Anantapur, October 22: Workers of the TDP have on Friday stalled the screening of Ramgopal Varma’s latest film ‘Rakta Charitra’ in this city, protesting that it had shown the party’s founder and late actor N T Rama Rao as a villain.
A large number of workers gathered at the Krishna theatre where the film was scheduled to be screened on the day of its opening and raised slogans against Varma. They entered into argument with the theatre employees. They have even torn away the flexi display boards of the film.
The film is based on the Rayalaseema factionism. It is purported to have been based on the lives of former TDP leader late Paritala RAvi and his sworn rival Maddela Cheruvu Suri. As every body knows, Suri’s entire family was liquidated allegedly by Ravi in a bomb blast in a TV.
In retaliation, Suri has planted a bomb in a car on way to a cine studio when a film based on the life of Suri’s father was produced. Mohan Babu who portrayed the role of the hero in that film (Ramulayya) was traveling in a car with Paritala Ravi and was passing on the road on which the car bomb was placed. The two narrowly escaped the murder attempt.
Their car has passed when the bomb was triggered and a car carrying media representatives bore the brunt of the explosion. Around 18 media personnel were brutally killed in the blalst. Suri served life sentence for the blast and has recently come out after completing most part of the sentence and due to good conduct on the Gandhi Jayanti day when prisoners generally get reprieve for good conduct.
This served as a good subject for Varma who wanted to do the film mainly based on the life of Ravi and his contemporaries. Noted Bollywood actor Vivek Oberai acted as Paritala Ravindra in the film.
Varma has been receiving life threats ever since he has started the film. Unfazed by the threats, he has completed the film. During the production, he has interacted with Paritala Sunita, widow of Paritala Ravindra who, though has survived the bomb blast of Suri,was brutally murdered after Congress came to power.
In a mysterious turn of events, the murderer of Moddu Seenu was also murdered while in Jail. The murder of Ravi remained a mystery.
Police were posted in a large number at all the theatres where Rakta Charitra was released on Friday. At the Lakshmi Theatre in Anantapur, police have arrested 30 TDP workers when they turned unruly. (NSS)