Tuesday, December 16, 2008

a day out at the film city

It was 7 in the morning when my fascinating trip to Ramoji Fim City began. How better could I spent a holiday? The roads where busy cos it was a Friday morning and cabs were zooming in and out on every corner of the road. People rushing to their office! What an irony, i was looking forward for a relaxed holiday and people around me thought of the tiring workplace!At 9 we reached our destination! Long 2 hours journey, but I already got a feel that it was going to be worth the journey. It was my second trip to the place.
There were different entry packages and we could already see crowd storming in. The parking lot was filled with designer buses built specially to attract tourists. There was a bus in the shape of worm, another the shape of a bug, another a bee, then there were buses which looked like steam engines, and lot more. e took tickets for a privileged trip which promised us of a A/C couch, an exclusive guided tour and lunch+snacks. I should say it more than worth for the 850 INR that we pay. The ticket counter was at Gate # 1 and our guided tour starts from Gate # 2 which is full 8 km away from the first gate!




i found this statue on way between gate #1 and gate #2. Seems like its getting ready for a movie!






The guided tour was not new to me since its not the first time I am visiting the place. Our guide explained about various spots and we stopped at the Sun Fountain, Angel's Fountain, Eureka, Princess Street, Maya, Railway Station, Central jail, Rainbow Temple, Airport, South Town, Japanese Garden, Hawa Mahal, Boasura, Filmi Duniya, Action Stunt Shows and more.
About 80% of the structures that we see in the Fim City [which spans over 2000 acres] is made of Plaster of Paris. Many of these are detachable for changing the sets. The fountains are all made of plaster of paris and shows the creativity of the sculptor!



Princess Street: Can you believe that all these buildings are made of cardboard and plaster of Paris? :)





You could experience the grandeur of the Mauryan empire in Eureka.




the front gate to Eureka






You could even wander of the dusty roads of the Wild Wild West and witness a stunt show!




shots from the Wild Wild West Stunt show.






Borasura is the first of its kind in Asia. Enter the sorcerer's den to find the hidden treasure. but mind you, it isnt easy. You have to encounter fiery dragons, crawl throgh a snake's belly, and cross molten lava. There are mine shafts, and spider webs hampering your path. Not to mention the Paper's ghost. Designed by international experts, this is one experience you cannot afford to miss.










the fountains [angel fountain:left]


Travel around the world in Filmi Duniya. Its a whole new world made completely of Plaster of Paris and we travel through this world in small wagons! Behold the romance of Paris. Get a taste of evergreen England. Experience the drama of imperial Rome. Contemplate the majesty of the Swiss Alps. Stare in wonder at the mystical palaces of Bhagdad. Get swept off your feet by pulsating New York. Its one ride that will stay with you for a very long time!















the trip was really beautiful, trust me!




Action is part of Filmi Duniya where in they show us all techniques involved in making a movie! The magic of special effects, editing and dubbing with the help of chromo screens and the real "start-action-cut", everything is shown to us! They even select one among us and make a short movie on them! Its incredible, but I couldn't share the photographs! Cameras and Mobiles are strictly not allowed in here :(




sculpture of angels!











another mind blowing sculpture!










a replica of the famous jaipur hawa mahal!









this is the way to the hawa mahal. these lampshades are removable and once moved this road could be used as a highway [for movies]. Then they would replace the lamp posts with mile stones :)




another showpiece event happened at the Alampana Theatres. There were special performance by various artists and the program was named : " The spirit of Ramoji".











alright, last but not the least. food: we had lunch from the new restaurant. Its called the Superstar Restaurant. The walls over here are decorated with portraits of various super stars covering all regional languages. I found stars ranging from Mohanlal [malayalam] to Amithab Bachan [hindi]. The interiors were beautiful and food awesome! Next time you visit RFC, dnt forget to pay your visit to this place.


The snacks were served at another place named "DilSe". The food is average, but the interiors are good.









Finally a word about the games. There are a lot of games right from bungy jumping to many exciting rides. Anyone and everyone who is visiting Hyderabad and who has One Full Day to spare, do visit this place. You need a minimum of One day to see atleast a good portion of it. Thats it for now. Enjoy your day :)

For people who want to have a better view of the photographs, click on this link.

57 comments:

Keshi said...

WOW the pics r amazing! beautiful film city it is!

I guess this is pretty similar to Warner Brothers stuidos in Movie World - Gold Coast Queensland here in Aus. I've been there and was just mesmerised by how movies are being made.

Looks like u had loads of fun Sawan. And u look great! And the sculptures were really amazing..I love those pics the best.


tnxx for sharing ur part of the world with us!

Keshi.

Keshi said...

**studios

Anil Sawan said...

Keshi, darlin your words are always kind :) wen r u gona share a detailed description of WB Studios, ive never been outside india. lemme see the world through you :) I had so much of fun, trust me.. and it was much needed! I look great? alright all you girls out there, did you hear that? :P The sculptures are incredibly good. I should say that the photographs din bring in the beauty of it. You should watch it there. mesmerizing indeed.

Keshi said...

ofcourse u look hot hot hot in those sunnies! u dun hv to tell the girls, they know it anyways lol!

I went to WB studios before I started blogging :) abt 7yrs ago...so no digital pics unfortunately. u can go to their website..its just amazing.

http://movieworld.myfun.com.au/


Enjoy!


Keshi.

Anil Sawan said...

official websites doesnt give the feel and pleasure your words give :P
so go once more and put the description :P

lemme know wen u r gona visit india next, i am gona give you a treat for sure :P

Keshi said...

I agree...nothing like really being there.

treat? wow Im lucky ha! ;-)

I want to come to India some day soon...I so wanna see this great country rich of culture and tradition. I'll let u know for sure when I do visit :)

Keshi.

Veni said...

Hi Sawan,

Lovely pics.....beautiful sceneries.
A leave well spent indeed : )

Look like you have great pics already for your proposals : )

Vinz said...

great post...!!

being a movie freak, its one of my dream yet to be realized....

Great pics buddy..!!

Sen said...

@ Sawan...great post...great place...great pics :))

Vin said...

hey sawan...where is thepicof te different shaped buses..bee shape, worm shape,etc?? would love to see that:)
Ramoji is a beautiful sudio, no douubt..so u can become our guide when we come there:)

swati said...

it seems u had lotz of fun..
u knw wat the actual hawa mahal is nt so beautiful..as compared to the one in ur pic..n i knw this coz i have styd in jpr for bout 5yrs..
anywaz..i wud luv 2 visit ramoji..have heard a lot about it..

Sinner said...

You had a really good time :)

The pics are beautiful especially the Hawa Mahal.

Anwesa said...

dat was a nice post..surely gonna visit it when i land at hyderabad..

Scattered Thoughts... said...

sawan - you too got inspired from vin and sen? hope you are not starting as Hyd guide on weekends :P

jokes apart.. beautiful pics but I want to see those buses yaar.. being a auto crazy, would love to see that..

Hey, BTW, you changed the profile pic back to old one?? what happened ?

Anil Sawan said...

@Keshi: Ill be waiting :P

Anil Sawan said...

@Veni: do visit the place once, it would be worth the time. and fotos, yeah.. i already send some copies home.. shhhhhhhh..... :P

Anil Sawan said...

@Vinz: they actually make a scene in front of us. the heroine was selected from one among the visitors and they did the mixing, editing, dubbing and the effects from in front of us! it was incredible!

Anil Sawan said...

@Sen: thnx.. thnx.. thnx.. :P

Anil Sawan said...

@Vins: i din click those pics :( no worries, we wud take those snaps when you visit hyd :P and of course i am always available for you :P

Anil Sawan said...

@swati: really?? lol.. do visit.. you are welcome anytime :)

Anil Sawan said...

@harshitha: you bet i did :P thnx for your words :)

Anil Sawan said...

@anwesa: i missed the ajanta ellora caves this time. make sure you visit them as well.. its nice :)

Anil Sawan said...

@ST: i din click those pics :( will surely click them during my next visit. why dnt you plan a trip to hyd? :P

i din change my profile pic lately.. it was the sme for quite some time now :) maybe you never noticed :)

Preetilata【惄】 said...

i hv heard a lot abt this place. dont knw wen i wil hv d chance to visit it. :(

u surely had a gala time there. i am jealous :p

loved the pics a lot :)

Anil Sawan said...

@Preeti: lol, jealous? :) that was a much needed break! next time you plan a vacation book a ticket from delhi to hyd :P

Keshi said...

btw Sawan wont u ans my tag qns?

Keshi.

Keshi said...

when u can plz do :)

Keshi.

Anil Sawan said...

Keshi, I already did :P

The Seeker said...

been there recently! nice place yaar! but you can't see everything in one day! planning a trip again soon! and nice pics sawan

WarmSunshine said...

I'm sooo aching to read this.... just so busy.. and this cold and now,,, what's more to get worse??? my home PC has some virus :@

will hopefully come back to read this on the weekend...

happy blogging!

Arunima said...

Beautiful pics...
It's gr8 that u got an opportunity 2 b dere. Even I wanna visit dat place.
Ven i ws a kid while watching sum movie I ws told dat this railway station is nt real & it's ramoji studio.....since den i have been wanting 2 go dre.

Unknown said...

wow that must be a big resturant

Anil Sawan said...

@Seeker: Thats true, i ve been there twice. this time i covered lot many places which i missed the first time. yet, they say ive not even covered half :P

Anil Sawan said...

@Meher: ooooo, what happened to you dear? cold luvd you so much that it dsnt want to leave you :P ill wait for your comment.. :P
get well sooooooon...
for you and your home PC :P

Anil Sawan said...

@Arunima: Thnx for your words :)Its really a beautiful place. talk about movies, a lot of movies including sivaji, sarkar 2 and the latest - gajini was shot here.

Anil Sawan said...

@Crazyheart: you bet it was!

Keshi said...

aww tnxx Sawan :)

Keshi.

Anil Sawan said...

:P any time keshi :)

Heart'n'Soul said...

OMG OMG OMG

so much awesomeenesss here... its like a whole new world out there

By the way i loved that Idol... natraj rite?

Nivedita said...

thnks for ur kind words on my blog
nice pics btw..

Lena said...

forget about party, when i come to india, we will go there! :P

Anil Sawan said...

@Heart n Soul: yes yes .. btw it was not on display. they were preparing a set and i sneaked in and took a pic :P

Anil Sawan said...

@Nivedita: welcome here. you have such a wonderful way of expressing emotions, my words were just a reflection of what i felt. you deserve it all.

Anil Sawan said...

@Lena: deal :P so when r u coming???

SMRITI said...

Nicely done :)

I have rather sad memories of Ramoji, the only time I've been there. We all had something to eat at the film city, and the next day, everyone of us fell sick. Maybe it was the summer, maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the food, maybe...it was just bad luck :P

Thanks for dropping by my blog :) And yeah, its gonna be Paradise (though I'd thought of bawarchi, but everyone says its not a place I can sit and eat...coz the crowd aint all that good :(]

Anonymous said...

well, I never got anopportunity to visit this place, but with ur pics....I guess now its time to pay a visit:) good pics...

Anil Sawan said...

@smriti: ah sad.. dnt worry, now things are much better. go for the privileged guided tour and you would get the best treatment.. trust me, you would love it..

paradise again? ive commented on your post, check those places out before you finalize on paradise!

Anil Sawan said...

@aparna: i should have been in marketing :P grt place to visit aps, but make sure you got the right crowd with you.

Anonymous said...

wow! nice of you to put all the pics up.

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures :)

Anil Sawan said...

@Freya: lol, u never read my posts.. ive mentioned in my last post that my next post wud be a photo post :)hw u doin girlie?

Anil Sawan said...

@Ki: thnx :)

RiĆ  said...

wow!tht was beautiful!!u knw i hav distant memories of Ramoji studio coz i was hardly 8 yrs old when i had gone there. Of course it looks very different from what it was back then. :)

Anil Sawan said...

@Ria: High time you make another visit :)

Sur said...

Hi Sawan, I totally agree with you!! I have been there twice, and it is a very niceplace to visit!! Well, I went there almost 10 years ago, hope nothing much would have changed... Firs time we went there, we stayed at Tara.. the second time was just a tour around. Are those gardens still there where most of the Govinda songs were shot?? It is truely an amazing places...

Anil Sawan said...

@Surabhi, I believe thats ur name. Welcome here.. Trust me, it has changed considerably. Atleast thats how i felt. I visited the place a year back and now when i go, i could feel the change!

yes yes the garden is still there :)

merry christmas to you.. :)

Sur said...

Yeah Sawan, its Surabhi... naam to suna hoga!! :P