Sri Rama Rajyam is the soundtrack to the 2011 film of the same name directed by Bapu and produced by Yalamanchali Saibabu, starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, Nayanthara, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Srikanth. The film's musical score is composed by Ilaiyaraaja with lyrics written by Jonnavittula Ramalingeswara Rao. The album was distributed by Aditya Music and released on 15 August 2011 at a launch event held in Bhadrachalam. The music received positive reviews from critics, and Ilaiyaraaja was awarded the Nandi Award for Best Music Director. The album further received two Filmfare Awards and four Mirchi Music Awards, for the song "Jagadananda Karaka".
Development.
The musical score is composed by Ilaiyaraaja with lyrics provided by Jonnavittula Ramalingeswara Rao. Even before the production commenced, Ilaiyaraaja had composed eight songs for the film. Ilaiyaraaja worked on traditional Indian instruments that embodied classical music and worked on ancient melodies, so that he could translate the period of Ramayana. The tunes were composed, only after the lyrics were written. Veteran singers S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and K. S. Chithra had recorded the songs, along with Shreya Ghoshal, Tippu, Shweta Mohan, Anitha Karthikeyan, Keertana and Surabhi Sravani. Ilaiyaraaja commenced the re-recording at the Budapest Scoring Orchestra in Budapest, Hungary, and the film was delayed due to the re-recording.
Release.
The film's soundtrack was distributed by Aditya Music and the album was released in a soft launch at the Sita Ramachandraswamy Temple, Bhadrachalam on 15 August 2011, with Balakrishna, Bapu, Ilaiyaraaja and Sai Babu in attendance. Another launch event to distribute the audio CDs was held at the open grounds in Government Junior College, with the cast and crew. The Tamil and Malayalam versions of the soundtrack were released, a year later, with lyrics by Piraisoodan and Mankombu Gopalakrishnan respectively.
Reception.
Karthik Srinivasan of "Milliblog" wrote "Sri Rama Rajyam is a masterpiece; totally befitting the expectations from the formidable Bapu-Raja combination". Radhika Rajamani of "Rediff.com" wrote "Ilaiyaraja's music is a great asset. The music is not just mellifluous to the ears with some good lyrics by Jonnavithula but is absolutely in sync with the film. Ilaiyaraja is known for his melody and he's proved he's definitely a master of melody." Serish Nanisetti of "The Hindu" wrote "The music by Ilayaraja is another plus point with its soothing nature".
Reviewer based at "Sify" noted "Music by maestro Ilayaraja is remarkable. All tunes are melodious and touch the audiences." "CNN-IBN" noted "Ilayaraja's music is another major attraction. Dialogues and song lyrics are so good that you do not want to miss them." However, B. V. S. Prakash of "Deccan Chronicle" noted "Although, music maestro Ilayaraja belts out a few chartbusters, the album is no match to the enchanting compositions of the legendary Ghantasala."