However, researching the life and crimes of the thief was a challenging process ascribed to the paucity of documented information, Vamsee cites. “While studying for his details, I’ve observed that there was minimal information about him on the internet. There is proof of his death though; he was encountered by the police. Also, I heard that when his body was paraded, nearly 3 lakh people from various places surrounding Stuartpuram came to catch sight of him one final time. I was shocked to hear this. The only question that stuck in my mind was, if he was just a normal criminal, why would these many people attend his funeral? This was the moment I decided to make a biopic about Tiger Nageswara Rao”.
Discussing about the moral dilemma of making a biopic of an infamous criminal, who has obviously committed many immoral acts, on a grand scale with a star like Ravi Teja, Vamsee says, “See, I was aware of this challenge. I gave it a lot of thought too. But that’s the film’s most interesting aspect, I feel. How do you project a bad guy as a hero? The robberies committed by Tiger Nageswara Rao are very inspiring. After watching the film, the audience will be in awe of his character. And if 3 lakh people are showing up at his funeral, then there must be a different angle to him, right? He was a Robin Hood of sorts.”