, you will be more likely to succeed.

Here are some additional tips for starting a business with 30,000 rupees:

Do your research: Before you start any business, it is important to do your research and make sure that there is a demand for your product or service. You should also research the competition and find a way to differentiate your business from the others.

Create a business plan: A business plan will help you to clarify your goals and objectives, and it will also help you to secure funding.

Be frugal: When you are starting a business with a limited budget, it is important to be frugal. This means being careful with your spending and making sure that you are not overspending on unnecessary expenses.

Network with others: Networking with other entrepreneurs and business owners can be a great way to get advice, support, and even potential customers.

I hope this helps!

[rosellerivers19]

You ship the two dudes from RRR so you watched more Tollywood movies to see if there was anymore Fruity love stories but were disappointed finding out Tollywood actively stays always from Gay. Don’t worry I got you

So after Western audiences and he’ll even some brown people watched RRR They began to heavily ship Ram and Bheem.

I mean I get it two dudes back in like the 19th century India on rival sides of an internalized War becoming friends by chance and giving up their believes for said friendship to save said person from their ultimate demise while looking incredibly badass while doing it definitely gives some signals.

Sorry to disappoint though Rajamouli actually denied making Ram and Bheem canonly fruity and established hetero love stories for them due to the fact Most of Tollywood has little to never actively shown fruity characters sometimes making fun of them (transgenders we’re usually used to highlight ‘bad’ beauty in musical numbers dancing around the hero only to accentuate the beauty of the heroine). So for his own protection and to make sure RRR wouldn't flop Rajamouli forced Ram and Bheem to have Jenny and Sita as love interests kinda like the meme 'born to repost, forced to private'.

Some movies in Tollywood don’t actively hate on it though and yes use it as a laughing gag but then again Westerners often use the expression “Yes Queen” and that’s what I’d typically reference these gags to.

However I was rewatching some movies of a Tollywood actor named Ram Pothineni whose movies I grew up watching and still watch. One of my favorites is “Endukante Premanta” because it’s a reincarnation love story and I love reincarnation love stories plus it takes place on Paris something I realized years later.

Anyway so Ram Pothineni in 2013 starred in a movie named “Masala” along with another Popular actor from more older times like early 2000s and a bit before his name is Venkatesh Dagguabti.

So basically the movie itself is average you’d get it more if you were brought up in Tollywood Cinema like me.

The basic plot line is there’s the Muslim guy named Rehman who wants to get his sister married as his brotherly duty towards her however the face problems in a court case where their house is seized so their uncle transfers them to the village where their uncle lives and helps Rehman find work.

When Rehman arrives at this village an incident occurs where a little boy was climbing a stone gate to a building to get his Kite and accidentally falls on the other side of the Gate into the water. Past the Gate is a Temple that is closed off due to Legal Problems. Seeing the boy is drowning in the water Rehman smashed the lock to the gate and baits the door open diving into the water saving the boy. He gets in trouble with a few of the residents who are mad at him for breaking the gate open since the Temple being closed was a major issue in the village. However Balaram a very respected figure in the village intervenes supporting Rehman for his efforts in saving the kid Balaram was actually involved with the Temple closing incident with the Antagonist of the film his cousin who is intent on marrying Balaram’s sister which Balaram dislikes. After this incident Balaram decides to take the temple into his custody again thanks to Rehman’s effort with the support of the village people.

A thing you should know about Balaram is that he doesn’t tolerate Lies at all he’s a very good man helping everyone in the village at their time of need but no matter how big or small the lie is he will punish the other party for their lie. When Balaram asks Rehman for his name Rehman’s friend Siri lies telling him that it’s Ram a traditional Hindu name fearing that if the village people were to find out that it was because of Rehman a Muslim guy the Hindu temple reopened there would be problems since Islam and Hinduism are opposing faiths and even though they can tolerate the other faiths some people might not feel that way since it still is a sensitive topic.

Because of that one lie Rehman is forced to enter a rabbit hole of lies hiding his Muslim identity pretending his mother who died when he was young is still alive and that he’s a singing teacher in order to make sure Balaram won’t get suspicious of his lying.

Now the main point is Rehman in this movie for one of his lies is forced to pretend he has a younger Muslim stepbrother that looks just like him because Balaram’s advisor and him saw Rehman at a Mosque. Rehman’s fake younger brother character who he acts is a dancer by profession and is gay. Yep that’s the laughing gag.

However in the movie Rehman’s fruity character in my opinion isn’t really disrespectful at All There’s not really any homophobia to the character and he acts like any fruity man you’d see on TikTok with “Slay Queen” and “Yes Girly Pop” which is kinda translated into Telugu. He acts very fruity in his role which is like he’s supposed to because his Make believe younger brother is fruity. Rehman has Balaram’s men (his workers) actively questioning their sexuality with Rehman’s provacative actions in the movie. Sure Rehman is only pretending and hits them when they get too close and the workers take no for an answer (another victory if you see the earlier Telugu films at the time). Balaram hires fake Gay Rehman as a dance teacher for his younger sister since he doesn’t trust normal men around her since his cousin wants to marry her and has tried kidnapping her on multiple occasions. Balaram trusts ‘Rehman’ since he’s Gay though.

The actual Rehman ends up with the heroine in this case Balaram’s sister Meenakshi at the end of the movie revaluing his lies and being forgives but I fully believe Rehman was Bi in this movie. How he acted even when he wasn’t playing his fake character of his younger Gay brother was kind of fruity his voice alone will sometimes give you like James Charles kinda voice if you get what I mean.

I mean it’s not perfect in representation it’s still a Tollywood movie from the 2010s too but it is really progressive compared to the other movies and I found Tehman’s character when he was acting fruity or just pretending to be Ram or just his normal self was really funny.

see if you want to see another possibility of LGBTQ in Tollywood cinema you can watch This. I’m pretty sure you can watch the subtitle version on Einthusan.

[desigrrrl]

List of Telugu learning Resources

Writing

Script: about, history and development, impact of writing tools in its evolution

Alphabet: multibhashi, wikipedia, wikibooks, edzym

Reading

Textbook: intensive course (archive.org), ncert school books, ap scert school books, ts scert school books, hindi-telugu praimaru, grammar (written in telugu)

Prose: kids’ stories, stories, collected manuscripts, parikini, soundaryalahari, barrister parvateesam, history, translated quran,

Poetry: kinnerasani patalu, movie songs book, maha prasthanam, tyagaraja kirtanalu

Blog/Misc: chandamama kathalu magazine, kavithalu, saaranga magazine, hasam magazine, bharati magazine, swathi weekly, sakshi news

Dictionaries: andhrabharati, tel-eng by sankaranarayana, eng-tel by venkatacharyulu, tel-eng by percival, tel-sans, hin-tel.

Vocabulary

MyLanguages

MeaningInHindi

1000MostCommonWords

proverbs: sametalu (written in telugu)

Grammar

malik’s absolutely goated guide

praveen ragi

vakyam (written in telugu)

Apps

Mango

Multibhashi (android)

HelloTalk

Dasubhashitam (android)

Learn Spoken Telugu From English (android)

Websites

Languages Home

Goethe-Verlag

LearningTelugu

Learn 101

Desi Bantu

YouTube - Native

Telugu teachers: telugu vanam, teach me telugu, pr learning hub,

Beginner level/Kids content: koo koo tv, jum jum tv, paa paa tv, horror planet

General: permit room, sumakka, chai bisket, naa anveshana, my vilage show, ragadi, chitra alochana, thyview, mahathalli, vikramaditya, yevarra meerantha, aye jude, dhethadi, chari not sorry

YouTube - Learners

Mexico: Christina

USA: Kari, Isaac Richards, Manasa (Danya), Omar Crockett

Italy: Franchesca /Telugutalian

Denmark: BigAReact

Poland: Zbigsbujji Chetlur

Sweden: Karl Svanberg

Online Keyboards

lexilogos

typingbaba

branah

gate2home

[navaratna]

mallublr needs to exist now as it's vishu. (mallus pls say if you r a mallu)

[craziestfangirl98]

Looking for Telugu Queers thenks! Request from another Telugu Queer. Just want to build community.

Ok. So I know I'm more of a lurker when it comes to Tumblr. I love to read and like and comment on posts, mostly headcanons and fanfics and fanart and anything to do with the queer fandoms. But... I am writing here for very specific reasons.

Is there anywhere I can find Queer Telugu people? Telugu is one of the South Indian languages and I would like to just meet others who are also Telugu.

Anyway.... That's it I guess. Cools me gonna leave now. But if you or someone you know is queer and Telugu lmk!

Kay bye!

[desigrrrl]

love this idea sm!!

langblr masterpost??

reviving this idea from pastelsandhazelnutcoffee --- i would love to see who's active on the langblr community and create a masterpost with all of us! please reblog if you would like to be included on this page i'm making and with the languages you mainly post about <3

[bhagyamati]

హీరోయిజం అంటే ఏంటి?

How to be a hero and qualities of Hero

[starantulas]

.

[iworshipsappho]

referring to your tags on the tamil poetry post

the thing about cramming taking the fun and beauty out of languages is SO fucking real and i hate it sm (thanks indian education <3).

this reminds me of sanskrit when i learnt it in school bc at one point i started to hate in it 10th standard bc ONLY the marks mattered (plus the teacher who took out tuition at home was a bhakt who said the most inane and genocidal shit about muslim folks but that's another story)

and fuck...tamil sounds difficult to learn sdkhksdf. reminds me so much of malayalam with its koot-aksharam which are so difficult to figure out lol. according to my mom, malayalam grammar is hella difficult too so...yay

anyway power to tamil poets aksjhksd with all those strict grammar rules like wtf. thinking of shakespeare on the other hand who did whatever the fuck he wanted to do

(also psst psst gimme some good tamil poem recs na...i will try and search for its translations)

asdhsfhsk yeah the indian education system is so fucked in several aspects :') and yeah shitty teachers just ruin everything (the entitlement some of them have-)

tamil used to be so easy to learn back in like 1st-3rd grade bc as a mother tongue it was just very simple as we werent expected to actually write in like very proper tamil and the lessons were simple enuf. shit went bad in 4th grade and its been downhill ever since. the lessons are fun when u learn them but even then the teachers need to be like nice and interactive or you'll just fall asleep during class (which has unfortunately happened more than once this year for me)

and like when our teacher was talking about the yaapu illakkanam (grammar for poetry) i remember the whole class just groaning bc the only thing we were thinking was "if its so difficult why do we still have so many poems to study😭😭" i truly do not understand how thiruvalluvar, bhaarathiyar, avvaiyar and so much more wrote so many works- like ?????! honestly speaking english writer's have so much creative freedom and like they do smth that "breaks" the rules of grammar? boom genius who goes beyond what is accepted and is considered one of the greatest ever ashdsjfkgh

and for the poem recs hmm- i mean we have the staple thirukkural and avvaiyaar's athichoodi. the latter was one of the first ever set of poems we were taught when our languages started, its pretty simple to understand and like the starting letter of each line is in the order of the uyirezhuthukkal. and we have like 20 thirukkurals to learn each year so- (i have to learn and memorise ten and their meanings for just tmrw's exam :'])

but the poem i was talking about in post was இளைய தோழனுக்கு by மு.மேத்தா... and honestly that is one of the very few poems, like i said, that i actually enjoy fdhfjshgk

and sorry to disappoint, but even tho i have been studying and speaking in tamil for as long as i can remember, i cant remember any of the good poems ive read/learned 😭😭 my mind is just like blank except for the stuff ive studied for tmrw :')))

(will definitely let you know if i remember or come across smth nice, maybe that will help me actually develop an interest in the language...)

[designsbysiri]

Today we both did something we never did in our lives. We communicated in Telugu. Siri told me to talk with her in Telugu when I gave her a choice of English or Telugu. We talked about visiting pinni (aunty) in Florida as I travelled with both her brothers individually but never alone with her. She said that she wanted to do that but when I asked if she wants her dad to come too she said yes all three to go to Florida. Many other silly things we talked about including two phone calls I had to return. I told about the ones I was going to call back and I had my phone on the speaker. They talked about Siri and also one conversation in English and one in Telugu. Before I hung up I told them that Siri was listening too. Best days are yet to come. Just can’t wait. #mynameissiri #letterboardcommunication #autismawareness #love #siri #telugu #communication #autism (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn0rN1rLPNi/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[burningcheese-merchant]

I can just imagine Matar Paneer learning Telugu from her dad while Pepper Jack refused to, but hen Golden Cheese also learned Telugu and now the three of them have whole conversations in Telugu at, like, the dinner table or smth, and Pepper Jack’s like: “what are you guys talking about?!”

idk I just find that funny-

Pepper Jack would not let that stand for even a single moment lol. I don't really think he'd reject learning it in the first place tbh, doesn't seem like something he'd do; a learning opportunity plus a way to bond with his father, whom he is already desperate to understand and please because he's scared that Burning Spice doesn't like him (not true but he's a child, he doesn't understand)? He wouldn't say no to that.

But to play along with your idea: if Jack saw his parents and sister talking and enjoying each other's company in a way that he can't partake in or mimic, he'd be so upset. He'd be frustrated and kind of hurt, because A) it comes across as a way to exclude him, and B) it comes across as an attack on his intelligence in some way, and there is nothing Jack hates more than that. He tries to deny it and keep humble, but he does have a bit of an ego wrt his intelligence, and also, he's extremely curious and loves to learn/know things anyway. People communicating in a foreign language in front of him only serves to make him want to learn it himself, because he's dying to know what they're saying lol

So not only would that light a fire in Jack's heart and make him master Telugu all by his fucking self, he'd go ahead and learn a few other languages just to one-up his family. He'll say something in Telugu to his sister, then immediately switch to Tamil when he talks to his mother, then switch to Hindi with his father. All quite seamlessly. With this aura 😎🖕

(except they would all think Jack is cool as hell for doing this lol. Burning Spice especially would be SO proud of his son. And touched that he's gone the extra mile to connect with his heritage. Cue Jack's grudge immediately deflating bc it's obvious his family loves him and were never trying to hurt him in the first place, and now he feels like an asshole because he was motivated primarily by resentment during this endeavor and that's not a good reason to do anything)

It is a funny idea tho. Thank you for the thought experiment, anon :P

[enigma-the-mysterious]

WIP Wednesday: 12/9/24

Original Post

Join the Community

[blue indicates previously written lines]

@zyrafowe-sny @violet-prism-creatively

What is he like? he wished to ask her.

Did his smile crinkle his eyes? Did his laughter boom like a thunderclap? Did he always side with the little girls in a game? Did his lips curl into a fond smile when speaking with children? Did his enthusiasm for food sometimes make him forget the etiquettes of eating? Did he rub a hand on his chest to soothe himself when distressed? Did his eyes turn impossibly big when he was confused? Was there a sweet furrow between his brows whenever he frowned?

Had he always been a good liar?

Rich words from you.

@kallisto-k @post-and-out @eriquin @lizhly

For Bheem, after everything, after the blood and the pain and the rebellion, there was only numbness. It was almost blissful. Almost.

The soldiers left him mostly alone. Few spoke to him, opting to communicate in only sneers and snarls, and fewer still acknowledged him.

He did not know how much time passed between his public flogging (at his hands, oh Baradeo, at his hands…) and Scott Buxton's next visit to his cell but he could barely hold up his head or move without his stomach churning horribly, so he figured it must not have been long after all.

Scott Buxton came and he stood before his cell, his eyes thunderous and his lips displeased. He glared at Bheem for a long time before he began to bark commands in English. Even though Bheem did not understand a single word, he knew that he was the subject of his irate rant.

And then his loyal hound spoke up.

He stood ramrod straight and spoke in English, his voice sharp, eager to please, eager to obey.

A pause and then he suddenly switched to Telugu.

(blue indicates previously written lines)

@adhdavinci @auburnlaughter @skarabrae-stone

The weight on his shoulder felt both foreign and familiar, right and wrong, comforting and crushing.

("My legs are about to fall off," Akhtar whined. "Carry me a little longer.")

Ram carried him across the platform, past the rioting mob. Tried not to look at the blood drenching his once pristine white dhoti red. Tried not to think about how horribly his legs had been shaking from the strain of the wooden block hanging from them.

Tried not to wonder if he would ever walk again.

("Why did you dance so much if you were in so much pain?" Ram scolded him, although there was no anger in his voice, only an exasperated fondness.)

You were in so much pain. Why didn't you kneel? Why didn't you let me end this?

("I don't know, bhaiyya," Akhtar mused softly. "When you looked at me like that…. I just felt like competing with you."

Ram laughed.)

Ram furiously held back the tears.

Not here, not now.

@wizisbored @kalira @aparticularbandit @stonemaskedtaliesin @asha10100101010

I didn't realise Inspired was almost finished before I included it among that week's WIPs. So I am not putting out any lines here, just the news that I will be posting it shortly after I am done editing it. Thank you to everyone who asked for it :D

@somefishycat @sourb0i

He kneaded the pillow over the gouged out flesh. A dull ache reverberated through his chest.

Good. Good. That felt so good.

He kept at it till the pain overwhelmed his senses and blacked out his vision.

[desigrrrl]

about me:

i’m ro. rn im trying to learn to read and write my mother tongue (telugu). more deets here.

here i’ll post:

langblr content (telugu masterlist here)

dark academia + desi academia stuff

on books/tv/movies i like

my other hyperfixations

im friendless rn 😔 pls rb/follow i would love having some mutuals

[normal-thoughts-official]

On Bheem acting as a "mediator" between Ram and Seetha

[Disclaimer: this is not about shipping wars, it's just an analysis because I find the dynamic interesting. Whether you ship rambheem or ramseetha or both or neither is irrelevant for this, and beside the point.]

Click here to read this post on Ao3

It always drew my attention that most of Ram and Seetha's interactions seem to be mediated by Bheem. That is, have him as a middle man; there is the obvious part where Bheem brings Ram back to Seetha, but it's more than that. Ram also only writes to Seetha because of Bheem. When they first reunite, it is Bheem who joins their hands together. Even during Etthara Jenda, there is no moment with just Ram and Seetha; Bheem is always there. In fact, there is a brief moment with only Bheem and Seetha, but none with only Ram and Seetha. It seems that Ram and Seetha only ever meet through Bheem, as if he's the thread connecting them.

I thought that was interesting and I think I'd like to expand a bit on that. At first I thought it was just because the movie is obviously focused on Bheem and Ram and their relationship and the other characters are... Just not that explored outside of their relationship to the core characters and/or the plot. But I think there is also some symbolism there that is worth exploring.

When Ram leaves Seetha, he tells her that a part of him will always be with her. I'm working with the English translation here, because unfortunately I don't speak Telugu, but I did check the Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian translations and they all pretty much translate the same, so I'm going to assume that the translation here is accurate and communicates everything it's supposed to communicate. That means that leaving Seetha is also leaving that part of him behind. I mean, the symbolism is pretty obvious here. He takes his pendant, which was a single circle, and breaks it in two. One part he takes with him, another he leaves with her. From that moment on, Ram is incomplete.

And I think that the part that he left with her isn't just, generically speaking, half of him; I think the part that he left with her was his own humanity.

Here's why.

When Ram leaves his village, he takes two things with him: his grief and his sense of duty. That is all he has in Delhi. Well, other than his uncle, but his uncle was already in Delhi before Ram went on his mission, so I don't think he counts as something Ram "takes with him". I really doubt Ram would have asked Venkateswarulu to come if he hadn't already been in the police force before Ram was.

When we first meet Ram, the only emotion he allows himself is anger, and even then, only in private where no one can hear him. Even Venkateswarulu seems unable to really reach him. Ram is fueled exclusively by his rage, his need to do something to alleviate his grief, and his promise. He has no meaningful connections with anyone, he doesn't allow himself his feelings, and he needs to keep everything that makes him himself locked away so he doesn't blow his cover. Ram is living in nearly complete isolation and completely detached from his own feelings; he doesn't even allow himself his grief, because it would get in the way of his mission. It serves as fuel and a reminder of what he has to do, but it's not something he is actually allowing himself to feel in full.

So what is missing? He is missing his sense of community. His history, because Seetha has been a part of his life since forever, and she is also the embodiment of his connection to his village as a whole. His love and his joy, because everything that was meaningful and dear to him he left behind with her. And as time goes by... More and more, he leaves his ideals, too. By the time we meet Ram, he isn't really fueled by his need to free the land; he is fueled by his grief. When he falters, he doesn't think of the free world him and his father envisioned; he thinks of the despair he felt as he watched him die. He is doing this because he is, in a way, trying to provide meaning to his family's death, trying to save them symbolically, trying to alleviate his survivor's guilt and fulfill his promise. He gets so fixated on the weapons he forgets they're a mean and not an end. Therefore, his beliefs ended up staying with Seetha as well.

So... Community, history, love, and beliefs. Combined, I'd say that's pretty much everything that makes us human. Of course, pain is part of the human experience as well, but without those... There isn't much else left for a person.

And look, I'm not saying that Seetha makes him good or that she exists to take care of him and bring him back to himself, I want to make that clear. This isn't about anything in particular Seetha does or should do to or for him; this is about the fact that Seetha was the last good thing Ram allowed himself, and therefore his distance from her is also his distance from his own needs. The further he is from Seetha, the further he is from himself and his humanity.

I think there are at least two scenes that add credibility to that thesis: the first and most obvious one is when he is torturing Lacchu and his wristband snaps. When Ram first gets to the point of no return, when he is doing the most inhuman thing you could conceive, and he's doing it with gusto, too, because he's angry, he completely loses his connection to her. And then it immediately cuts to Seetha not only waiting for Ram, but actively asking a kid to scout and check if he is there. She is unable to find him, unable to connect again; and then it is made pretty clear that Ram has strayed too far from her. It is immediately after that moment that we learn he hasn't written to her in all these years, and one of the villagers even asks her if Ram remembers her at all. I also think it's interesting that it's the rest of the village that voices the concern for Ram and the sense of betrayal, and not Seetha; not to mention that they went to her to ask what is happening with Ram. This further cements Seetha as a representation of his connection to his own past and people: it is through her that they seek him out, and therefore, she is the link between them.

(Again, I'm not saying that she is literally the one doing the work of keeping them together; I'm saying that the movie has her, symbolically, embody the entire village. So when we are reminded of his distance from her, we are also reminded of his distance from them, and therefore, from himself)

The second scene is when he, finally, after all these years, writes to her. This is the first time in the movie where Ram actually voices his thoughts, instead of just screaming and drowning in his own memories. We know what Ram is feeling and thinking, but he never allows himself to acknowledge it. When he does, he does it through talking to Seetha; because she is the one who keeps the part of him that allows himself to feel, the part that is idealistic and that is doing this for love for the motherland rather than hatred for the British. The part that remembers what he is really fighting for.

And not only does he seek himself in Seetha, he is also only able to connect to Seetha when he stops denying himself. I actually think that's the most important part. He has spent four years isolated from her, without any sort of communication; he lost his way to her because he locked out his own humanity to be able to survive being a double agent. It is only when he unlocks it, really allows himself to feel and think and question, that he is able to find his way back to her.

And what allows him to unlock his humanity and search for her in the first place?

Bheem.

That's where his mediation comes in.

Because Bheem was the first one to crack Ram's walls at the very least since he went to Delhi, but I'd risk saying that really it's the first time since he lost his family. He kept everyone at arm's length; he threw himself into his mission as a way to avoid actually processing his grief. Of course he still had his village and Seetha, but you don't just become this repressed and guilt driven out of nowhere. Even as he's saying goodbye to Seetha and the village, Ram doesn't once smile. We see his face tight and nearly blank, the same way it was when he was first introduced, fighting that mob. There is determination, but otherwise, he is completely closed off. And he is leaving alone.

And then he meets Akhtar, and this motherfucker becomes unrecognizable.

I've joked before that he must have pulled his cheek muscles after he met Akhtar, but it is seriously a jarring difference. He spends the entire Dosti montage grinning from ear to ear, save for the "don't eat with your left hand" moment and the parts where they aren't actually together. We have never seen him give even a tight lipped smile before, and suddenly the man can't stop laughing. We have never seen him express a clear emotion, and suddenly we have him not only emoting but also showing vulnerability. Even after the montage, Ram is frequently grinning at Bheem, and he is shown with his body language relaxed when we've only really ever seen him tense. In fact, not only tense, but so tense he is frequently shaking.

It's not even just the expression of positive emotions. Meeting Akhtar also gives us our first glimpse of who Ram truly is and what he actually believes. The best example of that is the events in Naatu Naatu. For the first time ever, Ram rises up against the British. Even if it's in a small way, it's an act of open defiance that we hadn't seen before. He taunts Jake, he mocks him, he openly laughs at him (which is also curious, considering that Bheem was the one that Jake hurt; but Bheem is largely ignoring Jake, while Ram is going out of his way to antagonize him). The part of Ram that is purely rational and mission driven would have thought it better not to draw attention; so when Ram chooses to take that risk and be defiant, he is also remembering what really matters to him: protecting his people and fighting for justice. And that takes the form of protecting Bheem.

Therefore, those parts of him that had been kept away suddenly come crashing back when he meets Bheem. Bheem helps him find his way back to himself without even trying, and if he is finding the way to himself, he is finding the way to Seetha. Not to mention that it is because of the fact that he couldn't live with betraying Bheem that he wrote to Seetha in the first place. Bheem helped him find the part of him that loves and rejoices and is driven by more than just rage again. So, when he turns his back on Bheem, he is also going back to denying himself his own humanity. But he can't actually do it this time; and so, when he finds himself unable to keep repressing himelf, he writes to Seetha.

Even before that, however, Ram's connection to Seetha is only shown to the audience through Bheem, and the link between his relationship with Bheem and his relationship with Seetha is shown from the very first time we learn about her.

We are first shown the pendant during the Dosti montage. Ram was wearing it before, of course, but the movie kind of went out of its way to hide it. In his introduction, he is straight up not wearing it. The first time he is shown with it is when he is destroying that poor punching bag, and he nearly immediately wraps his hands and wrist in tape that covers it:

[ID: Screencap of Ram punching the bag, where you can see his knuckles and wrist are wrapped in tape. End ID]

Then, in the "RRR" title page, they didn't include Ram's pendant in the drawing of their hands together, even though they kept Akhtar's wristband:

[ID: Screencaps of Ram and Bheem's joined hands when they meet; you can see that Ram is wearing his wristband. Then, when it transitions into the drawing, his wristband is no longer shown, but Bheem's is. End ID]

They're not always hiding it, and you can frequently see it on Ram's wrist if you know to look, but they don't draw attention to it and actively avoid accidentally drawing attention to it.

(But also, interestingly enough, it is first visible in the scene where Ram is talking to Venkateswarulu; and the scenes where it is most visible before Dosti are the ones where Ram is talking about killing governor Scott, and when he's helping Bheem save the child. I think this is a subtle way of hinting that this is who Ram truly is; even though he is pretending when he says that he's going to kill governor Scott, he is still closer to himself and his ideals than he was when he attacked that mob. And even more so when he helped Bheem do what they both are sworn to do: protect their people.)

Then, during the Dosti montage, they film it directly for the first time. We see Ram playing with it and acknowledging it, and we learn that it is significant to him. And then they won't stop filming it after that.

This isn't a coincidence; the pendant is the embodiment of his connection with Seetha, and, therefore, with his humanity, as previously stated. The fact that it is shown during Dosti, which is also when we first see Ram acting fully like himself, goes to show how much Bheem's friendship is helping bring Ram back. I mean, for starters, just sitting there fiddling with it and smiling is something I can't imagine pre-Bheem Ram doing. Nevermind the fact that he lets Bheem see it and doesn't even try to hide that moment of vulnerability from him.

After that, the pendant is used to highlight Ram's struggle with figuring out what he wants to do (which really means figuring out who he is) after he betrays Bheem. For example, when Ram grabs Bheem, we get a shot of him crying blood, and the blood falls right beside the pendant, in a shot that shows almost nothing but these two things:

[ID: A drop of blood falling on Ram's hand, right next to the pendant. You can seee only Ram's wrist and a bit of the holy thread wrapped around his palm. End ID]

(Also, this time, the illustration of their hands does include the pendant)

[ID: The illustration of Ram's hand that immediately follows the previous shot. The pendant can be seen wrapped around his wrist and over his palm. End ID]

Further cementing the idea that the wristband represents the last of his connection to his humanity is the fact that, in the flogging scene, Ram is wearing it on his left hand.

In every other scene, it is on his right hand. That seems to be something they were very careful about. But throughout the flogging you can see that it is on the left. In fact, they even open the scene with a shot of it:

[ID: Ram driving to the square. He is holding a whip in his left hand, and the bracelet can be seen on his wrist. End ID]

Throughout the scene, it is hard to see the bracelet because of the uniform's long sleeves, but there are a few shots that confirm that it's on his left wrist:

[ID: Ram with the whip on his right hand, pulling it back. His left hand is in front of his body and the bracelet is visible. End ID]

And at the end of the scene, we can see it clearly:

[ID: Ram cradling Bheem's bloody face. His left hand, on which you can see the pendant, is holding Bheem's chin. End ID]

It's too consistent to be an accident, especially considering how it never ends up misplaced in the left wrist in the other scenes. On top of that, the movie brings up the fact that the left hand is considered dirty (in the scenes where Bheem's fake mom and Ram's real mom tell their respective children not to eat with their left hand).

Disclaimer for this part: I'm neither Hindu nor Indian, so I looked up as much as I could on the right/left significance, because I believe people should make an effort to understand the implications that don't speak directly to their experiences, especially when it comes to culture and race. If anything I say is inaccurate or offensive, please let me know, and I'll edit it. If there's anything else I'm missing, feel free to add it as well. I also assume that the cultural associations with the right and left go beyond religious significance, since Akhtar's family is Muslim and not Hindu and they also enforce the "no eating with your left hand" rule. But Ram is Hindu, so I'm also using sources that talk about its significance in Hinduism. I don't mean to imply that the two are interchangeable by that.

I found many different significances associated with the right and left sides in Hinduism (right is male, left is female; right is submissive, left is contrary; right is yourself, left is your spouse), but the most important one seems to be that right is sacred and pure, and left is profane and dirty (because that one was mentioned in every paper I found, and it was usually the first to be brought up). Hence why it's important that you eat and give offerings with your right hand, and do "unhygienic" tasks with the left. This rule also applies to Islam, which explains why Akhtar's fake mother made the same comment. The fact that this aspect of the right/left duality is brought up in the text also implies that this is the most important one in this context.

So, if the left hand is dirty and profane, and the pendant is Ram's humanity, and the pendant is on Ram's left hand in this scene... I think what the movie is telling us is that in this moment, Ram is forsaking himself. He is going against everything that he truly is and believes, and his own feelings; he is even condemning himself, in a way, because this is the kind of thing that there should be no turning back from. In that moment he is the furthest he could be from everything that is holy, and good.

(Also, from a Watsonian perspective, we know that Ram has been taught that the left hand is dirty by his mom; if he chose to change the placement of the pendament in that moment, I think that speaks volumes on how he's feeling about himself. I also think it's possible that he did it because he couldn't stand to whip Bheem with the same hand that held his reminder of Seetha).

I also find the "right hand is yourself and left hand is your spouse" significance relevant here, although secondarily. I know Ram and Seetha are not married yet, so I'm not sure if Ram's left hand already "counts" as representing Seetha, but even if it doesn't, I think the fact that Ram is putting the embodiment of himself away from the hand that represents himself and on the wrist that is supposed to (at least eventually) represent Seetha goes to show that he truly left everything that matters about himself with her. His soul is no longer resting within himself because he turned his back on it. So, it is all with Seetha. If he had left half of his true self with her before, once he whips Bheem, he fully abandons himself. All that's left of the true him is in Seetha's memories.

This is, I think, further enforced by the fact that, although we get enough shots of Ram's left wrist to confirm that it's there, what the movie focuses on the most during that scene is not its presence on the left wrist, but its absence on the right one. Ram's right sleeve is always slightly pulled up in that scene, so we can see that the wristband is not there, like the movie is constantly calling to our attention that something is wrong with Ram. On the same vein, during Komaram Bheemudo, the framing very carefully hides his pendant in most shots. They go out of their way to leave it out of frame, even in the closeup shot of Ram wiping his tear (which he does with his left hand, where the wristband is at the time).

Here are some examples of both the framing and the sleeve being ridden up:

[ID: Ram picking up the spiked whip. The shot cuts right where his left wrist would begin, but shows most of his right arm. The sleeve is ridden up til nearly mid-arm, so you can clearly see that he's not wearing the wristband. End ID]

[ID: Ram first hitting Bheem with the spiked whip. His sleeve is still rolled up, and his wrist is in the foreground, without the wristband. His left hand is behind his body, out of frame. End ID]

The entire Komaram Bheemudo scene focuses on the lack of the wristband, aka the lack of Ram's own self in that moment. He is doing everything he is supposed to be fighting against, and betraying himself in the process. So the absence of him is felt even more acutely than the displacement itself.

Then, when Ram decides that he is going to save Bheem, the opposite happens: they go out of their way to keep the wristband within the frame. Even when Ram first shows up in that scene, it is framed in such a way that the part of him closest to the viewer is his right wrist.

[ID: Ram walking into the scene where Bheem was flogged. It is shot from under him and to his right, so his right wrist is the thing closest to the camera. You can see the wristband on it. End ID]

Even when he is being filmed from the left, the wristband is still visible:

[ID: Ram being filmed from the left side as he talks to his uncle. He is shown from a 3/4 position, so we can see the wristband on his right wrist even as it is turned away from the camera. End ID]

And even when there are other objects obstructing part of him, the framing is such that you can always see it:

[ID: Ram looking at the blood on his hand. He is shown from within a circle of barbed wire. There is an X right beside him, but it is still framed in such a way that Ram's pendant is visible as he raises his hand to look at it. End ID]

In fact, during that scene, we get a closeup of the pendant for the first time since Ram betrayed Bheem:

[ID: Ram touching the ground, which is wet with Bheem's blood. The pendant, back on his right hand, is visible on his wrist, resting over his palm. End ID]

And the trend continues: you don't see his wristband at any point while he is talking to Governor Scott, but you do see it many times when he is rigging the weapons to save Bheem (complete with several closeups, but they are very quick). Very interestingly, when he puts Malli in the car and drives towards the hanging point, the framing is such that you can see the wristband, but only partially. Ram is being careful, but still giving himself away; he is too kind to Malli, he is too tense as he's driving, he's showing too much of himself. He's still trying to hide it, but it's enough for Scott to see.

[ID: Ram putting his hand on Malli's shoulder comfortingly as he puts her on the car. The shot is framed so that the seat covers half of the wristband, but the other half is visible. End ID]

Then Ram tries to enact his plan to free Bheem, and again the pendant is not only in frame, but also always turned towards the camera even when it means being in different positions in relation to Ram's hand:

[ID: Ram when he's impaled on the tree. He throws his right hand up, and the framing ends right where his wrist does so we can see the bracelet. It is turned towards his inner arm. In the second image, he has fallen to the ground. Again, the pendant is on frame, with the pendant turned towards his outer arm and falling over his hand. End ID]

And listen, I know that I sound insane, but this is consistent. Obviously Rajamouli didn't frame every single shot with the wristband in mind, but there is a very clear pattern where the wristband is invisible when Ram is pretending to be a British officer, and visible when he's not. That's not even only after Bheem is whipped; in retrospect, they were also doing that in the first few scenes. Ram was not wearing the wristband when he was fighting that mob; he was when he was punching the punching bag, but it was hidden. Then it was shown when he was with his uncle, and even more when he was talking about killing governor Scott. When he was lying to Lacchu, it didn't appear much. Then it made a comeback when he helped Bheem save the child, and then in the Dosti montage we had a lot of attention drawn to it (not only in the obvious moment where he talks about the pendant, but also in others; for example, in the shot where they are talking and laughing, Ram's pendant is visible, despite the fact that he has his hand in his pocket).

[ID: Ram and Bheem walking side by side. They are both laughing, and Ram is looking slightly down. His hands are in his pockets, but the wristband is still fully visible. End ID]

So, I think the framing matters here. If the flogging scene was drawing attention to the absence of the pendant on Ram's right wrist, these other shots are drawing attention to its presence. The more of the real Ram we see, the more of the pendant we see, again directly making the link that the wristband = Ram's humanity and true self.

Interestingly enough, it is only after he has officially saved Bheem that we get a clear closeup meant to show only the pendant again:

[ID: Ram lying on the grass after saving Bheem. He is out of focus, and his hand is extended towards the viewer. The pendant is falling over his palm, plainly visible and in focus. End ID]

If denying Bheem was denying his humanity, saving Bheem was saving it; it is back into focus, plainly visible and no longer locked away. I also find it interesting that this is when we finally get the flashback of when he gave the pendant to Seetha in the first place. At this point there's been 2h15m worth of movie and despite the fact that the pendant is very clearly referenced several times, we only get to see that moment right then. I think this implies that this is the moment when he finally connects with the part of him that's missing; it also drives extra attention to the relationship between saving Bheem and recovering that part of himself.

Not only that, but this is the first time we get a flashback that shows Ram driven by purpose, and not grief.

Ram has several flashbacks throughout the movie, but they are always of his father's death. His grief is the only thing pushing him forward. It is his grief that leads to him betraying Bheem (and I find it interesting that the pendant is also not visible in that scene, despite the fact that we get closeups of Ram's bloody right hand. I had kind of been assuming that they would show the pendant then, since it seemed to be connected to his purpose, but they don't. Now, I think that's exactly the point. The pendant is Ram's purpose, and he doesn't really have it in sight right then. He remembers the pain and the blood; he doesn't remember the ideals and hope that he had when he chose that path. He doesn't remember that this is about freedom, he only remembers that this is about a promise). It is his grief that he is thinking of when he's practicing shooting; whenever we see Ram's past, it is always focused on that one day.

The scene where he gives the pendant to Seetha is the first time we see a flashback with adult Ram. And in it we get to see Ram being tender (although he's still very serious); we get to see him talking about courage; we hear the "Vande Mataram" chant, a scream of love for the motherland rather than trauma and resentment; we get to see Ram being larger than life, motivated, focused. I mean, hell, Seetha puts a tilaka on his forehead. That is supposed to help one's focus, health, and mental stability, yes; but it's also related to the search for self awareness. Ram leaves with Seetha his humanity, and Seetha says goodbye by trying to connect Ram deeper with himself. Obviously, that doesn't last. But once again, the link that his connection with Seetha and the pendant = his connection to himself is strengthened.

And so, reliving that memory means finding that connection to himself again. It means finding his drive, his courage, his motive. It seems that, finally, Ram has remembered himself. And he achieved it through his love for Bheem, who, just like Seetha, now embodies his ability to connect to others, fight for what's right, and be himself.

I believe that this is also why, after that scene, the pendant stops being a wristband and becomes a necklace.

[ID: Ram in prison, groaning and throwing his head back. Due to the movement, you can see the pendant is now on a necklace. End ID]

A wristband is easier to see; it is something that you can always bring back to your line of sight. Wearing the pendant on a wristband, Ram is keeping it as a reminder; he is trying to make sure he doesn't forget who he is and what he's fighting for. We even see it serve that exact purpose during the torture scene with Lacchu. But a necklace doesn't need to be seen. Putting the pendant on a necklace means keeping it closer to his heart. At this point, Ram has internalized the pendant, and doesn't need to look at it to remember who he is; it's already a part of him. Because once he remembered who and what he's fighting for, and found again his humanity and drive, he didn't need it as a reminder anymore.

It's also worth noting that Seetha wears her own pendant as a necklace as well; when Ram puts it on the same place, it implies that their connection is stronger. As if they are no longer displaced and there is no longer the chasm between the Ram Seetha remembers and the Ram Ram sees.

Additionally, the pendant was originally a necklace before Ram broke it and gave it to Seetha:

[ID: Ram talking to Seetha before he leaves the village. He is wearing the pendant, which at this point is a full circle, as a necklace. End ID]

Then, immediately after he tears it, it becomes a wristband:

[ID: Ram spreading his arms as he gets on the boat that will leave his village. This is after he has broken the pendant, and he is no longer wearing it as a necklace; instead, we can see that he is wearing a wristband. End ID]

So, it being a necklace again also implies that he is going back to his roots, reconnecting to who he was and what he wanted when he first went on this mission.

Which is why it's extremely interesting that Bheem is the one to give Ram back the other half of the pendant. You'd expect it to be Seetha when they are reunited, but instead, Bheem takes it to him before he brings Ram back to Seetha. Which in turn reminds me of what he tells Seetha before going to rescue Ram:

"I will bring you back your Ram even if I have to lay down my life."

Again, I am going with the English translation, and I don't know what they say in the original, but I did once again check the Netflix translation and the translations in other languages that I speak/understand and they all kept the "your", except for Italian, so I am going to assume that this translation is accurate and close to the original Telugu.

This wording striked me as odd when I first watched, because why is Bheem emphasizing that Ram is Seetha's in that moment? Obviously they are engaged, so, you know, makes sense, but why is he emphasizing it? Rewatching it now, I think I get what he means: it's not just that he will bring back Ram; it's that he will bring back the Ram that Seetha knows. The real Ram. It's not enough to bring back Alluri Sitarama Raju; he is telling her that he will bring her the Ram she knows and loves, the one who's a rebel and who's whole. Which is why it makes sense that he takes Seetha's half of the pendant with him.

That is another part that first striked me as odd, because it seemed to directly contradict another thing he told her:

"Seetha shouldn't go looking for Ram. Ram should come to wherever Seetha is."

So why bring the pendant with him before reuniting Seetha and Ram? If this was simply about bringing Seetha and Ram back together, it would make no sense for Bheem to do this. Which is why I think that it's more than that; when he brings Ram back the pendant, when he puts the two halves back together with his own hands, he is making Ram whole again. Not just because he is saving him from death, but also because he is offering Ram his forgiveness and friendship again; and Ram needed that in order to move on from what he did, and find the person that he tried to bury and nearly forgot about these last 4 years.

In other words, the union of the two parts of the pendant is less about reuniting Ram and Seetha as people, and more about reuniting Ram with what Seetha represents; which, in turn, allows him to come back to Seetha as the Ram that she knew and missed.

(Of course, Ram will never go back to being exactly the same, and the pendant will always have the marks of the break; but it's rebuilding itself, and that's what matters)

And that is a natural conclusion to their relationship, because Bheem had been helping Ram find himself since the moment they met, as shown in the Dosti montage and the jarring differences between how Ram was and acted away from Bheem versus near Bheem. Not to mention Naatu Naatu, the first and only moment where Ram didn't just stand by and watch as his people were done injustice before he decided to save Bheem. The Ram that Seetha knew would never have come back to her if Bheem hadn't been there to help him find his humanity again. Which is why Bheem is the one to put the pendant together, and also why he is the one to put Ram's hand in Seetha's when they reunite; because without Bheem, Ram wouldn't have found his way back to her, because he wouldn't have found himself again.

I also think this is one of the reasons Bheem also puts a tilaka on Ram's forehead; of course, there is the fact that he is giving Ram the getup that he is known for, but remembering how Seetha had once put a tilaka on Ram's forehead, I think the fact that Bheem does it the second time also reinforces the connection between his relationship with Bheem and his relationship with Seetha, as well as the idea that he is reconnecting Ram with himself, just like Seetha tried to do when they were first parted.

Bringing Ram and Seetha together meant reconnecting Ram with his true self, and because Bheem was the one who reminded him who he was and what he was fighting for, he needed to be the one to do it.