Director and producer Ram Gopal Varma talks to Lahari Velicheti in Film Companion South's new series, wherein he answers 51 questions that explore his take on paranormal experiences, awards in cinema, and more.
Edited excerpts below:
Favorite black and white film
Dr. Strangelove (1964) by Stanley Kubrick
Rangeela (1995) or Kaun? (1999)
Are actors overrated?
You cannot generalise all actors. While some are underrated, there could be some who are overrated. But stars and actors are different. A star is someone who will evoke an emotion irrespective of his so-called acting talent. I don't know if Rajinikanth is an actor, but he is a star.
Favourite memory as a kid
My favourite memory as a kid is when my uncle took me to see a film. When something happened in a sequence in the film, he told me that it was a director's touch. That was the first time I heard the word director and as I became a director, it became my best memory.
Best memory with Mani Ratnam
Mani Ratnam doesn't like any of my films and I don't like any of his films. My best memory with him was when we both went together for a script discussion for Thiruda Thiruda and Gaayam.
Have you experienced paranormal activities?
The answer is yes and no. Yes, because I did experience it. No, because I do not want to believe it as it doesn't suit me. So I rather want to think that it is a dream. When I was traveling on a flight from Mumbai to Chennai, I saw Shiamak Davar (choreographer). I've once met him in Bachchan's house but I've never worked with him. So I went and sat with him. I was on the aisle seat and he was on the window seat. We were talking about something and suddenly out of the blue he said, "your father died?" There was no context at all and I was wondering why he suddenly said that. I said yes because my father had passed away a couple of months before that.
He said my father was here on the flight and that he was very concerned about me. It was bizarre. I told him I don't believe in such things. He said 'Your father says he also never believed in such things'. I felt a mix of anger, fear, helplessness, and frustration. So, I left and went back to my seat. Later, I thought maybe he knows these things because I am famous and he is also from the film industry. So I gave a logical explanation for this incident, but what about those five minutes I took to move back to my seat?
About RRR
I felt RRR was like a circus. I don't mean it in a bad way because a circus immediately gives you a feeling of a clown. That's not the truth. There is a lot of acrobatics happening. For instance, when Ram Charan and Jr. NTR rescued the kid from the water, I felt it was like the Gemini circus. Because the last time I watched something like that was at the Gemini circus. And there were these animals as well.
What is the fastest movie you have made?
It is Dongala Mutha – we shot it in 5 days. The next one I think is "Kaun?". We shot it in maybe 11 days.
Will there be a day you will get bored of movies?
No. It is all about your interest in life and a movie is just a medium. I could be interested in the Ukraine war, Covid, some murder case, or some other thing. There are so many things happening in the world, which pique my interest. So, sometimes I might make a movie of it or sometimes I might just talk about it to someone.
What are your thoughts on awards?
I never believed in awards because a film is obviously a tremendous team effort. So, if the camera work is good, it could be because of the costume and the art direction involved in the film. But people who do not understand this will think that a film is good because of the camera work. The camera captures different talents into one composition. So, in general, people who give awards do not have the fundamental knowledge to understand it. They cannot have that knowledge because they did not work in the particular film. So, awards are meaningless.