RGV clears the air

���I���ve no political agenda���
Your next film is based on the life of a political leader from South. Why make it in Hindi?
Post India 24/7, I intend to make a film that���s inspired by the story of Paritala Ravi from Andhra Pradesh. He was a political leader who got assassinated in January 2005. I���ve decided to make it in Hindi because I feel the story needs to reach out to a much wider audience.Ravi was one of the most feared individuals in the history of the blood-smeared faction politics of South India. He was the prime accused in many murder cases and also survived a number of assassination attempts. In November 1997, he had even survived a bomb blast on a Hyderabad street that had killed 26 people.
What���s so gripping about Ravi���s story?
I have read biographies of many dangerous men, including that of Velupalli Prabhakaran, the LTTE chief, to Pablo Escobar, the Columbian drug lord, to Dawood Ibrahim. But all those stories pale in comparison to that of Ravi���s. He was a soft-spoken shy guy. Under certain circumstances, he retreated into the jungles, became a rebel to avenge his father and brother���s deaths. With time, he became a folklore legend and eventually, a minister in NT Rama Rao���s cabinet. Ravi was a dreaded name not only among his rivals but even the law enforcement agencies. He was gunned down by a deathsquad allegedly put together by his arch rival, Suri. The latter wanted to avenge his father and brother���s deaths! I have met various associates of Paritala Ravi and Suri and also their family members. I have also met Suri, who is presently lodged in Anantpur jail on trial for killing Ravi. My film is a statement on the disastrous consequences of a fatal mixture of caste, crime, family feuds and politics. Shooting should begin in August in the rural belt of India.
The title of the film, Rakta Charitra, is quite intriguing...
Since Ravi���s history has been written in blood, I thought that���s the most apt title. I���ve also decided to film this story at one stretch and release it in two parts about three months from each other. This is a first time such a thing is being attempted in the history of Indian cinema. I want to call the films Rakta Charitra ��� I and Rakta Charitra ��� II. It���s only possible to do justice to the content in a film that���s not less than five hours. Besides, Ravi���s life can be broadly divided into two parts from the time circumstances created his rise to the time he created circumstances that felled him.
Isn���t it difficult to make a film on factionalism when one has to convince both parties of not being judgmental?
I���ve met both the parties. Most of the film is based on recorded history. There are court cases going on. While making a film, one has to understand that the human and emotional aspects will not come across through hard facts. The detailing of my film will focus on how both the parties went about with their jobs at hand. I���ve always believed that there is nothing like a good or a bad person. Everyone works under given circumstances and also have compulsions under which they take certain decisions. The film is not being made on the level of good and bad. Both Ravi and Suri lost everything in the end. My objective and intention should be justification enough for not wanting to hurt anyone.
Any political reasons for making this film now?
I���ve never voted in my life. I���m the last person to have a political agenda for making a film.
Would you be using live footage too?
Yes. I���m sourcing them. They will be used as a montage in my film.
Have you decided on the cast?
I���ll take sometime to finalise that. Although this is a biopic, I would want an actor who understands the spirit. Physical resemblance isn���t all that important. The actor has to behave like the character. Before Godfather was made, nobody knew how Don Corleone looked like.
Is there any possibility of casting someone in the lead from down South?
I���d want to go for someone from Bollywood.
Recently, your India 24/7 was in the news for Raima being replaced by Neetu Chandra...
That was a decision taken because there was a change in the character. It wasn���t really a last-minute change. In an ensemble cast, there are so many characters and the script keeps on evolving. But that, in no way, changes the main story of the film.
Don���t such changes make actors insecure while doing a Ram Gopal Varma film?
These things happen all the time. It���s a part and parcel about being in the industry and is not specific to Ramu.