RGV – The RDX Film-maker

Here is a man whose blogs are best described in three words -- intense, scary and sentimental. Each blog entry is a detailed reasoning behind the storyline of one or other of his films. The inspirations are intense, the instances are scary and the treatment is sentimental. I was lucky to catch up with the man in bangalore and chat up with him.

He has an unofficial copyright over the Mumbai underworld and psycho thrillers for Bollywood. From the subtle Rangeela to the hard hitting Satya to the ‘talk of the town’ RGV Ki Aag, this man has dared to do it differently. An atheist in real life, he sniggers at people who lead normal lives with no problems. LD In conversation with Ram Gopal Varma, on his forthcoming movies, recent passion for blogging and more 

Q. Rangeela, Satya, Company – haven’t you had enough of the Mumbai underworld? I hear your next film is based around the same theme. 

The day I landed in Mumbai many years back, the city fascinated me – not the fast pace, the cross culture of people and the usual suspects – but the scary undercurrents of fear, domination, power – a small world with its own bizarre set of rules -- the underworld. True, I have made multiple movies revolving around the same theme, but between one film and the rest, I have personally learnt so much more about the underworld that I feel the need to make another film. I evolve with every film. For instance, Satya was an insider’s view of the underworld, my next release Contract tells you what happens when the underworld meets terrorism.  

Q. Horror is your other favourite genre of cinema. Reason? 

I am an atheist. And I am a film maker. Therefore I imagine and my imaginations are usually backed by scientific logic. What happens when some actions, instances and situations shake up this atheist and leaves him spellbound for answers? What happens when such a non-believer is frustrated with an action that has no reason or meaning? You will see a movie like Kaun or my other forthcoming film Phoonk, which tells the story of a non-believer who realizes that superstitions remain that till it happens to you, and when it does, it has the power of make you fear the most inane objects of daily life, that have gone unnoticed till today. horror for me is born out of instances that have no answers.  

Q. As a film maker, how much does technology aid you to create better films? 

I am nothing but a story teller. I will either talk my story or write my story or shoot my story. The technology comes to the aid of the technicians who give finishing touches to the product – the sound, the effects, the colours. As a director, I do not use much technology because it’s about what’s in my head. But I’m all for anything that makes my final product look better.  

Q. I happened to stumble upon your blog on the Net. Started recently? 

A month back to be precise. It wasn’t intentional at all. It was more of a natural outlet for me to interact with my fans and the outside world in a more direct manner. Whenever, lets say, I talk to a journalist or at a function, the person at the other end will interpret what I say in whichever way he or she wants to. But my blog has what I feel, think, how I react to situations and instances. I was quite surprised to find that a lot of people responded, to whom I responded back. I’ve really taken to blogging and am sure I will keep doing it. By the way, what do you think of my blog? 

Well, here’s what I thought: 

RGV’s blog is personal, intense, a little eerie and follows a cause-effect structure. Most of the topics revolve around his forthcoming and already released films and the reasons that led to the making of the film. Here’s a typical example:  

“A friend of mine, not a film guy, who lives in Oshiwara on the fourteenth floor, told me about an instance…  My friend used to bump into this guy in the building’s lift once in a while. And they used to exchange pleasantries, "Hello, how are you? Happy Diwali" and things like that. And then one day my friend’s wife told him that this guy has been arrested and taken away as he has been absconding in a murder case in Karnataka or somewhere… “the thing about Bombay is that you may live for ten years as neighbor to somebody yet have no idea who he is”. That was where I got the plot line for Satya.” 

One of the most impressive entries though is on how the man had a mental encounter with the Mumbai underworld, which ultimately led to the entire series of films: 
 

“When I first came to Bombay from Hyderabad I couldn't get over a train ride through the Dharavi slums. It looked like one single roof and I wondered how people live there, how anybody can go in and go out. I saw children 2-years old crawling just about 3 feet away from the railway track while the trains were rushing to and fro. Those things made me understand the nature of the city. The general atmosphere of Mumbai was one thing I was really fascinated right from the time I was making Rangeela, while traveling around doing various shoots. Once in a while I used to hear the word Underworld….” 

Each entry is extremely personal and it is quite delightful to see a senior enough film maker going all out to explain the fine nuances of his thought process that culminates every time at the plot of a film. A certain sense of personal involvement is felt with the man as you try and decipher the steps that led to the formulation of a theme for the film. Certain ‘eureka’ moments often appear towards the end of the entries, which complete the process of evolution of the plot. All in all, the blog makes for some serious intense reading. Requires full attention but worth your exclusive time.

His blog can be accessed at; http://rgvarma.spaces.live.com/

Copyright; Living Digital 

Technology in reel life – Bollywood ishtyle

The new age Bollywood hero is a techie who works for Microsoft and is sent to Italy to develop Halo 3. Let’s rewind and check out how technology has been treated in Hindi films 

That famous bracelet in Mr. India which lured the cruel Mogambo with its power to make a human being become invisible isn’t really the most responsible projection of futuristic technology, but it nevertheless seems to have served as an inspiration for a breed of Bollywood film makers to showcase technology and more recently the creator of this technology – the popular Indian ‘techie’ as he is fondly referred to as – to be the hottest material heroes are made of.  

Six years ago, a not-so-mainstream film by first time South Indian director Revathi, told the story of a software engineer’s wife living in California, caught between an ambitious husband whose world revolves around his workstation, and a teenaged daughter whose only conversation with her mother is to justify her need for short skirts. So what does an emotionally frustrated and saree-clad Lakshmi do to get away from her inner conflicts? She dusts the desktop PC lying in the living room, and enters the world of Internet chatting, where she finds solace in an invisible ‘Mitr’, whom she confides in, learns a little about the American way of life, and once learns to strike a balance, her marriage becomes a dream one. Mitr – My friend went on to win the Best English Film of 2002 at the National Film Awards. 

More recently, The Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra starrer Aitraaz told the story of a modern woman whose husband heads a mobile handset manufacturing company and when she finds an ex flame in the board of directors, he double promotes him, expecting favours in return. A court case is finally solved with a technical glitch in the handset being used as evidence. Probably the first time where mobile technology (so what if it didn’t work) comes to a harassed man’s rescue. In between, there was this wonder car called Tarzan, that became this speedy, futuristic looking machine which ran at rocket speed, just because it had Ajay Devgan’s spirit embedded in it. Technology, nevertheless.  

The first ever Bollywood flick that had a technology partner was released this summer. Love Story 2050 saw Boman Irani, a scientist who worked days and nights on his Sun Microsystems workstation to create a time machine which transported Priyanka Chopra with a rather queer hairstyle and a man who tries aping Hrithik Roshan for no apparent reason, to the Mumbai of 2050. True, the special effects are there, but more importantly, the film is an indication that one of the world’s technology companies chose a Bollywood film to ‘place’ Sun machines (and its logos) all over the three-hour ritual.  

Cut to August 15^th 2008. Yash Raj releases his latest blockbuster – carrying forward the legacy of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. The Raj who was the rich spoilt brat of an industrialist has morphed into a Raj who is a self-made individual and a game developer with Microsoft. He is sent to Italy to head a team in developing Halo 3 (pronounced rather cutely by a turban clad 6-year old 

called Dimpy as Hello 3). He doesn’t drink Lassi anymore or run around trees. He is hardly seen without his Compaq laptop as his work and after-work companion, he downs four back-to-back tequila shots with his guy friends at a nightclub and comes back to Mumbai to find a killer sports car waiting for him. More interestingly, he chooses the independent B-school student by day, taxi driver by night babe over someone who lives a filmi fantasy life or a small town girl who wants to make it big in Mumbai. The new-age Bolllywood hero tho killer hai, yaar. He is a techie.

Copyright: Living Digital

Two for Kkompany

What happens when two actors from variedly different backgrounds come together to act in a spoof gangster movie? Hold that thought and imagine how it would be when your next door comic hero with films like Kyaa Kool Hain Hum, Mujhe Kucch Kehna hain, and Golmaal in his kitty chats with Living Digital accompanied by a serious, mature lady who has carved a niche for herself with Parineeta, and Eklavya. Read on as Tusshar Kapoor and Raima Sen talk about their film plans, addiction to the Internet, and on-set antics 

Q. It will be quite interesting to see the two of you with alarmingly different film backgrounds starring together in C Kkompany. Go ahead and spill some beans. 

Tusshhar: The movie tells the story of three middle class losers across different age groups who come together and life becomes mayhem. For the first time in my life, I play the character of a crime reporter. 

Raima: … he falls with me, who is the daughter of a gangster. The poor guy is caught in this bizarre emotional conflict where he can’t deviate from his line of duty, nor can he give up his intense love for me. I sympathize with him. 

Q. Raima, you are used to doing more serious projects while a spoof gangster movie sounds right up Tushar’s alley. Did you have conflicts while shooting together? 

Tusshar: The first few days of the shoot, our lady would turn up at the sets and start delivering her shots very naturally – the way she did in her more serious films. I slowly corrupted her by telling her to be loud, and emote more strongly. 

Raima: Tushar was quite patient with me and told me to open up more, and I was very comfortable once I took these hints. Its quite fun to look back at the first few days of shooting, where for a change, the woman ‘actually’ listened to a man and took his words seriously. 

Q. Tusshar, I am surprised to find that you are not carrying the iPhone like most of your fellow brethren in the industry. Any secret reason? 

Tusshar: You are right. I use this not so recent model of Nokia (a 62xx series slider). I have had a chance to check out the iPhone, but I honestly believe the hype is overdone. At the end of the day, I use my phone to take calls, sometimes make calls and send text messages, and I would like to believe there are many others out there like me. I’m quite happy with my Nokia. 

Q. Raima, you look like you are dying to contradict him. Go ahead and enlighten us. 

Raima: I have an iPhone and to a certain extent, I like flaunting it. I think the design is quite impressive, and I like those little add on features that you may not find on your regular phone. I do not have a grudge against it. In fact I more than like it. 

Q. Do you guys social network very often? I know for one Tusshar has a lot of counterfeit Facebook accounts in his name. 

Tusshar: I’m quite surprised to hear that. I went on to Facebook about three months back and found a few school and college friends, but I haven’t been addicted to it. In fact, I’m not addicted to anything on the Internet. I still use my good old Hotmail account, and it is probably the only account I use. 

Raima: I love Facebook. I have an account and I have a good number of friends whom I regularly keep in touch with. I do check out for new scraps on my iPhone while I’m shooting. Of late, I’ve been addicted to a few games on Facebook that are extremely cute.  

Q. Tushar, you are known to be a gym freak. What, besides this is your fitness mantra? 

Tusshar: Yes, I hit the gym very regularly, even while I’m travelling. Combine this with a ‘moderately’ disciplined diet that has less fat and oil can go a long way in maintaining good health. 

Raima: … and his regular intake of energy drinks. I fail to understand how it works on people. I remember the two of us had partied till 5am one day during the shoot, and I had to be up at 9am for the shoot. This man gives me an entire jug of Red Bull, and I’m still groggy eyed.

Copyright: Living Digital, September 2008

Awesome Foursome

No bling, no wannabe attitude and no false egos. Four boys who have taken the country’s rock music fans and Bollywood enthusiasts by storm are just as cool, sensitive and rocking in real life, as they are on the screen. Read on as LD chats up with the rocker boys – Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Luke Kenny and Purab Kohli as they talk about their passion for music, views on technology, battle against piracy and everything else in between 

Q: What happens when a director turned actor, a model turned actor, a VJ turned actor and a music encyclopedia turned actor start shooting together in one movie? 

Farhan: You have to hand it over to us that we are boys, and will remain boys. So, of course there were these little ‘boyish’ humour, craziness and fun on the sets, but yes, music kept us all together. 

Purab: It was fun to watch Farhan taking a break between his shots, and playing a riff sample on his guitar, asking us to guess the song. Luke would talk non stop for the next 15 minutes about the history of the track, evolution of the band, their best and worst albums and his views on their music.  

Arjun: And I would feel musically enlightened when all this happened. 

Q: Is it true that you need to be musically inclined to do justice to a film on struggling musicians? Or did you just read up about a few unsuccessful bands? 

Arjun: I guess our director was clever enough to choose a bunch of guys who are extremely passionate about music – especially rock music. Somewhere down the line, we ended up relating ourselves to a particular musician in a particular band. 

Farhan: ‘Rock On’ draws inspiration from the lives of many small and big bands across the world. Before starting to shoot the film, we made it a point to view live concert videos of classic bands like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull. 

Luke: The common thread that binds these bands is the fact that their concerts are extremely people-centric. They are known to magically energize audiences and connect with them. I have had many real life experiences on how this works wonders to the popularity of a rock band. 

Purab: Also, domestic rock bands in India do not have the finances or backing to make extravagant videos or plan lavish world tours. We wanted to reflect this reality through the film, and our research involved bands which have risen to the top, the hard way. 

Q: The film is probably the first one in the country that ends with a plea to the audience to buy original music and not download it illegally. Luke, what are your thoughts on music piracy? 

Luke: I personally own a collection of 2000 CDs, each and every one of them is legally purchased. I’m a living example to rubbish the fact that you download music which you can’t get at a store. If you really want it, it’s available for you to buy it. Remember that it’s not really the music company alone that’s out there to empty your wallet. Unless you buy the music, enough CDs won’t be sold to encourage the label to promote the artiste again. Sooner or later, the artiste will either resort to remixing shaadi songs or go back to his Dad’s business. Why do you want to kill genuine music when you can afford to buy one CD and ensure that the guy cuts more albums for you? 

Q: How does it feel when you as a musician use technology to make better music and see it illegally downloaded using the same technology? 

Luke: I think technology is a great boon for musicians. They can do so much more now is so little time. True, you can’t do a guitar riff using software, but you can enhance that real riff and blend it in with the vocals. Technology allows artistes to release their original songs on the Internet without having to have a record label burn your CDs. The listeners out there must also make an effort to use technology to legally access music. The moment you tell a friend about an illegal site, he is going to tell a dozen of his friends. I urge every one to promote legal music and help musicians make better music.   

Q: I’m sure you guys have been looked upon as a band since the film released. Loving the attention? 

Arjun: We’ve been feeling like rock stars ourselves. During our promo tours, I have women telling me how good I looked with my locks in the film. After a while, I began confessing that my stylists used to add extensions to my hair every evening. I felt like Goldilocks. But it all seems worth it now. 

Purab: We are made to sing the songs every time fans meet us. This is when I push the other three to the front and ask the audience to clap their hands. 

 Copyright: Living Digital, October, 2008