The two have now become the closest of friends. They even converse in Telugu, Ramu's mother tongue which Vivek learnt for Rakta Charitra. The two are now working on another project together.
Says Vivek emotionally, "Ramuji was pissed off. And rightly so. He had picked me up from nowhere and made me a star. He was embittered by the way I turned. I lost a lot of my friends. And that included Ramuji. "
Now the two are back on an even pitch. And planning at least two more films together.
Vivek flew the theatrical trailer of his new film Prince It's Showtime to Hyderabad where Ram Gopal Varma was shooting with Vivek.
Says Vivek, "Ramuji booked a theatre at the Ramuji Rao film city in Hyderabad to watch it. Not just that. I left the theatre after a while since late nights don't suit me.
I had a shoot in the morning. But my director chose to stay on watching the trailer over and over again. Ramuji has always been a mentor. I'm sorry if I let him down in the past. "
Shatrughan Sinha who forms the third party in the new Ramu-Vivek alliance too watched the trailer with Ramu.
Vivek just can't stop raving about his Rakta Charitra co-star Shatrughan Sinha.
"He's so generous and warm. He makes me feel so special every day on the sets. He's an inspiration. I call him Super Sarkar. He's so larger-than-life. He's the only politician who is never politically correct. "
Vivek is gearing himself for the release of his next film Prince It's Showtime which is supposed to be a remake of the
1960s' Shammi Kapoor starrer Prince. Chortles Vivek, "Ha ha. I wish. People feel it might be a takeoff on Shammi Kapoorji in Prince, or they feel it is a costume drama. Let them see what it is. I don't want to give away the plot.
Hats off to Kumar Tauraniji for having faith in me. I knew it would be risky. He pulled out all the stops to make Prince look lavish. "
Incidentally Vivek is the only protégé whom Ramu has chosen to patch up with. The ones he has had permanent fall- outs with include Manoj Bajpai, Aftab Shivdasani, Randeep Hooda and Mohit Ahlawat.
Reacting to rumours of a patch-up with Bajpai Ramu retorts, "Mere itne bhi bure din nahin aaye hain."
