RGV political potboilers on AP politics to target Naidu, Pawan Kalyan

Vijayawada: A day after he had an exclusive meeting with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, noted film director Ram Gopal Varma on Thursday set the cat among the pigeons by announcing that he would produce a two-part political movie set against the backdrop of AP politics.

With his visceral understanding of the fusion of the worlds of movies and politics for Telugu people, Varma, on Twitter, announced that he would be making a film with the central theme of political strategies and conspiracies shortly.

Acknowledging that this is bound to raise eyebrows in the context of elections round the corner in both Telugu states, he tweeted saying his film would be in two parts. The first would be titled ‘Vyuham’ (strategy) and second part ‘Sapatham’ (Oath)

Stating that the broad storyline of the movies would be based on the fight between pride and ambition, he added that the film would feature a plethora of political conspiracies. He said that the film would depict fury as its climax, a mood set by spraying chili powder on a power syndrome he described as the ‘disease of kings’.

Vyuham would be produced by Dasari Kiran, who had co-produced the film Vangaveeti with him earlier. Varma said that parts of the film would depict political strategies and counter-strategies, conspiracies, and even, anarchy.

In a lighter vein, he said by the time people recovered from the shock after viewing the first part, the second part of the film would be ready for release to give them a redux.

In his characteristic iconoclastic and contrarian style, Varma said though he could have claimed the films were not being produced with an eye on the ensuing polls, nobody would trust him.

Speaking exclusively to Deccan Chronicle, he said, “Movies reach and impact people better than any other medium. It is therefore with a view to harness movies to set a political narrative… with an undisguised didactic motive.”

A source close to Varma, who had access to most details, said that the two movies would try to repair the damage being inflicted by the media outlets close to TD president and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on the reputation of CM Jagan Mohan Reddy.

“The twin RGV moves set would target not only Chandrababu Naidu but also Jana Sena chief and Tollywood ‘power star’ Pawan Kalyan. The movies would largely be set and be drawn from the AP experience, though shades from Telangana politics might also be used,” she said.

Varma has seen and understood the extraordinary subterranean impact on the political and voting psychology of the masses by certain recent movies like the Kashmir Files, and will bring certain similar devices and cinematic methods to Telugu movies and politics.

The film director’s announcement came a day after Varma’s meeting with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at his camp office at Tadepalli.