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Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma Penumatsa
Born April 7, 1962 (1962-04-07) (age 47)
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Occupation Film director, producer and writer
Years active 1989-present
Spouse(s) Ratna (divorced)
Official website
Ram Gopal Varma is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer. Varma has directed, written and produced films across multiple genres—psychological thrillers, underworld gang warfare, politician-criminal nexus, and musicals—and in multiple languages—Telugu and Hindi.
Shiva (1989) was his first film as director and Rann (2010) is his most recent one. He gained recognition in Hindi cinema, also known as "Bollywood", with Rangeela (1995). The next film he directed was Satya (1998), which won six Filmfare Awards, including the Critics Award for Best Film. Satya, together with his 2002 film Company (which he directed and which won seven Filmfare Awards) and 2005 film D (which he produced), form an "Indian Gangster Trilogy". Other successful films Varma directed include Kshana Kshanam (1991), Kaun (1999), Jungle (2000), Bhoot (2003), Sarkar (2005) and Sarkar Raj (2008). He introduced south indian super star, four time national award winner Mohanlal into bollywood.
Early years
Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa was born in Hyderabad to Krishnam Raju Penmetsa and Satyavathi. Varma was not a good student in school and used to skip classes regularly, something that strained his relationship with his family, particularly his father.
In an interview to Tehelka, Varma talked about that phase of his life, his relationship with his parents, and the reasons behind his decision to become a filmmaker-
“ "From my parents’ perspective, I looked like a useless bum. It was the truth. I had no objective. I was just fascinated by people, so I used to study their behaviour. I was most fascinated by the bullies in my classroom. They were like gangsters for me. They had the guts to push around people, do things I couldn’t— perhaps did not even want to do myself. But I’d want a friend like that (laughs). I used to adulate them like heroes. That was my first touch with anti-socialism. Over a period of time, I developed a low-angle fascination for larger than life people. I was always a loner — not because I was unhappy, but because I live away from myself, not just others. I like to study myself — the way I am talking, behaving. My constant obsession with studying myself and other people is perhaps the primary motivation for me to be a filmmaker."
Varma is a civil engineer by profession and graduated from the V.R.Siddhartha Engineering College, Vijayawada. Even during this period, Varma remained a film buff. He would skip classes often and go and watch films instead - 8-10 films a week. He would watch the same film repeatedly "just to watch certain scenes which interested him." According to him, that is how he learned film direction..
After graduation, Varma tried entering the film industry, but couldn't manage it. He then put his dreams on the backburner and decided to go to Nigeria to make some money. It was at this moment that he visited a video rental library in Hyderabad. He loved the idea and decided to start one of his own, all because of his craze for films.
Career in Telugu cinema
Before Varma started his film career in the Telugu film industry he lingered in the sets of the films Raogaarillu and Collectorgari Abbai. His father was a sound recordist at Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad which is owned by Akkineni Nageswara Rao.Varma managed to meet Nagarjuna on the sets of a film and narrated a scene to the actor which impressed him so much that Varma's dream of becoming a director came true. The result of their collaboration was a film on the criminalization of student politics - Shiva. The film was a blockbuster with Varma demonstrating his technical expertise and story-telling skills. The success of the film in Telugu led to a Hindi remake with similar success.
Varma's next film was Kshana Kshanam, another Telugu blockbuster with Telugu superstar Daggubati Venkatesh & Sridevi which got him noticed by Bollywood critics. The film was also redubbed in Bollywood as Hairaan. Then came a lean patch with films such as Raatri / Raat and Antham / Drohi. WhileGaayam was a moderate success, Govinda Govinda was not so much. During this period, Varma also produced films such as Money and Money Money, and wrote the script for the Mani Rathnam film Thiruda Thiruda
Career in Hindi cinema
While Varma's first successful Hindi film was the remake of Siva, His next film was Drohi. The film that really put the spotlights on him was the blockbuster Rangeela. With great acting from the lead trio of Aamir Khan, Jackie Shroff and Urmila Matondkar, a fantastic soundtrack by composer A. R. Rahman (this being his first original score for a Hindi film), and with Varma at the helm, it was no surprise that this romantic musical drama was a runaway success. The film won Filmfare Awards for Rahman and Shroff. The film, according to Varma, was dedicated to actress Sridevi. His next film Daud (1997), however, was a failure and sank without a trace.
In 1998, Varma was an executive producer for Dil Se, directed by Mani Ratnam and starring Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala and Preity Zinta. The film won the NETPAC Award for Special Mention at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as two National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards.
Indian Gangster Trilogy
Main articles: Satya (film), Company (film), and D (film)
In 1998 came his masterpiece, the critically acclaimed Satya, a film based on the Mumbai underworld. A script written by Anurag Kashyap and Saurabh Shukla, music by Vishal Bharadwaj and Sandeep Chowta, acclaimed performances by J. D. Chakravarthy, Manoj Bajpai and Urmila Matondkar, and Varma's directorial and technical brilliance, contributed to a film that was a landmark. The film won six Filmfare Awards, including the Critics Award for Best Film.
In 2002 came his greatest commercial as well as critical success, Company, again set against the backdrop of the Mumbai underworld, in which he cut out song-and-dance sequences commonplace in Bollywood films at the time. It was based on the real-life underworld organization, the D-Company. The film won seven Filmfare Awards and earned him a Filmfare Best Director Award nomination.Mohanlal debuted in bollywood in this film.
A prequel to Company was made in 2005, entitled D, produced by Varma and directed by Vishram Sawant. Varma's three films Satya, Company and D are together considered an "Indian Gangster Trilogy". Satya and Company in particular were cited by British director Danny Boyle as influences on his Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), for their "slick, often mesmerizing portrayals of the Mumbai underworld", their display of "brutality and urban violence", and their gritty realism.
Experimental films
During the years between his "Indian Gangster Trilogy", from Satya in 1998 to D in 2005, Varma experimented with several different film genres in the intervening years. In 1999, he directed Kaun, a suspense thriller set entirely in one house and featuring only three actors, and Mast, a subversion of the Bollywood masala musical film genre. In 2000, he directed Jungle, a film set entirely in a jungle, for which he was nominated for the Star Screen Award for Best Director.
Following the success of Company in 2002, Varma's next film as director was Bhoot (2003), a psychological horror film, which was a major success. It starred Ajay Devgan and Urmila Matondkar, who earned a number of awards for her performance. Varma himself was nominated for the Filmfare Best Director Award for the film.
Following the success of Bhoot, Varma was a producer for two other experimental films: Sriram Raghavan's Ek Hasina Thi (2003), a psychological thriller, and Shimit Amin's Ab Tak Chhappan (2004), a film about an inspector in the Mumbai Encounter Squad famous for having killed 56 people in police encounters. In 2005, Varma was nominated for the Zee Cine Award for Best Producer of the Year.
Later films
Varma's next film as director was Sarkar, released in June 2005, starring Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan. Amitabh played the character of Sarkar who is a self-righteous and powerful politician, while Abhishek played his son in the film. Sarkar was a loose adaptation of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather in a Mumbai underworld setting. Sarkar went on to become a critically acclaimed box office hit.
In 2006, his next film as director was Shiva, which premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival, where a retrospective featuring several of his previous films was also staged. Alongside Shiva, the festival screened his earlier successful films Company, Ek Hasina Thi and Ab Tak Chhappan. While these three earlier films were praised, Shiva itself was a critical and commercial failure. In 2007, he directed the ambitious Sholay remake, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, as well as Darling, both of which were critical and box office failures.
He was written off by the media and public until 6 June 2008, when he bounced back with his grand and much hyped venture, Sarkar Raj, a sequel to Sarkar; it was a hit and met with good reviews. The primary cast features three members of the Bachchan family, with Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan reprising their roles from the prequel alongside new entrant Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Supriya Pathak, Tanisha Mukherjee and Ravi Kale also reappeared in their respective roles from Sarkar. Unlike its prequel Sarkar, which was loosely adapted from The Godfather novel, the sequel Sarkar Raj had an original plot of its own.
His latest film, Phoonk (2008), was of the horror film genre and met with mixed reviews, with more of them leaning to the negative side. However, the film was a major hit in comparison to its minuscule budget. Varma has now finished working on Agyaat which released on 7 August 2009, again a commercial as well as critical failure. Varma is currently working on a film about the media called Rann. It has a major star cast with Varma's favourite male actor Amitabh Bachchan at the helm as the owner of a television channel. It will be released in 2010. Varma has announced another horror film titled 'Warning'. This film will be the first 3D horror film made in India and is reported to have Ritesh Deshmukh in a significant role.
Personal life
Ramu is very private about his married life. Recently on a live television show, his daughter talks to him via audio. Her name is Revathi and is a medical student currently.(12:06, 13 October 2009 (UTC)) His wife's name is Ratna but they are divorced now.
Controversy
Varma, along with the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Deshmukh's son Ritesh Deshmukh visited the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel soon after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. This invited a lot of criticism ,that the Taj was no more a place for VIP visits.[citation needed] The protestors suspected that Varma wanted to make a film on this, as he has created several real-life based thriller movies. Despite these claims Varma has alleged that he was not at the hotel just after the attacks. He stated that this rumour may have come from the fact that he was in a meeting with Deshmukh's son, Ritiesh, just before the attacks took place.
Shiva (1989) was his first film as director and Rann (2010) is his most recent one. He gained recognition in Hindi cinema, also known as "Bollywood", with Rangeela (1995). The next film he directed was Satya (1998), which won six Filmfare Awards, including the Critics Award for Best Film. Satya, together with his 2002 film Company (which he directed and which won seven Filmfare Awards) and 2005 film D (which he produced), form an "Indian Gangster Trilogy". Other successful films Varma directed include Kshana Kshanam (1991), Kaun (1999), Jungle (2000), Bhoot (2003), Sarkar (2005) and Sarkar Raj (2008). He introduced south indian super star, four time national award winner Mohanlal into bollywood.
Early years
Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa was born in Hyderabad to Krishnam Raju Penmetsa and Satyavathi. Varma was not a good student in school and used to skip classes regularly, something that strained his relationship with his family, particularly his father.
In an interview to Tehelka, Varma talked about that phase of his life, his relationship with his parents, and the reasons behind his decision to become a filmmaker-
“ "From my parents’ perspective, I looked like a useless bum. It was the truth. I had no objective. I was just fascinated by people, so I used to study their behaviour. I was most fascinated by the bullies in my classroom. They were like gangsters for me. They had the guts to push around people, do things I couldn’t— perhaps did not even want to do myself. But I’d want a friend like that (laughs). I used to adulate them like heroes. That was my first touch with anti-socialism. Over a period of time, I developed a low-angle fascination for larger than life people. I was always a loner — not because I was unhappy, but because I live away from myself, not just others. I like to study myself — the way I am talking, behaving. My constant obsession with studying myself and other people is perhaps the primary motivation for me to be a filmmaker."
Varma is a civil engineer by profession and graduated from the V.R.Siddhartha Engineering College, Vijayawada. Even during this period, Varma remained a film buff. He would skip classes often and go and watch films instead - 8-10 films a week. He would watch the same film repeatedly "just to watch certain scenes which interested him." According to him, that is how he learned film direction..
After graduation, Varma tried entering the film industry, but couldn't manage it. He then put his dreams on the backburner and decided to go to Nigeria to make some money. It was at this moment that he visited a video rental library in Hyderabad. He loved the idea and decided to start one of his own, all because of his craze for films.
Career in Telugu cinema
Before Varma started his film career in the Telugu film industry he lingered in the sets of the films Raogaarillu and Collectorgari Abbai. His father was a sound recordist at Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad which is owned by Akkineni Nageswara Rao.Varma managed to meet Nagarjuna on the sets of a film and narrated a scene to the actor which impressed him so much that Varma's dream of becoming a director came true. The result of their collaboration was a film on the criminalization of student politics - Shiva. The film was a blockbuster with Varma demonstrating his technical expertise and story-telling skills. The success of the film in Telugu led to a Hindi remake with similar success.
Varma's next film was Kshana Kshanam, another Telugu blockbuster with Telugu superstar Daggubati Venkatesh & Sridevi which got him noticed by Bollywood critics. The film was also redubbed in Bollywood as Hairaan. Then came a lean patch with films such as Raatri / Raat and Antham / Drohi. WhileGaayam was a moderate success, Govinda Govinda was not so much. During this period, Varma also produced films such as Money and Money Money, and wrote the script for the Mani Rathnam film Thiruda Thiruda
Career in Hindi cinema
While Varma's first successful Hindi film was the remake of Siva, His next film was Drohi. The film that really put the spotlights on him was the blockbuster Rangeela. With great acting from the lead trio of Aamir Khan, Jackie Shroff and Urmila Matondkar, a fantastic soundtrack by composer A. R. Rahman (this being his first original score for a Hindi film), and with Varma at the helm, it was no surprise that this romantic musical drama was a runaway success. The film won Filmfare Awards for Rahman and Shroff. The film, according to Varma, was dedicated to actress Sridevi. His next film Daud (1997), however, was a failure and sank without a trace.
In 1998, Varma was an executive producer for Dil Se, directed by Mani Ratnam and starring Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala and Preity Zinta. The film won the NETPAC Award for Special Mention at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as two National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards.
Indian Gangster Trilogy
Main articles: Satya (film), Company (film), and D (film)
In 1998 came his masterpiece, the critically acclaimed Satya, a film based on the Mumbai underworld. A script written by Anurag Kashyap and Saurabh Shukla, music by Vishal Bharadwaj and Sandeep Chowta, acclaimed performances by J. D. Chakravarthy, Manoj Bajpai and Urmila Matondkar, and Varma's directorial and technical brilliance, contributed to a film that was a landmark. The film won six Filmfare Awards, including the Critics Award for Best Film.
In 2002 came his greatest commercial as well as critical success, Company, again set against the backdrop of the Mumbai underworld, in which he cut out song-and-dance sequences commonplace in Bollywood films at the time. It was based on the real-life underworld organization, the D-Company. The film won seven Filmfare Awards and earned him a Filmfare Best Director Award nomination.Mohanlal debuted in bollywood in this film.
A prequel to Company was made in 2005, entitled D, produced by Varma and directed by Vishram Sawant. Varma's three films Satya, Company and D are together considered an "Indian Gangster Trilogy". Satya and Company in particular were cited by British director Danny Boyle as influences on his Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), for their "slick, often mesmerizing portrayals of the Mumbai underworld", their display of "brutality and urban violence", and their gritty realism.
Experimental films
During the years between his "Indian Gangster Trilogy", from Satya in 1998 to D in 2005, Varma experimented with several different film genres in the intervening years. In 1999, he directed Kaun, a suspense thriller set entirely in one house and featuring only three actors, and Mast, a subversion of the Bollywood masala musical film genre. In 2000, he directed Jungle, a film set entirely in a jungle, for which he was nominated for the Star Screen Award for Best Director.
Following the success of Company in 2002, Varma's next film as director was Bhoot (2003), a psychological horror film, which was a major success. It starred Ajay Devgan and Urmila Matondkar, who earned a number of awards for her performance. Varma himself was nominated for the Filmfare Best Director Award for the film.
Following the success of Bhoot, Varma was a producer for two other experimental films: Sriram Raghavan's Ek Hasina Thi (2003), a psychological thriller, and Shimit Amin's Ab Tak Chhappan (2004), a film about an inspector in the Mumbai Encounter Squad famous for having killed 56 people in police encounters. In 2005, Varma was nominated for the Zee Cine Award for Best Producer of the Year.
Later films
Varma's next film as director was Sarkar, released in June 2005, starring Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan. Amitabh played the character of Sarkar who is a self-righteous and powerful politician, while Abhishek played his son in the film. Sarkar was a loose adaptation of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather in a Mumbai underworld setting. Sarkar went on to become a critically acclaimed box office hit.
In 2006, his next film as director was Shiva, which premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival, where a retrospective featuring several of his previous films was also staged. Alongside Shiva, the festival screened his earlier successful films Company, Ek Hasina Thi and Ab Tak Chhappan. While these three earlier films were praised, Shiva itself was a critical and commercial failure. In 2007, he directed the ambitious Sholay remake, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, as well as Darling, both of which were critical and box office failures.
He was written off by the media and public until 6 June 2008, when he bounced back with his grand and much hyped venture, Sarkar Raj, a sequel to Sarkar; it was a hit and met with good reviews. The primary cast features three members of the Bachchan family, with Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan reprising their roles from the prequel alongside new entrant Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Supriya Pathak, Tanisha Mukherjee and Ravi Kale also reappeared in their respective roles from Sarkar. Unlike its prequel Sarkar, which was loosely adapted from The Godfather novel, the sequel Sarkar Raj had an original plot of its own.
His latest film, Phoonk (2008), was of the horror film genre and met with mixed reviews, with more of them leaning to the negative side. However, the film was a major hit in comparison to its minuscule budget. Varma has now finished working on Agyaat which released on 7 August 2009, again a commercial as well as critical failure. Varma is currently working on a film about the media called Rann. It has a major star cast with Varma's favourite male actor Amitabh Bachchan at the helm as the owner of a television channel. It will be released in 2010. Varma has announced another horror film titled 'Warning'. This film will be the first 3D horror film made in India and is reported to have Ritesh Deshmukh in a significant role.
Personal life
Ramu is very private about his married life. Recently on a live television show, his daughter talks to him via audio. Her name is Revathi and is a medical student currently.(12:06, 13 October 2009 (UTC)) His wife's name is Ratna but they are divorced now.
Controversy
Varma, along with the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Deshmukh's son Ritesh Deshmukh visited the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel soon after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. This invited a lot of criticism ,that the Taj was no more a place for VIP visits.[citation needed] The protestors suspected that Varma wanted to make a film on this, as he has created several real-life based thriller movies. Despite these claims Varma has alleged that he was not at the hotel just after the attacks. He stated that this rumour may have come from the fact that he was in a meeting with Deshmukh's son, Ritiesh, just before the attacks took place.
Awards and nominationsNandi Award for Best Director
* Won, Shiva (1989)
* Won, Kshana Kshanam (1991)
* Won, Prema Katha (1999)
Bollywood Award for Best Director
* Won, Satya (1998)
* Won, Jungle (2000)
* Won, Company (2002)
* Won, Bhoot (2003)
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie
* Won, Satya (1998)
Filmfare Best Director Award
* Nominated, Company (2002)
* Nominated, Bhoot (2003)
* Nominated, Sarkar (2005)
Star Screen Award for Best Director
* Nominated, Jungle (2000)
Zee Cine Award for Best Director
* Nominated, Bhoot (2003)
Zee Cine Award for Best Producer of the Year
* Nominated, 2005
Filmography
As director
Year - Film - Language -Boxoffice Notes
1989- Shiva - Telugu - Blockbuster
1990- Kshana -Kshanam- Telugu- Blockbuster
1992- Antham- Telugu- Blockbuster
1992- Raathri- Telugu - Blockbuster
1993- Gaayam- Telugu -Blockbuster
1993 -Govinda Govinda -Telugu -Blockbuster
1995- Rangeela -Hindi - Blockbuster
1996 -Deyyam - Telugu- Average
1997 -Anaganaga Oka Roju- Telugu- Hit
1997 -Daud -Hindi -Above Average
1998 - Satya - Hindi- Blockbuster
1999- Prema- Katha - Telugu- Average
1999 - Kaun- Hindi- Flop
1999- Mast- Hindi -Flop
2000 -Jungle- Hindi- Average
2002- Company- Hindi - Blockbuster
2003 -Bhoot- Hindi - Hit
2004 -Naach -Hindi - Flop Multiplex movie
2005- Sarkar -Hindi - Blockbuster
2006 - Shiva -Hindi - Flop
2006- Darna Zaroori Hai- Hindi- Average
2007 -Nishabd- Hindi - Flop
2007 -Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag - Hindi -Disaster Panned By Critics
2007 -Darling -Hindi -Average Multiplex movie
2008 - Sarkar Raj - Hindi- Blockbuster
2008- Contract -Hindi -Disaster Multiplex movie
2008- Phoonk - The Black Magic Story -Hindi- Hit
2009 - Agyaat -Hindi -Hit Multiplex movie
2010 -Rann - Hindi- Hit
2010 - Rakta Charitra-Part I -Hindi/Tamil/Telugu -Shooting
2010 -Rakta Charitra-Part II - Hindi/Tamil/Telugu -Shooting. Both the films are shot at one stretch but will be released in 2 parts since the duration of the film is over 5 hours.
2010 Department Hindi Planning
As producer
Year- Film - Language- Boxoffice Notes
1993 - money -Telugu- Blockbuster
1995 - money money- Telugu -Hit
1995 -Anaganaga oka roju -Telugu- Flop
1996 - Gulabi (film) -Telugu - Hit
1996 -W/O V varaprasad - Telugu -Flop
1998 - Dil Se - Hindi - Flop Co- Produced along with Mani Ratnam and Shekhar Kapur
2001 -Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega - Hindi - Flop
2002 -Road -Hindi -Average
2003 -Ek Hasina Thi -Hindi -Hit Critically Acclaimed
2003 -Darna Mana Hai -Hindi -Hit
2004 -Ab Tak Chhappan - Hindi -Hit Critically Acclaimed
2004 -Vaastu Shastra -Hindi -Average
2004 -Gayab -Hindi - Average
2005 -D -Hindi -Hit
2005- James - Hindi - Flop
2005- Sarkar- Hindi -Blockbuster Critically Acclaimed
2006 -Darwaza Bandh Rakho -Hindi- Flop Good Opening but collections fell drastically
2006 -Shiva - Hin-di
2006 - Darna Zaroori Hai -Hindi -Average
2007 -Nishabd -Hindi -Flop
2007 -Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag -Hindi Disaster Panned By Critics
2007 -Go -Hindi- Disaster
2008 -Sarkar Raj -Hindi - Blockbuster
2009 -Adavi -Telugu- Average
2009 - Agyaat - Hindi - Average
2010 -Phoonk 2 -Hindi -Releasing on April 16th 2010
2010 -Rakta Charitra-Part I - Hindi/Tamil/Telugu -Shooting
2010 -Rakta Charitra-Part II -Hindi/Tamil/Telugu- Shooting. Both the films are shot at one stretch but will be released in 2 parts since the duration of the film is over 5 hours.
2010 Department Hindi Planning.
As writer
Year- Film
1989 - Shiva
1990- Kshana Kshanam
1992 -Antham / Drohi
1992 -Raathri / Raat
1993 - Gaayam / Desam
1993 -Govinda Govinda
1994 -Thiruda Thiruda
1995 - Rangeela
1996 -Deyyam
1997 -Daud
1999 - Shool
2006- Shock
2006 - Darna Zaroori Hai
2007- Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag
2008- Sarkar Raj
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