Recreating Stuartpuram

The recently-released teaser of the Ravi Teja-starrer Tiger Nageswara Rao provides fascinating glimpses of  the period film’s artwork, especially the recreated ‘Stuartpuram Village’. Set in the 1970s and 80s, the film is based on the life of the slain thief Tiger Nageswara Rao. It has many sets, but what stands out is the one representing Stuartpuram.

“Stuartpuram was not a typical village full of greenery, where the people were mainly farmers. It was an isolated and dry hamlet which the robber gang chose because it was ideal for hiding the goods they stole. So the set reflects the lifestyle of the robbers, complete with weapons,” says director Vamsee.

More than 60 per cent of the film was shot at this set, so Stuartpuram is a character in the film, even its heart, he adds.

Art director Avinash Kolla and his team spent one month at the actual village of Stuartpuram to study the place. He also researched and gathered material to understand the nature and mindset of the robbers and how they built their homes.

“The hamlet looks scary; the huts were designed to allow them to escape easily. The fencing of the homes featured the heads, skins and horns of animals they hunted,” says Avinash. Care was taken that all elements, including costumes and accessories, reflect the period.

Sets of the famous Circar Express train, and the now abandoned old Rajahmundry bridge were also built at Shamshabad. The makers went to Godavari (at Rajahmundry), took the dimensions of the 60 ft-high bridge and replicated it. “We shot an action episode (by Peter Hein) on the bridge and the pre-production work itself took around 8 months,” says Vamsee, who aims to make the audience enjoy the period setting.

Stuartpuram was not a typical village full of  greenery. It was an isolated and dry hamlet which the robber gang chose because it was ideal for hiding the goods they stole. So the set reflects the lifestyle of the robbers, complete with weapons — Vamsee, director