Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi will be seen playing Muthappa Rai in filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma's next gangster movie, titled "Rai." The first look of "Rai" will be released on May 1 by former gangster Muthappa Rai, whose life has inspired the film's story.

After the launch of the film, Ram Gopal Varma ‏took to his Twitter handle on April 15 to inform his followers about the details of the movie. He revealed that Kannada actor Sudeep was earlier slated to play the lead role in the movie, but they had to bring Vivek Oberoi on board due to some reasons.

The filmmaker tweeted, "Launching my new film "Rai" The Greatest Gangster Ever on May 1st Vivek Oberoi will be playing the title role. Initially "RAI" was planned with Sudeep ..but for various reasons I am going ahead with Vivek."

Rai will be a multi-lingual movie, made in Kannada, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. Varma tweeted, "'Rai' will be extensively shot in Mangalore, Banglore, Mumbai, Dubai and London. Mr.Mutthappa Rai agreed to launch the 1st look poster of "RAI" at my request on May 1st which is his birthday. CR Manohar will be producing "RAI"and it's going be made in 4 languages Kannada Hindi Telugu and Tamil."

According to reports, "Rai" will be a biopic on Muthappa Rai, a former underworld don who renounced violence and became an entrepreneur. RGV tweeted, "The biggest gangsters Pablo Escobar, Dawood Ibrahim, Al Capone etc are nothing in comparison to the drama of 'Rai'."

Ram Gopal Varma also released some photos of Vivek Oberoi, which show that the Bollywood actor is a perfect match for the role of Muthappa Rai. These pictures have already impressed viewers and created a lot of curiosity about the film. Check out the movie stills from "Rai" below: