Biopic war for NTR

A film made on the life of the valiant Rajput Queen Padmavati has been at the centre of a raging storm from inception to finish with life threats, acts of vandalism, communal clashes and political ramifications casting a shadow over its release. Claims of intolerance and freedom of expression apart, it has also raised issues relating to distortion of history, not getting a green signal from descendants and those relating to impropriety.

There are also arguments being floated that the Queen was a figment of a poet’s imagination. What was supposed to be “a cinematic ode” to a woman of courage and dignity is now leading to the favourite word in Indian Politics today – “Polarization”. Our focus, however, is not ‘Padmavati’, but the obsession of filmmakers with period films and biopics of the living and dead; mostly politicians, dons and sports personalities.

Films made on sports personalities haven’t stoked much controversy. They have become major draws at the box office or disappeared without a trace. The same can be said about the “baddies”, who have provided creative fodder to a section of the film fraternity, which made a million bucks through the brooding eyes of the “wronged” protagonist.

Political satires and films on political leaders, however, are more complex and rarely a cakewalk for the makers. Controversy can easily be the surname of politicians and etching out their life story can never be termed as objective, unbiased work. Unlike the politicians up north, who have had a participatory role, most of the “southern stars” in politics were legends in the industry and leaders in politics, their lives being -- a heady concoction of fame, money, controversy and fluctuating fortunes.

Their larger than life persona and large following put them in a different league altogether. Even among the southern stars, the story of Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, the legendary actor, director, producer and founder of a regional party that came to power within a record nine months since it was founded was unique. His portrayal of characters of Rama and Krishna had people worshipping the ground he walked on, with the onscreen adulation transitioning to politics as well.

At the peak of his political career, he just had to raise his hand to have crowds screaming in delight. Like a conductor of a huge symphony, he raised his hands alternately at crowds that waited for him on either side of the road and they went into raptures. The following he commanded was phenomenal and it is unlikely that we will see another person with the kind of magnetism, charisma and complete sway over crowds.

A leader of the masses, the first non-Congress Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, who served for seven years over three terms, a man who gained national recognition with the coalition that called itself the ‘National Front’, courted controversy by marrying his biographer and was ousted from his own party in a coup led by his son-in-law, nine months into his third term. NTR’s life was a tumultuous one with extreme highs and lows and in many ways stranger than fiction. Is it any wonder then, that two decades after this death, there are three different films being made on this legendary figure, whose life seems to inspire different emotions among those revelling in the biopic trend?

The political crisis in 1995 was a sordid drama with two versions—those who lost the reins of power calling it “backstabbing” and the new dispensation claiming that it was an attempt to stall the machinations of an extra-constitutional authority destroying the party and the State. The central focus of the entire controversy is Lakshmi Parvathi, the widow of the late leader. NT Rama Rao’s actor-politician son Balakrishna was the first to announce a biopic in the beginning of this year wherein he will be essaying his father’s role.

This was followed by Ramgopal Varma’s ‘Lakshmi’s NTR’ and a third film titled ‘Lakshmi’s Veeragandham’ directed by Kethireddy Jagadeeswara Reddy. Balakrishna’s film in all probability will trace his roots, rise to stardom and meteoric rise to politics. How it will deal with the years of his loneliness and the TDP crisis remains to be seen, with the makers remaining tight-lipped about the plot.

That the swords are drawn for the next general elections with film as the medium is a view largely shared by all those who know the geography and history, of the land that the late actor-politician hailed from. Political Analyst Dr T Venugopala Reddy feels that three movies releasing at the same time with different perspectives may prove counterproductive.

“A biopic has to be an honest chronicle of events and deviation from facts will not be accepted. Attempts by different filmmakers to glorify or lower the image of personalities involved depending on their viewpoint is not going to serve any purpose beyond confusing the voters. This will, however, be confined to traditional voters if at all and will have no impact on new voters,’’ he adds.

Ramagopal Varma, the filmmaker who is controversy’s favourite child has made several biopics on both politicians and underworld dons, with a greater fascination for the murky world of crime. His last biopic on Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga had raised many hackles but the man is typically undeterred and unfazed by the criticism.

Freely airing his views through tweets, Instagram posts and interviews, RGV can take the wind out of the sails of opponents. A man who lives by his own rules and a self-confessed fan of the late leader, he claims to have seen a movie called ‘Adavi Ramudu’ in which the actor starred 23 times. He was also among the lakhs of followers who congregated at the huge “Mahanadu” meetings held by NT Rama Rao. In a six-minute video, RGV states his love for NTR and the reasons that propelled him to make a movie on the slice of his life that reveals his emotional side. He was apparently moved to tears watching the plight of his idol NTR as he stood alone deserted by the very members of the party he founded.

“My movie is called ‘Lakshmi’s NTR’ as it focuses on the changes in NTR’s life after her entry. The great actor had shared screen space with many beautiful heroines but was captivated by someone as ordinary-looking as her. Obviously, there is something in her that attracted a great person like NTR. I want to explore this part of NTR’s life,’’ he says. RGV is not giving away details of the film which he says will be ready anytime before December 2018.

‘Lakshmi’s Veeragandham’ as the name suggests is about Lakshmi Parvathi’s life with her first husband Veeragandham Subba Rao from whom she separated to marry the legendary NT Rama Rao. The movie is likely to focus on her “Harikatha days” and life before she met NT Rama Rao and stepped in as his biographer. It is being seen as a counter to RGV’s film. The makers of the film too prefer silence and do not want to give the plot away in the face of serious competition.

The spotlight in all these films, however, will be on Lakshmi Parvathi, whose portrayal will be decidedly different in each one. The lady whose hatred for Chandrababu Naidu is evident in every statement of hers is clearly worried that the film made by actor Balakrishna will show her in a negative light and make a hero of the present Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. She has been stating that no movie can be made on NTR without her consent and that she will resist any move to distort facts. “I am a very powerful lady. I will not allow any movie to be made without my permission. For the last 22 years, I have suffered insult and I will not allow any attempts to show me or NTR in a bad light. I will go to court if necessary,” says Lakshmi Parvathi, who is with the YSRC party led by YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

As election strategies get underway and the films under production make headway, there is plenty of action in store. The real-life drama of yesteryears may be going into reel version, but the drama on the ground will run longer than the three-hour films being made. The legend lives on not just through the immortal films featuring him but those made on him for electoral gains more than two decades after his death. One can almost imagine and hear the actor portraying Krishna, the God with a complexion like the dark cloud, smiling in his inimitable style and saying “Dhanyosmi” (I am grateful or enriched).

By:Aruna Ravikumar