The
little
volatile
town
of
Anantapur
in
Andhra
Pradesh,
home
of
gangster-turned-politician
Paritala
Ravi
on
whose
violent
life
Ram
Gopal
Varma's
Rakta
Charitra
is
based,
will
resemble
a
fortress
on
October
21
when
Vivek
Oberoi,
Ram
Gopal
Varma
and
the
team
of
the
film
descends
on
the
hostile
town
for
the
premiere.
The
indefatigable
Ramu
calls
it
his
do-or-die
premiere.
And
rightly
so
since
Varma
received
death
threats
for
attempting
to
shoot
Paritala
Ravi's
bio-pic
in
Anantapur.
Finally,
the
film
had
to
be
shot
elsewhere.
But
now
Varma
is
not
backing
out.
And
his
leading
man
Vivek
Oberoi
has
decided
to
be
equally
brave.
Says
Ramu,
"This
is
my
last
attempt
to
make
the
local
population
in
Anantapur
understand
that
I
wasn't
out
to
sensationalize
or
demonize
their
local
hero.
They
need
to
see
and
judge
for
themselves."
The
director
has
invited
prominent
members
of
the
local
establishment
including
cops
and
civil
servants
to
watch
the
film.
But
trouble
is
anticipated
by
the
Rakta
Charitra
team.
The
producers
have
ordered
a
3-cordon
security
for
Varma,
Vivek
and
the
team.
No
Indian
film
team
has
ever
attended
a
premiere
under
such
an
elaborate
security
bandobast.
Says
Ramu,
"If
the
locals
decide
to
create
trouble,
there's
zilch
that
the
bandobast
can
do
about
it.
I
don't
care
what
the
risk,
we're
going
to
Anantapur
with
the
film.
If
I've
to
go,
I've
to
go.
But
I
promise
you,
if
something
happens
to
me
you'll
be
the
first
to
know."
Story first published: Monday, October 18, 2010, 16:33 [IST]