ABOUT RAMGOPAL VARMA
Courtesy : http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/makeup/2053/index.html
The latest whiz kid of movies, the boyish looking Ram Gopal Verma is a new rainbow on the horizon of films. He is in the news as much for the display of technical savy as he is for making an impact on the national film scene from his home base. His technique and style are akin to Hollywood. Shy of interviews and preoccupied with his work, he talks less and thinks more.
His mother acknowledged his love for films right from his childhood and called him movie crazy. Obviously he did not get any support on this from his parents who wanted him to make good as an engineer. No one expected him to make such an impact on Indian film field. He shot into fame with his very first movie "Siva", the film that wrote box office history of Telugu movies at the age of 28. It is difficult to believe that this was his maiden venture. He is credited with the script, the screenplay and direction. It brought him instant fame. For one bitten by the movie bug there could not have been a better beginning.
As a student of Siddhardha Engineering College, Vijayawada, he was a regular movie goer. In a week of 7days, he used to see 8 to 10 movies. He would go to the same movie again and again just to watch certain scenes which interested him. He says, his love for movies cannot be put into words.
Every good film is a text book, he says. He learned direction by watching films. His unwavering interest in movies made him script "Siva". He found an earnest listener in Nagarjuna, who had the guts to experiment with variety. Nagarjuna, as the right kind of soft and tough guy, fitted the hero's bill well. While making the film he followed his bare instincts, Ram Gopal says. He gave full credit to the team. Stickler for prefection , Ram Gopal's "Siva" is a perfect blend of story, full of violence, fun and love by the roadside. Then followed a string of movies - some successful and some not so successful. "Kshana Kshanam" - Known for its excellent technique. Won 4 awards. "Raatri" - The songless horror movie in which he used special effects. "Money" - A commercial of a different sort. While it took some of his peers over two decades to build their image as successful directors , he achieved it in 3 years He won 1991 A.P. Government's Nandi award as Best Director.
His others movies,some produced and some directed by him, are :"Antham","Money", "Money,Money", "Gayam", Govinda Govinda", "Anaganaga Oka Roju", "Rangeela (7 awards), "Gulabi" & "Deyyam". Asked of the inspiration behind the movies, he said that newspaper reports about campus riots sparked Siva, and Twilight Zone stories sparked Raatri.
Actors feel happy to work for Ram Gopa1, "Ramu" for his unit. Asked if he plans his shooting well in advance his response was negative. It is spontaneous and the decisions are taken on the spot. In his pictures he tries to be dramatic without being melodramatic. He does not hesitate in acknowledging his debt to Hollywood entertainers ranging from Guns of Navarone to Jurassic park . As a kid when his uncle took him to English movies, he would keenly watch the camera work, the performances, even the background music scores of Ben-Hur, Ten Commandments, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ...........the list goes on. He would narrate the strories to anyone who cared to listen to them.
While narrating, he would pace it brisk and precise as James Hadley Chase. He was also influnced by Ramesh Sippy's Sholay, which according to him, achieved a perfect balance between sensible and commercial cinema. He was also influenced by Govind Nihlani's Ardh Sathya, which was extremely hard-hitting and realistic. He calls himself a product of the best of both worlds. Hollywood helped him do away with all those ingredients which dilute a film's overall impact. When the director takes care to ahere to the story, the audience is completely absorbed - that's his formula for a good movie. One can do without the mandatory distractions like side stories. "Deewar" told a gripping story devoid of other distractions . It is not necessary to wander into subplots he insists.
According to him "Speed" is an ideal Hollywood movie. There wasn't much by way of conventional plot but the movie had everyone glued to their seats. He acccepts to being guilty of using the frantic pace to an extent. He agrees to being carried away by technique in the case of "Raatri". He likes his scenes simple and straight and does not like to clutter the story with sentimental cliches.
Rangeela catapulted him into Bollywood. He is planning to move to a bigger arena and not confine himself to Telugu audience alone. He is thinking of making only Hindi films in future which has larger national audience. It is certainly a loss to Telugu audience and a gain to Hindi audience. Let us hope and wish he will come back to his roots and entertain the Telugu audience once a while.
After packing his reels with songs and sensuality in ``Rangeela'' and ``Daud'', Ram Gopal Varma is back, this time, with a realistic film sans frills. ``Satya'' is obviously the director's shift towards movie-making honesty. Saddling his focus on the travails of a gangster, Varma hopes to convey the insecurity and jeopardy of urban existence in the contemporary milieu of deception and violence. His camera pans the brazen realism of Mumbai underworld and cautions that one can encounter the murderously bizarre anywhere in the metros.
Satya has turned out to be critics delight , besides it has done extremely well at the box office. The sucess of satya has proved that Varma is always an accomplished craftsman.
THIS IS AN EXTRACT FROM THE SITE CREATED BY
KIRAN AS A TRIBUTE TO RAMGOPALVARMA.
TO VISIT THE SITE
CLICKHERE
CLICK HERE TO GET BACK
