Filmfare’s Editor-In-Chief Jitesh Pillaai reflects on the cinematic relevance and lasting impact of Ram Gopal Varma. Revisiting films like Satya, Shiva, Govinda Govinda, Sarkar and more, he explores how Varma reshaped storytelling and filmmaking in India, and why his work continues to be essential viewing for film students.
Here’s what Jitesh has to say about RGV:
Film watchers of a certain vintage get off on his films to date. He spawned a hundred wannabes and filmmakers who aped him in form but never in spirit. He gave style to the movies and directed from his gut. Even his flops had more gunpowder than the snazziest hits. My on-screen love affair with Ram Gopal Varma began as a kid with Shiva in Satyam Talkies, Worli, and it never ended. Gen Z may know him for his risqué online videos and motormouth, but to me, he’s the maverick who gave us Kshana Kshanam, Govinda Govinda and then of course the pathbreaking Satya and Rangeela.
Every time I rewatch Company, I’m amazed at the way the director doesn’t rush to fill in the silences. Aamir Khan’s extraordinary performance in Rangeela, the rediscovery of Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee, the dynamite in Satya. If you see Raktacharita in two parts, you will see the germs of Dhurandhar.
Manoj Bajpayee as Satya haunts me to date. Matondkar’s performance in Bhoot is unarguably her best ever. Check out Revathi in Raat. Another astounding gem that doesn’t get enough love. Just like Ab Tak Chappan and Shool, both of which Varma produced and has his undeniable touches. Bajpayee’s breakdown in the climax of Shool and Nana Patekar in Ab Tak… are products of the vintage Varma factory. The number of directors he mentored is also notable, as the list is truly endless.
Varma truly assembled a lineup of amazing talents from Anurag Kashyap and Shimit Amin to Manoj Bajpayee and Rajpal Yadav. He was cool and had mojo before Instagram made algorithms trendy.
There was an anger on slow simmer, which boiled over to perfection in Shiva, Satya and Company. From Sridevi to Amitabh Bachchan, every thespian gave their best to Varma. Do check out Bachchan’s note-perfect turn in Sarkar. It is compelling, it is flawless, and it is to Varma’s credit how he harnesses the best talents to soar to greater pinnacles. Abhishek Bachchan in Sarkar pitches one of his finest turns as an actor.
Varma is irreverent; he will trigger you and will alienate you with his fickleness. But his craftsmanship is incomparable. See how he’s extracted music out of everyone from AR Rahman and Sandeep Chowta to Vishal Bhardwaj. Rozana from Nishabd is perhaps Bachchan’s best sung song, and what’s a composition! The legendary RD Burman, at his lowest ebb, did some fine work for Varma during a difficult period in his career.
Varma aced the bullets over Mumbai and small town landscapes much before the copycats did. He understood small-town patois and angst. He channelised anger until the gunpowder exploded on screen. From Shiva to Rangeela, and from Daud to Mast. Look at the choreographed violence and the music come together. Can there be a better marriage?
Is Varma past his prime? I think not, as there are more subterranean depths of violence, love and angst to be explored.
He deserves to be studied at every film school. This is the calm before the storm. The mice can play while the cat is away.
Also Read: Editor’s Take: Sabar Bonda, Joyland, Moothon and The Politics of Love and Identity
By
