Muthappa Rai and the biopic that never got made

When reformed don

Muthappa Rai

passed away in the early hours of Friday, many 'remembered' his meteoric rise in the underworld and subsequent return to normal life. His life story was tailor-made material for a film. In fact, it was almost certain that it would when filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma announced a film called Rai in 2016. Unfortunately, the project did not take off after the launch.

At the time, though, RGV seemed quite gung-ho about the project. In an interview with

Bangalore Times

, he had said there was a big reason he chose to make a film on the reformed don. He said, "I had heard of Muthappa Rai even in Mumbai, when I was doing research for Satya and Company, and it intrigued me. His life story as it happened, as reported and as told by a number of sources is the most fascinating thing I ever heard in my entire career. His journey from Mangaluru to Bengaluru to Mumbai to

Dubai

to Muscat and then back is like folklore. Apart from the story, I was equally fascinated by the man, his way of looking at things, his attitude towards the world and the way he carved out his life."

RGV was all gaga about Rai. He had gone on to say, "I have an encyclopaedic knowledge about all the biggest gangsters in the whole world, whether it's

Pablo Escobar

, Dawood Ibrahim,

Al Capone

, etc., but their stories are nothing compared to the sheer drama and dynamism of Rai hence the tagline, The Greatest Gangster Ever."

The film was initially launched with Sudeep in the lead, but it was later decided that Vivek Oberoi would play Rai. It was announced to be made in Hindi as well as the South Indian languages. It remains to be seen if Muthappa Rai’s passing will rekindle RGV’s interest in the film.
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