Big B is not playing Pranoy Roy in ‘Rann’: RGV

“Some reports earlier quoted me as saying that Amit ji’s character is based on Pronoy Roy. Let me say this once and for all,Amitabh Bachchan’s character is not based on any living person,not Pronoy Roy,nor anyone else. It is fictional,” said Verma during a press conference to unveil the first look of the project.

Bachchan is a perennial favourite of Verma having worked with him in a series of films including the box office disaster ‘Ram Gopal Verma Ki Aag’ to the successful ‘Sarkar’ and ‘Sarkar Raj’ with Bachchan’s character reportedly based on Bal Thackeray.

Bachchan who plays the owner of a leading news channel in the film said,”The film sees me as a journalist who is torn between the pull of commerce and his duty as a media person to bring out the truth.”

The actor-director duo faced some hard hitting questions from the press as the film has been widely reported to be an attempt by Verma to slam the media which has often taken merciless pot shots at him and his films. But the director denied the allegations.

“The film is about the media,but it does not sit in judgement. It actually puts forth the media’s side of the story. I am not trying to get back at anyone through the film and I would like everyone to stop judging my film before seeing it,” said Verma.

The film which will release later this year,also raised eyebrows with it’s title track which is a reinterpretation of the national anthem.

“I have not tinkered with the anthem or treated it in a disrespectful manner. The song is just a medium to express the angst against the current situation in the country. Please do not try to create a controversy where there is none. In case a legal obstacle comes up,we will deal with it,” said Verma.

Other than Bachchan,the film stars Rietesh Deshmukh,Paresh Raval,Gul Panag and South Indian actor Sudeep.