RGV aka Ram Gopal Varma has hinted that the pre-climax of Lakshmi's NTR will show hard-hitting and controversial facts about NT Rama Rao's life and it might also showcase the infamous Viceroy hotel episode.
In an interview given to a leading daily, Ram Gopal Varma spoke about the reason for the failure of NTR: Kathanayakudu. He said that a biopic needs to have a villain and conflicts, which make it interesting. But everything focusing on NT Rama Rao will be a boring story except his last days, which were full of turmoil with many twists and turns. This eventually caused his fall in political life and also led to his death, he noted.
Talking about his biopic on NTR, RGV said that Lakshmi's NTR touches upon his life after his marriage with Lakshmi Parvathi. "My film is not about just her perspective but it's about the story of his life from the time she entered into his life and till his death which will also include the political turmoil leading to the infamous Viceroy episode," the Asian Age quoted RGV as saying.
Many from the younger generation are not aware of what exactly happened in the last days of NT Rama Rao's life. Here, we bring the details of some infamous incidents that occurred during this period. These facts are based on various reports and sources and some of them may not be checked for truth due to their archival nature.
- 1. During his college days, Nara Chandrababu Naidu had joined the Youth Congress as a student leader in Chandragiri, near Tirupathi. He was elected a Congress (I) MLA from the Chandragiri constituency in 1978 and went on to become the youngest minister in the cabinet. As the cinematography minister, he came in contact with NT Rama Rao and he eventually married his second daughter Bhuvaneswari in 1980.
Lakshmi's NTR - A scene from the infamous Viceroy Hotel meeting Twitter - NTR floated the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982 and swept the assembly polls held in 1983. Nara Chandrababu Naidu, who had then contested elections on a Congress ticket and lost, soon joined the TDP. Impressed by his manoeuvres, NTR appointed Naidu as the General Secretary of the Telugu Desam party and the latter played the role as his savior on several occasions.
- NTR stayed single for many years after the death of his wife Basavatarakam and he only focused on politics. Lakshmi Parvathi, who was then 30 years younger to him, got in touch with him for research on his achievements and later came forward to serve him for the rest of his life. NTR agreed and accepted her in his life. This did not go down well with many people and his own party and family members, who apparently revolted against their demi god.
- What provoked them further was NTR decision to promote Lakshmi Parvathi as the TDP president. She started passing her own rules and neglected many senior members of the party. Chandrababu Naidu, who had a strong hold on the MLAs, started losing the grip. In a bid to save the party from Parvathi, he gathered all the TDP MLAs to decide the future of TDP. He also had several rounds of discussions with the family members of NTR.
- The outcome of all these discussions was to remove Lakshmi Parvathi from the TDP and also to take over the power from NTR as Chief Minister. Nara Chandrababu Naidu took a lead and drove all the TDP MLAs to the Viceroy Hotel in Hyderabad, where he kept them until he took the leadership from NTR. He knew that this was against his demi god, but there was no other option to save the TDP empire from collapsing, as reasoned out by his followers. He was also supported by NTR's family members in his attempt.
Lakshmi's NTR - A scene from the film Twitter - After this infamous incident, NTR wanted to dissolve the government and go for elections. But he could not succeed, as all the MLAs, who worshiped him as demi god earlier, supported Chandrababu Naidu, who became the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. NTR was depressed over the humiliation caused by the 1995 coup, and lost his charisma, which soon pushed to ill-health and death.
However, Ram Gopal Varma has revealed that Lakshmi's NTR is based on the book written by Lakshmi Parvathi and its focus will be on the last days of NTR, which were filled with controversies. The members of TDP are anxious about the fact that Chandrababu Naidu, who RGV has called a backstabber, might be portrayed in a bad light. It remains to be seen whether this might have an adverse effect on the results of upcoming Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh.
