Varma's next 'Rakta Charitra' about rebel Paritala Ravi : India

By Joginder Tuteja

Mumbai, April 12 - He has travelled jungles for 'Agyaat' and moved into channel studios with 'India 24/7'. Now Ram Gopal Varma is all set to tell a real life story about Paritala Ravi, a murder accused and one of the most feared individuals ever in the blood-ridden faction politics of south India, through his film 'Rakta Charitra'.

'Yes, 'Rakta Charitra' is going to be my next film after I'm through with the shoot of 'India 24/7'. The film is a biographical tale of Paritala Ravi who was a prime accused in quite a few murder cases. In fact he had also survived numerous assassination attempts, the most brutal of which was way back in 1997 when a bomb explosion near Rama Naidu Studio in Hyderabad killed 26 people, but he survived,' Varma told IANS.

What really made him tell this tale?

'The very fact that Paritala Ravi wasn't a rebel in his initial days but the force of circumstances made him become one. He was a soft-spoken, shy guy who retreated into the jungles and then became a rebel. He wanted to avenge the death of his father and brother. In fact, he even became a minister in N.T. Ramarao's Cabinet', said Varma who has been known for capturing the darker side of affairs on camera.

'We have heard stories about so many dangerous men in the past, whether it's LTTE - chief Velupillai Prabhakaran or Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar. However, all those stories pale in comparison to Ravi's life story', said Varma, 'Closer home, I can say that his story is even more intriguing than that of our very own Dawood Ibrahim,' he added.

Highly excited about beginning the film this August, the director insists that this is one of the most fascinating stories he has come across.

''Rakta Charitra' is the story of a man's phenomenal rise to power and a story of the most intense blood curdling conflict ever heard of between two individuals. Moreover, the story is also the ultimate statement on the often heard disastrous consequences of a fatal mixture of caste, crime, family feuds and politics', Varma said.

He is also getting into an experimental mode for the film. Apparently, he plans to make it as a two part feature film which would span over five hours. The two parts would be called 'Rakta Charitra-I' and 'Rakta Charitra-II'.

'The sheer drama and content the story possesses is so incredibly rich that it's not possible to do justice to it in a film which is less than five hours. While the film's shooting would be held at a stretch, the release would be in two parts which would be spaced out over three months,' said Varma

'I believe that 'Rakta Charitra' is going to be the most defining film of my career not because of how well I will make it but mainly because of the material I have at my hand,' the filmmaker said.

Varma is in the process of finalising the cast for the film.