Ram Gopal Varma is controversy's favorite child. Rather, the filmmaker courts controversy like a lover would woo the woman he's besotted with. It comes as no surprise then that the recent flick under his banner, " Bejawada" has ruffled a lot of feathers.
And in the typical manner in which an RGV story unfolds, the director has now been getting death threats. Now, the contentious suffix "Rowdilu," has been dropped from the title, but controversy surrounding the film just refuses to die. "Speculations are rife because of the title. Unlike " Raktha Charitra", I've never said that I am basing this film on the lives of real people. It is director Vivek Krishna's story and I never said that it is based on anybody," clarifies RGV.
But this isn't a first for the filmmaker who loves to kick up a storm. Almost all his movies have a strong foundation on controversies. For an observer, it's pretty clear - a successful publicity strategy. "When you are making a film on contentious subjects, naturally everybody will have an opinion. It's just that no one else has tried to do it. It is the public interest in the subject matter that creates controversies and not the film by itself," argues the director.
But if you thought that after all the mini storms in the tea cup, the film maker would refrain from the hullabaloo, then you are wrong. For Ram Gopal Varma, controversies are nothing but mere 'entertainment'.
"I find it (controversies) very entertaining, and I am sure the media thinks the same about it too," he says with a know-it-all smile. But being called all sorts of derogatory names must get under his skin at some point? "Well, I've been called names all the time. The media calls me Ramu. After a point, you just lose sensitivity to it. The fact that I just do not care seems to accentuate the point," he explains.
Having said that, one however, wonders how can someone be so oblivious to criticism that comes his way almost all the time? Aren't most filmmakers known to be the 'please-all' types? "Well, I give a f**k about anybody. I make films because I love it and I want people to watch them. Whether they like it or not is another thing altogether. I am basically pushing my vision down their throats. Sometimes they might swallow it and sometimes they might just puke it out," he quips.
The industry has always been kind to success. Is that the reason why most people tend to forgive him for his jibes and remarks? "For me, success is about being able to get up in the morning and doing whatever you want to do until you go back to bed at night.
By that definition, I have been successful from the time I was five years old," he says in typical RGV style. Now that leads to the question, what happened when he was five? "My mother dropped me on my head," he retorts, poker face. Maybe, that was his eureka moment. "I don't believe in God or religion. I don't have any commitments and have never donated a single rupee for a cause. In short, I have done nothing that a good human being is supposed to do, yet I am able to do whatever I want to do. I just enjoy every second of my life because I know exactly who I am and what I want."
So how does RGV enjoy 'every single moment'? "It is all about pleasing my senses - be it listening to music, making films or looking at a beautiful woman," he says. And he doesn't stop at that. For the maverick, material possessions too are of utmost importance. "My most valuable possession is my collection of porn," he says without twitching a facial muscle. One can't help but take the liberty of asking if there are any specific preferences in that department. "It's hard to classify porn, you see," he retorts.
With so many movies under his belt, one can't help but ask why hasn't he made a love story yet. "I want to make a love story soon. It will be gritty and will break all conventions about how love stories are made traditionally," he says.
"I live for today and don't think about yesterday unless it's about reliving a pleasurable memory. I don't think about tomorrow because I want it to surprise me, if it doesn't, I will try to surprise myself, I live like that," he says before signing off.
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