Ram Gopal Varma
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Ram Gopal Varma was born in Hyderabad, the capital city of the Indian
state of Andhra Pradesh. He initially was a video store owner before
eventually becoming one of India's leading film directors. A film buff
during his youth, Varma would watch both American and Indian cinema
regularly. As a young man, he attended Siddhartha Engineering College
in Vijayawada. Varma started his career in telugu cinema (the Hyderabad
film industry), where he made a huge mark with his debut film Shiva, a
violent and stylized actioner set in a college backdrop. At the age of
28, with little film training, Varma was able to convince Nagarjuna, a
young Telugu star, to act in his debut picture. Nagarjuna was drawn by
the narration of the script and intelligence displayed by the young
Varma. Shiva was a landmark hit for the industry and was remade by
Varma in the hindi language a year later.
His next was the exciting adventure film, Kshana Kshanam, starring
Venkatesh and Sridevi. Varma followed this up with such films as -
Raatri, a homage to 'The Exorcist' starring Revati and Om Puri (which
Varma would remake over a decade later in Hindi as Bhoot) and Antham, a
stylized crime drama, with Nagarjuna and Urmila Matondkar (which Varma
would also rework later as Satya) - but was not able to attain the
commercial success of his first feature. His next release Gaayam, with
Jagapathi Babu and Urmila Matondkar, was a violent crime drama set in
Hyderabad. The screenplay was co-written by tamil film director Mani
Ratnam, and the script based on 'The Godfather'. It became a success
for Varma. He then decided to start his own production banner, Varma
Corporation Limited, and produced successful telugu films such as Money
(remade later as Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega), Money Money (its
sequel), Gulabi and Anaganaga Oka Roju.
His first huge success in hindi cinema (the Mumbai film industry) was
the commercial blockbuster Rangeela, a stylish romantic drama with
Aamir Khan and Urmila Matondkar. A.R. Rahman, a tamil music composer,
was introduced to hindi audiences by Varma with this film and won the
award for best film music.
Varma followed up with the ground breaking gangster saga Satya, a
violent crime epic set in the Mumbai underworld. The film was gritty
and realistic, reinventing the crime genre in Indian cinema. Varma had
done extensive research for the film, and reworked certain elements of
his earlier film Antham. Satya was widely considered Varma's first true
masterwork. Made on a shoestring budget and with new faces, the film
won awards for actor Manoj Bajpai and music composer Vishal Bharadwaj.
Satya became a turning point in Varma's career, winning best picture of
the year, and Varma would be forever associated with Mumbai noirs.
Varma then, with fellow director Shekhar Kapur, created a joint film
production company in 1998 called India Talkies. The first venture of
the production house was the ambitious terrorist drama 'Dil Se', with
Shahrukh Khan and Manisha Koirala. The film was a box office dud, and
India Talkies would be short lived. Varma would return to focusing on
his own production house Varma Corp.
The hard hitting masterpiece 'Shool' followed shortly after, written
and produced by Varma. The film depicted the life of an honest police
officer in the violent and harsh rural setting of Bihar. The film was a
commercial and critical success with both Manoj Bajpai and Sayaji
Shinde winning awards for their performances. Varma lightened things up
next with the romantic drama 'Mast'. The film was inspired by Varma's
own college days, and featured Aftab Shivdasani in an award-winning
turn as a film crazy college student.
Varma decided afterwards to only direct films in the Mumbai film
industry. He believed there was more talent in Mumbai than in southern
film cities like Chennai and Hyderabad. Varma had always admired
directors such as Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihlani, and Gulzar. He
considers Kalyug, Ardh Satya, and Mere Apne among his favorite Indian
films of all time. At a time when popular Indian Cinema featured either
over the top action films or glamorous love stories, Varma's films were
more rooted and realistic. Varma is known to frequently cut out song
and dance sequences in his films, which are usually commonplace in
Bollywood. His films almost always deal with the contemporary and
urban, usually set in the city of Mumbai. He often uses Indian stage
actors in his films rather than established bollywood stars. Mainly
known for creating the 'Mumbai noir', Varma brought psychological depth
and cinematic virtuosity to genre films.
More recently, Varma returned with the organized crime masterpiece
'Company'. The film was again set in the Mumbai underworld, and was
based on real life Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his criminal
outfit D-Company. The film featured award-winning performances by Ajay
Devgan, Vivek Oberoi and Manisha Koirala. The film also won awards for
best editing by Chandan Arora and best story by Jaideep Sahni. The film
was lauded by critics and audiences alike.
His latest release Naach, which Varma called his best film yet, was a
largely self reflective piece, about the relationship between an
idealistic choreographer and an ambitious actor. The film had a weak
commercial run but was liked by critics. In a recent interview with the
Indian Express newspaper, the filmmaker criticized Indian audiences
saying "I gave Ayn Rand to a Municipal School."
He spends most of his time these days producing small budget films for
his successful production house Varma Corp. Though not always credited,
he is involved in all aspects of his productions, often believed to
'ghost direct' many of the films. He produces films at a fast speed
that is unfamiliar to the Indian Film Industry. He has had many recent
successes including - 'Ab Tak Chhappan', based on the experiences of
famed Mumbai police Daya Naik, 'D', a prequel to his earlier hit
Company based on the early years of Dawood Ibrahim during his days
under Pathan underworld boss Karim Lala, 'Ek Hasina Thi', a female
revenge thriller, and finally 'Road'. He has also produced lighter
films such as 'Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega' and 'Main Madhuri Dixit
Banna Chahti Hoon'.
state of Andhra Pradesh. He initially was a video store owner before
eventually becoming one of India's leading film directors. A film buff
during his youth, Varma would watch both American and Indian cinema
regularly. As a young man, he attended Siddhartha Engineering College
in Vijayawada. Varma started his career in telugu cinema (the Hyderabad
film industry), where he made a huge mark with his debut film Shiva, a
violent and stylized actioner set in a college backdrop. At the age of
28, with little film training, Varma was able to convince Nagarjuna, a
young Telugu star, to act in his debut picture. Nagarjuna was drawn by
the narration of the script and intelligence displayed by the young
Varma. Shiva was a landmark hit for the industry and was remade by
Varma in the hindi language a year later.
His next was the exciting adventure film, Kshana Kshanam, starring
Venkatesh and Sridevi. Varma followed this up with such films as -
Raatri, a homage to 'The Exorcist' starring Revati and Om Puri (which
Varma would remake over a decade later in Hindi as Bhoot) and Antham, a
stylized crime drama, with Nagarjuna and Urmila Matondkar (which Varma
would also rework later as Satya) - but was not able to attain the
commercial success of his first feature. His next release Gaayam, with
Jagapathi Babu and Urmila Matondkar, was a violent crime drama set in
Hyderabad. The screenplay was co-written by tamil film director Mani
Ratnam, and the script based on 'The Godfather'. It became a success
for Varma. He then decided to start his own production banner, Varma
Corporation Limited, and produced successful telugu films such as Money
(remade later as Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega), Money Money (its
sequel), Gulabi and Anaganaga Oka Roju.
His first huge success in hindi cinema (the Mumbai film industry) was
the commercial blockbuster Rangeela, a stylish romantic drama with
Aamir Khan and Urmila Matondkar. A.R. Rahman, a tamil music composer,
was introduced to hindi audiences by Varma with this film and won the
award for best film music.
Varma followed up with the ground breaking gangster saga Satya, a
violent crime epic set in the Mumbai underworld. The film was gritty
and realistic, reinventing the crime genre in Indian cinema. Varma had
done extensive research for the film, and reworked certain elements of
his earlier film Antham. Satya was widely considered Varma's first true
masterwork. Made on a shoestring budget and with new faces, the film
won awards for actor Manoj Bajpai and music composer Vishal Bharadwaj.
Satya became a turning point in Varma's career, winning best picture of
the year, and Varma would be forever associated with Mumbai noirs.
Varma then, with fellow director Shekhar Kapur, created a joint film
production company in 1998 called India Talkies. The first venture of
the production house was the ambitious terrorist drama 'Dil Se', with
Shahrukh Khan and Manisha Koirala. The film was a box office dud, and
India Talkies would be short lived. Varma would return to focusing on
his own production house Varma Corp.
The hard hitting masterpiece 'Shool' followed shortly after, written
and produced by Varma. The film depicted the life of an honest police
officer in the violent and harsh rural setting of Bihar. The film was a
commercial and critical success with both Manoj Bajpai and Sayaji
Shinde winning awards for their performances. Varma lightened things up
next with the romantic drama 'Mast'. The film was inspired by Varma's
own college days, and featured Aftab Shivdasani in an award-winning
turn as a film crazy college student.
Varma decided afterwards to only direct films in the Mumbai film
industry. He believed there was more talent in Mumbai than in southern
film cities like Chennai and Hyderabad. Varma had always admired
directors such as Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihlani, and Gulzar. He
considers Kalyug, Ardh Satya, and Mere Apne among his favorite Indian
films of all time. At a time when popular Indian Cinema featured either
over the top action films or glamorous love stories, Varma's films were
more rooted and realistic. Varma is known to frequently cut out song
and dance sequences in his films, which are usually commonplace in
Bollywood. His films almost always deal with the contemporary and
urban, usually set in the city of Mumbai. He often uses Indian stage
actors in his films rather than established bollywood stars. Mainly
known for creating the 'Mumbai noir', Varma brought psychological depth
and cinematic virtuosity to genre films.
More recently, Varma returned with the organized crime masterpiece
'Company'. The film was again set in the Mumbai underworld, and was
based on real life Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his criminal
outfit D-Company. The film featured award-winning performances by Ajay
Devgan, Vivek Oberoi and Manisha Koirala. The film also won awards for
best editing by Chandan Arora and best story by Jaideep Sahni. The film
was lauded by critics and audiences alike.
His latest release Naach, which Varma called his best film yet, was a
largely self reflective piece, about the relationship between an
idealistic choreographer and an ambitious actor. The film had a weak
commercial run but was liked by critics. In a recent interview with the
Indian Express newspaper, the filmmaker criticized Indian audiences
saying "I gave Ayn Rand to a Municipal School."
He spends most of his time these days producing small budget films for
his successful production house Varma Corp. Though not always credited,
he is involved in all aspects of his productions, often believed to
'ghost direct' many of the films. He produces films at a fast speed
that is unfamiliar to the Indian Film Industry. He has had many recent
successes including - 'Ab Tak Chhappan', based on the experiences of
famed Mumbai police Daya Naik, 'D', a prequel to his earlier hit
Company based on the early years of Dawood Ibrahim during his days
under Pathan underworld boss Karim Lala, 'Ek Hasina Thi', a female
revenge thriller, and finally 'Road'. He has also produced lighter
films such as 'Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega' and 'Main Madhuri Dixit
Banna Chahti Hoon'.