- The world's largest cinema complex – confirmed by its entry into the Guinness Book of World Records – is located not in the United States, but in India
- So expectations are really high. After all, India is known for having the largest film industry in the world
- If the rest of the Bollywood film pantheon sounds like Ramoji, it's no wonder that colours, soundtracks and stunning dance sequences are the only things that come to our mind when we hear the word 'Hindi film'.
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India, and in this case Hyderabad in the southern part of the country, can boast not only its own Silicon Valley, but also its homegrown Hollywood.
The world's largest cinema complex – confirmed by its entry into the Guinness Book of World Records – is located not in the United States, but just outside Hyderabad. The studio was established in 1996, when Ramoji Rao, the Indian media mogul and film producer, wanted to have his own Hollywood, a complex reminiscent of the golden age of American film.
Ramoji
Ramoji Film City – associated with the panache of Bollywood, colour, drama and imagination – although it attracts crowds on weekends, appears to be for tourists who are not familiar with local productions. At most, a hastily abandoned city.
Ramoji Film Studio
Ramoji
In the middle of the week at noon, except for our bus, there are only two other groups on the cinema roads and a car with tools for the team that is renovating a scene.
Ramoji Film Studio
– A month ago, I was in… Warner Bros. studio In Los Angeles. I don't think Ramoja studio is bigger – said a tourist from Romania skeptically in my ear. And after. Built in 1996, the studio was meant to be a “city within a city.” Here, on an area of approximately 700 hectares, successful Bollywood* and Tollywood** films were filmed, such as “Straight from the Heart”, the two-part Baahubali saga, and “Crocodile Killer 2”.
Ramoji
“You will be amazed by the realistic views,” says the banner on the website of Ramoji Film Studio. According to the brand, we will be able to “move to central London, a train station, an airport, a prison, a hospital and even a trendy pub – all in one studio”.
Ramoji Film Studio
At the same time, the Americans – due to the low profitability of preserving numerous landscapes of a huge area – do not offer such an opportunity. So expectations are really high. After all, India is known for having the largest film industry in the world.
Ramoji Film Studio
In fact, Ramoji Fame City looks like an abandoned town with only a gardener left (plants are carefully cut into fanciful shapes). Clearly someone with great potential had made a blockbuster and… left everything to melt in the Hyderabad heat.
Ramoji Film Studio
Ramoji
In my imagination, I can imagine Americans shooting a Western with Gary Cooper from the 1960s here, and Ramoji leisurely rolling around in the middle. tumbleweed The Polish Internet called him the “Desert Runner”.
The exceptional space of Ramoja Studio is undeniable – we change buses twice, and it's impossible to walk through the complex.
Ramoji
Ramoji Film Studio
If the rest of the Bollywood film pantheon sounds like Ramoji, it's no wonder that colours, soundtracks and stunning dance sequences are the only things that come to our mind when we hear the word 'Hindi film'.
The contrast is so amazing that it is hard to believe that this place is a giant in its field on the world map. Although Ramoji was supposed to encourage Bollywood and Tollywood films, it pushes a rather unpleasant stereotype and hurts foreign tourists' reception of Indian productions.
Ramoji Film Studio
Ramoji Film Studio
Perhaps it was because of the poor scenery available in Ramoja that the special effects were greatly exaggerated It is difficult to see the features of authentic scenography in it.
A good example of this is the two successful films in India about Baahubali, which were filmed in this studio. To this day, some of the sets from this production are popular tourist attractions, and there are very long queues to take photos on the throne or with the large torso legs (which are posed with the head next to the legs), even on a quiet day. One of the parts of Baahubali is the second highest-grossing Indian film in history! Interestingly, the film uses such complex visual effects for the first time in India.
Ramoji Film Studio
It's no wonder that when you stand face to face with the landscape, you might feel a little disappointed. The fact that Ramoji looks like a deserted city also has an advantage for Hyderabad's growing IT market – after all, bold visual effects have to be created somewhere.
Practical information:
- The cheapest ticket to Ramoji Film City costs 999 rupees, or approximately PLN 49.
- *Bollywood is the unofficial name of the Indian film industry. It comes from the city of Mumbai, formerly Bombay.
- **Tollywood, on the other hand, refers to filmmaking in Telugu – spoken by nearly 90 million Indians, it is the fourth largest speaker of the language in the country.
Ramoji Film Studio
Ramoji Film Studio
Ramoji Film Studio
Ramoji
