New Delhi:
He is the prodigal child ofcontroversies and filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma's decision to holdthe premiere of his film Rakta Charitra in the politicalhotbed of Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, despite hostileopposition and threats, did not surprise many.
The home town of slain leader Paritala Ravi, theprotagonist of the gory bio-pic, had not taken kindly toVarma. But the filmmaker says that the premiere is an attemptto pacify those who claim that the film demonises theson-of-the-soil.
When asked whether it is another publicity stuntfrom his stable, Varma did not flinch before answering in theaffirmative.
"Ofcourse it is a publicity stunt, everything I do, Ido it for publicity. I am in the business of making films andfilms need publicity," the filmmaker told PTI.
The town will resemble a fortress on October 21 whenthe director and his starcast Vivek Oberoi, Suriya andPadmapriya descend on the hostile town for the premiere.
"The people who have problems with the content of thefilm need to come and watch it, so that they realise that therumours are untrue. It's their story, the movie is about themand therefore the premiere has to be held in Anantapur," saidVarma.
The crew had faced protests when they arrived to shootin Andhra Pradesh and trouble is anticipated during thepremiere. The producers of the film have reportedly ordered a3-cordon security for Varma, Vivek and the team.
The posters of Rakta Charitra too had irked theCensors with a quote attributed to the Mahabharata, "Revengeis the purest emotion," at the centre of the debate.
"Yes censors in Mumbai and Hyderabad had issues withthe quote. Work is still in progress over that debate. Let'ssee what happens," said Varma.
This is not the first time the maverick filmmaker isat the centre of a controversy.
To promote his 2009 thriller Agyaat, he had hungdummies of dead bodies over the film's posters on the busyhighways of Mumbai, causing an uproar.
He had also faced flak from the censor board earlierfor tampering with the lyrics of the national anthem for hisfilm Rann, which explored the nexus between media andpoliticians.
But Varma, says that it is the media, not him thatcreates controversies.
"I just do things for attention, the media makes newsand controversies out of them," said the filmmaker.True to his style, his next film too is sure to grabheadlines, a bio-pic of Swami Nityanand, who had shot tointernational infamy post a sex tape scandal.
Meanwhile Varma, who has not had a single hit in thepast years, is keeping his fingers crossed for RaktaCharitra which will be released in two installments.
The first part releases on October 22 and the secondhalf will hit theatres on Nov 19.
The home town of slain leader Paritala Ravi, theprotagonist of the gory bio-pic, had not taken kindly toVarma. But the filmmaker says that the premiere is an attemptto pacify those who claim that the film demonises theson-of-the-soil.
When asked whether it is another publicity stuntfrom his stable, Varma did not flinch before answering in theaffirmative.
"Ofcourse it is a publicity stunt, everything I do, Ido it for publicity. I am in the business of making films andfilms need publicity," the filmmaker told PTI.
The town will resemble a fortress on October 21 whenthe director and his starcast Vivek Oberoi, Suriya andPadmapriya descend on the hostile town for the premiere.
"The people who have problems with the content of thefilm need to come and watch it, so that they realise that therumours are untrue. It's their story, the movie is about themand therefore the premiere has to be held in Anantapur," saidVarma.
The crew had faced protests when they arrived to shootin Andhra Pradesh and trouble is anticipated during thepremiere. The producers of the film have reportedly ordered a3-cordon security for Varma, Vivek and the team.
The posters of Rakta Charitra too had irked theCensors with a quote attributed to the Mahabharata, "Revengeis the purest emotion," at the centre of the debate.
"Yes censors in Mumbai and Hyderabad had issues withthe quote. Work is still in progress over that debate. Let'ssee what happens," said Varma.
This is not the first time the maverick filmmaker isat the centre of a controversy.
To promote his 2009 thriller Agyaat, he had hungdummies of dead bodies over the film's posters on the busyhighways of Mumbai, causing an uproar.
He had also faced flak from the censor board earlierfor tampering with the lyrics of the national anthem for hisfilm Rann, which explored the nexus between media andpoliticians.
But Varma, says that it is the media, not him thatcreates controversies.
"I just do things for attention, the media makes newsand controversies out of them," said the filmmaker.True to his style, his next film too is sure to grabheadlines, a bio-pic of Swami Nityanand, who had shot tointernational infamy post a sex tape scandal.
Meanwhile Varma, who has not had a single hit in thepast years, is keeping his fingers crossed for RaktaCharitra which will be released in two installments.
The first part releases on October 22 and the secondhalf will hit theatres on Nov 19.
