Ram Gopal Varma is a celebrated Indian film personality, who works as a director, producer and screen writer in the Hindi film industry and has gained recognition for his maverick works. Also known as RGV, he is a popular name in the Telugu cinema as well. He has been associated with films of diverse genres including docudrama, parallel cinema, musical films, experimental films, fictional films, horror films, road movies, crime films and psychological thrillers. Two of his noted films, Shiva and Satya, were showcased among the CNN-IBN`s 100 greatest Indian films of all time. Ram Gopal Varma has played a key role in introducing a new genre of filmmaking by deviating from the traditional trends. He has also been acknowledged as the master of horror films in India. He has also been tagged as the intellectual fountain head of new age Indian cinema.
Early Life of Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma was born on 7th April 1962 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. He attended V. R. Siddhartha Engineering College, Vijayawada, and completed his BE in civil engineering.
He has always been a film buff and often bunked classes for watching movies. He grasped certain nuances of film direction through repeatedly watching the films that interested him. For a brief period he worked as a site engineer for Krishna Oberoi hotel in Hyderabad. During this phase once he visited a rental library in Hyderabad and embraced the idea of having his own which also established his connection with film world.
Career of Ram Gopal Varma in South Indian Films
Ram Gopal Varma began his career as an assistant director. His father, Krishnam Raju Varma, worked as a sound recordist at Annapurna Studios and RGV thus managed to meet the actor and producer Nagarjuna Akkineni to whom he narrated a scene which impressed the latter. Through their collaboration Ram Gopal Varma made his debut as a director in the year 1989 with the Telugu movie Shiva based on the criminalisation of student politics. His expertise in storytelling and technicalities made it a blockbuster and led to the Hindi remake of the same. His next film Kshana Kshanam, which was dubbed into Hindi as Hairaan, got him noticed in Bollywood. Subsequently he indulged in making several other flicks including Antham, Raatri, Gaayam, Govinda Govinda and others. He also produced Money and Money Money and penned the script for Mani Ratnam`s Tamil movie Thiruda Thiruda.
Career of Ram Gopal Varma in Bollywood
Ram Gopal Varma garnered his first success in Bollywood with the Hindi remake of Shiva. However he shot to fame with his blockbuster movie Rangeela, which was a tribute to the Bollywood actress Sridevi. His next release Daud failed to leave a mark. He also produced the critically acclaimed movie Dil Se.., starring Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala and Preity Zinta and directed by Mani Ratnam.
He came up with his masterpiece Satya in 1998 which was lauded by the critics. The brilliant screenwriting of Anurag Kashyap, noteworthy performances of Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpai and J. D. Chakravarthy and appealing music of Vishal Bhardwaj and Sandeep Chowta made it a landmark in the Hindi film industry. His 2002 movie Company was a commercial and critical success. In 2005, his film D released which was a prequel to Company. RGV`s ventures Satya, Company and D are regarded as Indian gangster trilogy. The films presented magnificent portrayals of Mumbai underworld with gritty realism.
Ram Gopal Varma experimented with several genres of films. Films like Kaun, Mast and Jungle are other notable works of RGV. His psychological horror film Bhoot featuring Ajay Devgan and Urmila Matondkar met huge success. Shimit Amin`s Ab Tak Chhappan and Sriram Raghavan`s Ek Hasina Thi were other experimental films produced by Ram Gopal Varma. In 2005 he directed Sarkar starring Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek which was loosely based on Mario Puzo`s 1969 novel The Godfather. The film earned critical appreciations. In 2007 he came up with Nishabd, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag and Darling and in the following year directed Sarkar Raj gathering moderate success.
Ram Gopal Varma`s horror flicks continued in 2008 with Phoonk and Agyaat in the following year. His next venture Rann was praised by the critics but turned out to be a commercial disaster followed by Phoonk 2. Rakta Charitra was made in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi languages and was released in two parts owing to its length. His other films included Department, The Attacks of 26/11, Psycho, Satya 2 and others.
Achievements of Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (producer) for his movie Shool in 1999. He also received Filmfare Best Story Award for Rangeela in 1995 and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie for Satya in 1998. He received Bollywood Movie Award for Best Director for his films Satya (1998), Jungle (2000), Company (2002) and Bhoot (2003). He was also conferred Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards several times for his south Indian ventures.
Autobiography of Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma authored an autobiography titled Na Ishtam which narrates his thoughts, philosophies and opinions. The book was released in December 2010 and was launched by his friend and Vijayawada MP, Lagadapati Rajagopal.
Filmography of Ram Gopal Varma
Year | Film | Language | Roles |
1989 | Shiva | Telugu | Director/Wrier |
1991 | Shiva | Hindi | Director |
1991 | Kshana Kshanam | Telugu | Director/Wrier |
1992 | Antham / Drohi | Hindi / Telugu | Director/Wrier |
1992 | Raat | Hindi | Director/Wrier/Producer |
1993 | Gaayam | Telugu | Director/Wrier |
1993 | Money | Telugu | Producer |
1994 | Govinda Govinda | Telugu | Director/Wrier |
1994 | Thiruda Thiruda | Tamil | Writer |
1995 | Rangeela | Hindi | Director/Wrier/Producer |
1995 | Money Money | Telugu | Producer |
1996 | Deyyam | Telugu | Director/Wrier |
1996 | Gulabi | Telugu | Producer |
1997 | Anaganaga Oka Roju | Telugu | Director/Wrier/Producer |
1997 | Daud | Hindi | Director/Wrier |
1998 | Satya | Hindi | Director/Producer |
1998 | Dil Se.. | Hindi | Producer |
1998 | Wife of V. Varaprasad | Telugu | Producer |
1999 | Prema Katha | Telugu | Director |
1999 | Kaun | Hindi | Director |
1999 | Mast | Hindi | Director |
1999 | Shool | Hindi | Producer/Writer |
2000 | Jungle | Hindi | Director |
2001 | Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega | Hindi | Producer |
2001 | Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya | Hindi | Producer |
2002 | Company | Hindi | Director |
2002 | Road | Hindi | Producer |
2003 | Bhoot | Hindi | Director |
2003 | Ek Hasina Thi | Hindi | Producer |
2003 | Darna Mana Hai | Hindi | Producer |
2004 | Ab Tak Chhappan | Hindi | Producer |
2004 | Vaastu Shastra | Hindi | Producer |
2004 | Gayab | Hindi | Producer |
2004 | Naach | Hindi | Director/Producer |
2004 | Madhyanam Hathya | Telugu | Director |
2005 | Shabri | Hindi | Producer |
2005 | My Wife"s Murder | Hindi | Producer |
2005 | Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon | Hindi | Producer |
2005 | D | Hindi | Producer |
2005 | James | Hindi | Producer |
2005 | Sarkar | Hindi | Director/Producer |
2005 | Mr Ya Miss | Hindi | Producer |
2006 | Darwaza Bandh Rakho | Hindi | Producer |
2006 | Shock | Telugu | Producer/Writer |
2006 | Shiva | Hindi | Director/Producer |
2006 | Darna Zaroori Hai | Hindi | Director/Producer |
2007 | Nishabd | Hindi | Director/Producer |
2007 | Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag | Hindi | Director/Producer/Writer |
2007 | Darling | Hindi | Director |
2007 | Go | Telugu | Producer |
2008 | Sarkar Raj | Hindi | Director/Producer/Writer |
2008 | Contract | Hindi | Director |
2008 | Phoonk | Hindi | Director |
2009 | Agyaat | Hindi | Director/Producer |
2010 | Rann | Hindi | Director |
2010 | Rakta Charitra | Hindi, Telugu | Director |
2010 | Phoonk 2 | Hindi | Producer |
2011 | Katha Screenplay Darshakatvam Appalaraju | Telugu | Director/Writer |
2011 | Dongala Mutha | Telugu | Director |
2011 | Bejawada | Telugu | Producer/Writer |
2011 | Not a Love Story | Hindi | Director |
2012 | Department | Hindi | Director |
2012 | Bhoot Returns | Hindi | Director |
2013 | The Attacks of 26/11 | Hindi | Director/Writer |
2013 | Psycho | Telugu | Producer/Writer |
2013 | Satya 2 | Telugu/Hindi | Director |
2014 | Rowdy | Telugu | Director |