Tuesday Trivia: Did you know about birthday boy Ram Gopal Varma's most ambitious project, which never took off?

One of the finest filmmakers of India, Ram Gopal Varma, turns 58 today. The director, who started his career with Shiva, went on to deliver critically acclaimed and commercially successful films in Bollywood like Rangeela, Satya, Company, Sarkar and many more. If you follow RGV's patter, you will notice that while the filmmaker's favourite subject is gangster dramas, he also loves to shoot movies in the forest.

While we have seen Ram Gopal Varma's raw and intense way of narrating mafia stories like Satya and Company, there was a film by RGV considered to be his most ambitious and expensive project, but unfortunately, it never took off. We are talking about Rai, which was based on the life of gangster turned philanthropist, Muthappa Rai. The film featured Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and a huge poster launch was also held in Bangalore, attended by Rai himself. More than 50,000 people were present at the launch, with KGF star Yash being one of the chief guests.

During the event, it was revealed that the makers would spend Rs. 55 crore on the film and it was to be shot in Mangalore, Banglore, Mumbai, Dubai, London and Kazakhstan. At the event, RGV expressed his happiness about the project and said, "Any filmmaker is only as good as the subject matter he gets. With Rai, I think I have the best subject matter I have ever found in my entire career. In fact, it's so good that I will have to work hard to spoil it. Mr. Muthappa Rai has renounced his earlier life of violence and now become a peaceful philanthropist, working only for the welfare of the people. My request to him though is that if I spoil such a great story as Rai, he should go back to violence and kill me. 'Rai' for me is the story of an extraordinary man who lived, struggled and triumphed among extraordinary circumstances, it's the story of an ultimate real-life hero"

Vivek Oberoi also spoke about the character at length as he said, "In my entire life, both as an actor and film-watcher, I have yet to come across any character anywhere near to the character of Rai. It's like a dream come true for me to take the challenge of portraying the complex nuances of Rai's character. I thank RGV for giving me the opportunity to bring to screen the greatest gangster ever. Called a criminal by some and messiah by many, he is the ultimate symbol of justice. Feared, loved and respected, he has become a legend in his own lifetime and he is on the way to becoming something much more greater than a legend".

Well, looking at the plot and excitement of the cast and crew at the launch, the audience were expecting it to be a great entertainer, but, unfortunately, the project never took off. Well, we hope RGV plans something in future for this exciting project. Here's wishing RGV a very happy birthday!

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