Mumbai, May 28 (IANS) Wild rumours having sprung up about Ram Gopal Varma's next release "Sarkar Raj", the director has set the record straight, saying neither does Abhishek Bachchan's character die nor does he have a romantic alliance with Aishwarya Rai in the movie.

"No, he (Abhishek) does not die in 'Sarkar Raj'. There's so much rumour floating around the film, I don't know whether to be amused or frightened," Varma told IANS in an interview.

"Aishwarya has no romantic association with Abhishek's character at all. It's not a conscious decision to keep them away from romance. The emotional aspect of a relationship can be manifested in many ways. In 'Sarkar Raj', it comes across as drama, treachery, power play and betrayal. In the light of all these emotions, Aishwarya's relationship with Abhishek is treated very unconventionally," he added.

Set to release June 6, the political thriller also stars Amitabh Bachchan in a pivotal role and the director admits that the Big B's character is inspired by Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.

"I knew about Bal Thackeray, so I conceived Mr. Bachchan. But I don't know the Shiv Sena's ideology or what politics Raj Thackeray (leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) represents."

Excerpts from an interview:

Does Abhishek Bachchan's character die in "Sarkar Raj"?

No he does not die in the film.

So where did that come from?

I've no clue. There's so much rumour floating around the film, I don't know whether to be amused or frightened. They first imagined the hero dies. Then they imagined that the distributors were scared of his death. Everyone has an imagination and the freedom to use it.

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