By Sukant Deepak New Delhi, Dec 5, : .Ram Gopal Varma, the filmmaker of the cult-classic “Shiva”, smiles and says, “But it was an blatant ripoff of a Bruce Lee movie, without the martial arts ofcourse.” I simply replaced the restaurant in the original with a college campus.”Ladki” is my tribute Lee, who has fascinated me for a lifetime,” he tells IANS.
It will be released in China soon and India’s first joint production.The Chinese version of this film is Dragon Girl.
Director, who is credited with being the master of Mumbai Noir and has many hits such as ‘Satya,’ ‘Sarkar,’ and ‘Raat, among others, says that Bruce Lee’s fascination goes beyond his martial arts.”There was an underpinning philosophy about the man that made him immortal.That spirit is what I tried to capture with ‘Ladki’.My film’s protagonist is a woman, because no man can compare to the man I idolize.
Varma, who has worked in many genres, says that it is the dark side that has always intrigued him.”Normal people bore my as do normal situations and families.I am prone to take on anything that intimidates me.
Varma didn’t go to film school, but he immersed himself in foreign cinema as the director of a video library.He shocked audiences and critics alike with the guerrilla way that ‘Shiva’ was made.This was reinforced by ‘Satya, which saw more than 20 steady-cam equipment being imported by different production houses.
Boney Kapoor told me that he couldn’t believe that an outsider such as me, who had never lived in Mumbai, could be a Satya.I explained to him that this is exactly why I could.
As an outsider, I could see the things that Mumbaians took as a given.I was astonished to see the Dharavi slum, the trains and all the subways.
We had to go guerrilla because it was impossible to shoot in very crowded areas with such a large set-up.Two-three cameras were sufficient for small crews.
Then, they had to dive in with their cameras.Many cinematographers are against the steady cam, arguing that it is not balanced or can’t be controlled.
But I want to ask you: Why is it so important for a chase shot that is perfectly balanced? “Why is perfection so important?”
He says that he doesn’t really follow contemporary directors like Madhur Bhandarkar, Hansal Mehta, or Anurag Kashyap.I watch documentaries and foreign films most of the time.This is not a disrespect to them.It’s just that time is limited.
He was one of the few directors to make an Indian horror movie (Raat) that managed to scare audiences.This was in an era when many ghost films were comical.He believes that it was the subtlety and humor of ‘Raat that did the trick.”I don’t believe in being too extravagant.Hollywood has been my source of inspiration and contexts since the very beginning.Horror for me would be ‘The Exorcist and ‘The Omen.
Varma believes that formal education in cinema is obsolete, even though small film schools are popping up all over the country, including in tier II cities.”In my time, we didn’t have the tools or industry to understand the technical side.You can now learn a lot from the internet.A remote villager in Uttar Pradesh can produce a film that is as good as a Bollywood movie.
It is not about the technology, it is how you tell the story.Film schools were not needed 40 years ago, but they are now.It’s rare for an institute graduate to become a director of any significance, according to history.
He says that filmmakers can target a niche audience with the many OTT platforms available today.”Also they prefer a very individualistic way of filmmaking.” This is where being self-taught comes in.
Does it bother him that the media, which hailed him after Satya as a master, has been very unkind to him in recent years?
“Not at all.This is a cycle that should be accepted.Negative thinking gives people a sense of satisfaction.That is also true for me.They have a great opportunity to get on top of me because I am radical in my approach, uncaring, and not politically correct most of the times.It doesn’t matter to me, I am here to do what I love.
It doesn’t matter if they praise me or criticise.Yes, I am excited about all of my films.People want to hear the truth.I’ve said it a thousand times.Every film I’ve made has been a hit and a failure.
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