Varma has used a unique concept for "Rakta Charitra"
release. He will split the Hindi and Telugu versions into two
parts since the duration of the entire movie exceeds five hours.
At the same time the Tamil version, titled "Ratha Sarithiram",
will be released as a single full-length movie.
"I think the reason why I wanted to make it in two parts
is the span of the film is too long. I can't justify it in a
normal two-and-a-half-hour film. There is Ravi in the story
and there is a man who killed him.
"So I thought if I make the first part as Ravi's story
and the second part as the man who killed him, it'll be better.
This has never been done before, so I want to see how people
will react to it," said the director.
"In the first part, the issues the film raises will get
settled in the first half itself. So that will give you the
experience of watching an entire film. The second character
enters in the last scene like a trailer that operates for the
next version," he said.
The first part will hit the screens Oct 22 and the director
will release part two a few weeks later.
Another interesting facet of the film is the presence of Shatrughan
Sinha who shaved off his moustache for the role.
"I will go to anybody if I feel that the particular role
demands that person. Hence I went to Shatrughan Sinha. His character
in the film is loosely based on N.T. Rama Rao. So I wanted a
very flamboyant, larger than life personality, who could do
stylised acting. The moustache removal was his idea. He suggested
it and it worked very well with the character," said Varma.
Is it difficult to make a biopic?
"It's very difficult to keep track of research and whether
it is coming across in the screenplay or not. It is very difficult
to check that out because a lot of it remains in your mind and
you take it for granted that whatever is in your mind is in
the script, but it might not be there.
"The person who is watching without a background of what
each dialogue, what each line means, it is going to be difficult
there. Actual gathering of facts and researching I won't say
is easy, but that is the most interesting part," explained
Varma.