Happy birthday, Ram Gopal Varma: Revisiting his cult classic movies
Writer-director-producer Ram Gopal Varma is credited with churning out some of the most influential and genre-defining movies in his career. His work is usually complex, multilayered, filled with nuance, close to reality, experimental, pioneering, and backed by surefooted performances—ingredients required to deliver critically and commercially laudable ventures. On his 61st birthday, we revisit some movies that have turned him into the brand RGV.
'Rangeela'
Urmila Matondkar, who headlined Rangeela, went on to become Varma's blue-eyed girl and collaborated with him on several critically and commercially successful projects. The best part about Rangeela was the way Matondkar's ambition took centerstage and the men in her life encouraged her, rather than trying to bring her down. Rangeela is said to be one of the movies that altered Hindi cinema's course.
'Satya'
Satya is often called Hindi cinema's best gangster film and it starred Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee, JD Chakravarthy, and Shefali Shah. It narrated the story of the titular gangster Satya (Chakravarthy), who comes to Mumbai for work but gets embroiled in the nexus of crime and the underworld. Satya made Bajpayee an overnight star and his character Bhiku Mhatre is one for the acting books.
'Kaun?'
Headlined by Matondkar, Bajpayee, and Sushant Singh, Kaun? is the perfect example of a chamber film—shot entirely in one location and starring only three characters. The atmospheric tension in the movie lent in the required eerie, disturbing feel, and Varma extracted the best out of all the three actors in this fast-paced thriller film that keeps you guessing till the final frame.
'Company'
Company, a gangster drama film starring Ajay Devgn, Mohanlal, Seema Biswas, Antara Mali, and Vivek Oberoi, is another movie that speaks volumes about the kind of penchant Varma has for complex stories. Dubbed the spiritual sequel to Satya, it is a part of Varma's gangster trilogy, with the third one being D, starring Randeep Hooda and Yashpal Sharma. Company is streaming on ZEE5.
