|
Name |
Ram Gopal Varma |
|
Nickname |
Ramu, RGV
|
|
|
Profession |
Writer, Director, Producer |
|
Date
of Birth |
7th April 1962 |
|
Birth Place |
Hyderabad, Bangalore |
|
Mother Tongue |
Telugu |
|
Zodiac Sign |
Aries |
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Nationality |
Indian |
|
Family |
Father – Krishnam Raju
Mother – Suryamma
|
|
Education |
College - B.E (Civil), V.R.Siddhartha Engineering College, Vijayawada |
|
Debut |
Director :
Telugu – Shiva (1989)
Hindi – Shiva (Re-make), Rangeela
Producer :
Money and Money Money
|
|
Languages known |
Telugu, Hindi, English |
|
Earlier Jobs |
* A site engineer in the construction of Hotel Krishna Oberoi in Hyderabad for a salary of Rs. 800 per month.
* Got an offer as an engineer at Nigeria for a salary of Rs.4000 per month. |
|
Rose to Fame |
Rangeela |
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Owns |
Varma Corporation Factory |
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Owned |
Video library shop in Hyderabad |
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Film Stars introduced by him |
Actors & Actress - Urmila, Manoj Bajpai, Aftab, Fardeen Khan, J.D Chakravarthy, Antra mali, Sumanth
Writers - Shukla and Anurag Kashyap
Music composers - Sandeep Chowta and Vishal Bharadwaj
|
|
Known for |
* Removing songs and dance sequences in his films frequently
* Introducing new actors and technicians in his films
* Unconventional style of filmmaking, his blunt and frank approach, his no nonsense attitude |
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Often makes use of |
Indian stage actors in his films
|
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Story behind his debut film
|
Actor Nagarjuna liked the narration of the script and energy displayed by him, and produced the movie himself. |
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Landmark film in Telugu industry
|
Shiva |
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Masterpiece
|
Shool |
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Very particular about
|
Background scores |
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Often criticizes
|
The popular Bollywood film fraternity |
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His films deal with
|
Contemporary and urban themes |
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Termed as
|
‘Ghost Director’ |
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Believes
|
There is currently much more talent in Mumbai than in the southern film cities like Chennai and Hyderabad |
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Goals in Life
|
To make films |
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Greatest Strength
|
* His willingness to experiment
* His taut narrative
* Slick direction |
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Admired Directors
|
Steven Spielberg, Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihlani, Basu Chaterjee, Ramsay brothers and Gulzar |
|
Most admired Director
|
Shekhar Kapoor |
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Favorite Indian Films
|
Kalyug, Ardh Satya, Rajnigandha, Mere Apne, Angoor and Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche |
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Primary responsibility of a Director
|
To entertain the audience |
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Popular for
|
His slick, grisly, horror and gangster films |
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Used to get excited on
|
Seeing his name in the ‘Directed by’ and ‘A Film by’ title cards |
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Assistant Directors
|
Krishna Vamsi, Teja, Y V S Chowdary, J D Chakravarthy, Madhur Bhandarkar, Rajat Mukherjee, E Niwas, Shiva Nageshwar Rao, Suresh Varma, Ramana, Shankar Suri, Uttej |
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Quotes
|
“Alcohol is not a bad habit.”
“A director is the one who has to use the talents of the cameraman, the music director, the dance director etc and amalgamate all the talents into a cohesive whole. As far as technique is concerned, you can learn in one day.” |
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About the reviews on him
|
“Why should I worry about what the faceless reviewer thinks about my film? If he doesn’t like it, there is nothing that I could do about it.” |
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His views
|
Abhishek Bachchan:
"He came in as Amitabh Bachchan's son, so the expectations were extraordinarily high. And then on top of all that he was made to do all those NRI films, which didn't suit him. But I think he is a very, very different actor from his father. Though there is a genetic likeness, their approach to a scene and mode of performance are remarkably different. Abhishek is extremely perceptive - his understanding of life is more contemporary than me or his dad's."
Amitabh Bachchan:
"Personally I don't like seeing him in a film like Black (2005). For me, he's a superstar - I'm not interested in seeing him as an actor, I want to see him larger-than-life. I'm not denying that he's a brilliant actor, but to me, his stardom is what his talent is all about. I think he's the only actor in Indian Cinema who can hold the camera without saying a word. He doesn't need camera props and technique to make him look magnetic. When he came, he grew on us. I didn't know who he was - then I saw him in Zanjeer (1973), _Deewar (1975)_and Sholay (1975)...his personality grew in my mind. If he'd followed up Zanjeer (1973) with Rajesh Khanna films, I doubt he'd be such a big star..."
A.R.Rahman :
"There is a bigness in Rahman's music. Every note reflects the mood of the song. The sitar interlude in the sad song Pyar Yeh jaane Kaisa Hai.. from Rangeela has so much depth. When I used to hear his music for my film I used to wonder if I was feeling my story as deeply as he was". |
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Awards
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* Nandi award from Government of Andhra Pradesh for Best Direction - 'Shiva' (1990) and 'Prema Katha' (1999)
* Nandi award from Government of Andhra Pradesh for Best Direction and Screenplay - 'Kshana kshanam' (1991)
* Best Story Award from Filmfare for Rangeela (1995)
* Best Movie Award (Critics) from Filmfare for Satya. (1998)
* Screen Award (Critics) for Best Direction from Filmfare for Company (2003)
* Prestigious Bimol Roy Award for Best Director, Satya (1998).
* Best Director award for Satya, Jungle, Company and Bhoot. |
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About him
|
E. Niwas : (Director)
'I owe my success to Ram Gopal Varma!'
Komal Nahta : (Trade analyst)
"A director so confident of his script that he makes it with absolute newcomers or even flop stars"
Ajay Devgan : (Actor)
"He comes with his homework done, knows every shot and dialogue and is clear about what he wants" |
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Facts |
* He and his uncle would often miss class for watching movies during the college days.
* He was a dropout from Siddhartha Engineering College.
* He started his career as a video library owner.
* He frequently casted Urmila Matondkar in his films.
* The first film-maker from South India to carve his place in Bollywood.
* Majority of his films is either set in a jungle and/or involves the Bombay underworld.
* He didn’t receive any support from his family.
* He doesn’t respect any film awards and never attends award functions, regardless of whether he is nominated.
* Director Manirathnam wrote screenplay for his telugu movie ‘Gaayam’
* His production company was originally named as ‘Varma Corporation Limited’.
* He was collaborated with composers Sandeep Chowta and Vishal Bharadwaj for a long time.
* He learned direction by watching films.
* He is the first director in Hindi cinema to have three releases in three successive months in the same year (Sarkar raj, Contract, Phoonk).
* He is ranked third in Bollywood's power list of directors.
* He is a co-producer of ‘Dil se’.
* He is an atheist.
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Personal Blog |
http://rgvarma.spaces.live.com/ |
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Email Id |
rgvblog@gmail.com
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