Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma highlighted how unpredictable the business of making films is, by citing the example of the controversial blockbuster The Kerala Story, and its follow-up, The Bastar Story, which was completely ‘ignored’ by audiences. RGV said that his biggest hits have been unplanned, while the movies that he has tried to manufacture into hits have flopped. In an interview, the filmmaker said that nobody has the answer for what’ll work and what won’t, but the trick, according to him, is to work quickly and in a cost-effective manner.
Chatting with Baradwaj Rangan on Galatta Plus, the filmmaker recalled something that the Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman once told him. He said, “Rahman told me that sometimes, when he’s making a tune, he thinks that it’ll be the blockbuster of the year. But when the song comes out, people ignore it. They don’t even call it bad, they pretend like it doesn’t even exist. There are umpteen examples to prove this. In my own case, all my hit films are accidents, and my flops are intentional.”
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RGV said that The Kerala Story is one of the best films that he has seen in years, but he was shocked to learn that the same team made a follow-up that didn’t work. “I was very, very happy with this film, The Kerala Story. It’s one of the best films I’ve seen in many years. I spoke to the director, I spoke to the producer, I spoke to the actress. Then, I was shocked to know that the next film came, released, and went, and I wasn’t even aware of it.” RGV said that there is no explanation for what happened, as the first film made over Rs 300 crore and generated lots of conversation, but the second film ‘comes and everyone ignores it’.
RGV continued with a giggle, “This goes back to the same Rahman theory. You simply don’t know. The only answer is Socrates’ line: ‘the only thing I know is nothing’.” The filmmaker said that Indian directors don’t respect their audience, and present them with ‘proposal films’ designed to serve a star’s ego, over something more meaningful and memorable. The Kerala Story was widely criticised for promoting propaganda, and Ram Gopal Varma has shared similarly controversial opinions about Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, calling it one of the boldest films he has seen coming from India.
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