Dongala Mutha
File:Dmmovieposter.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ram Gopal Varma
Produced by	Kiran Kumar Koneru
Written by	Nilesh Girkar
Starring	Ravi Teja Charmme Kaur Sunil Prakash Raj Lakshmi Manchu Bramhanandam Subbaraju Brahmaji Supreet
Music by	Sathyam (Theme Song) Amar Mohile (BGM)
Cinematography	FX School and VFX @ FX
Editing by	FX School and VFX @ FX
Studio	Shreya Production & Dreamforce
Release date(s)	18 March 2011 (2011-03-18)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	‹See Tfd› India
Language	Telugu
Budget	6,50,000 $14,500 (estimated)

Dongala Mutha (Telugu: దొంగల ముఠా; English: Gang of Thieves) is a Telugu-language film directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The film stars Ravi Teja, Charmme Kaur, Prakash Raj, Lakshmi Manchu, Bramhanandam, Subbaraju, Supreet and Ajay. This film is the first of its kind in Indian cinema as it was shot with just 7 crew members and in a record of 5 days. Prior to filming, Varma announced that this film has no budget and that the cast and crew will not be taking remunerations until the film hits theaters. Puri Jagannadh is co-director while director S. Harish Shankar (Mirapakaya fame) is associate director.^[1] Music is by Sathyam while the Background Score has been rendered by Amar Mohile of Sarkar Raj fame.

Dongala Mutha was released on March 18, 2011, which was exactly 33 days after the 5 days of shoot ended, but was a critical and commercial failure. The filmmaking process was revolutionized through Canon 5D cameras, a first of its kind.^[2]

Production[link]

Development[link]

Normally a film takes between 60 to 120 days to shoot and more than 150 to 200 crew members will be working on it. However, the unique thing about this film is that this 2 hour long feature film will be completed in just 5 days from start to finish, with a crew of just 5 people including Ram Gopal Varma. No one in this film is going to be paid. It is being made only with those actors and technicians who are excited to be a part of the project. All the people who are working for the film will only be paid after the release, if and only if the film makes profits and those payments will be in accordance with their individual value additions.

There will be no generator, no lights, no equipments of any sort including jibs, trolleys etc., as the entire film will be shot hand-held and in natural light. The pilot track for the sound will be recorded by the cameras themselves.

Filming[link]

The innovative challenge of using Canon cameras as opposed to the traditional movie cameras was first technically proved before shooting commenced by making a test print out of a few scenes shot that came out perfectly. Principal photography then started on February 9, 2011^[3] and the entire shooting of Dongala Mutha was completed ahead of schedule. The entire film was shot hand held and in natural light with 5 Canon cameras which were used to capture every shot in 5 different angles simultaneously. No lights or equipment of any sort including jibs, trolleys etc. were used. There was no D.O.P for the film and all the individual operators chose the angles or compositions without the director or anyone guiding or coordinating them.

Canon 5D cameras were used because they give excellent output with naked-eye quality without using any additional lights. It costs around 1.5 lakhs to buy each of these cameras. The film was wrapped up in a record four and a half days, earlier than the announced five days and was released on March 18. Finally, Ram Gopal Varma revealed in a press conference at the Promo Launch that the production cost of the movie is just 6,50,000, mostly for renting out a premise and other miscellaneous expenses.^[4]

Plot[link]

A couple Sudheer (Ravi Teja) and Rani (Charmme Kaur) are traveling in a car on a deserted road on their way to attend a friend’s marriage. They take a short cut to reach the marriage but suddenly the car conks out and they end up in a old, dilapidated and a seedy resort. They meet a weird hotel staff member, Subbaraju, who claims that he is The Receptionist. He tells them that the hotel is full. Another guy, who calls himself The Manager (Supreet), tells that one room is vacant and they are alloted room number 8. Inside the hotel Sudheer and Rani realize that the room has not been cleaned for many days. When they order for lunch, the resort staff bring the menu but they say that nothing is available. Sudheer shouts at the hotel staff and they tell him that he can take their car and drive to a nearby village where he can get a mechanic but they tell him that he cannot take his wife along with him. Sudheer gets irritated and asks them to get out. And soon, both hear some weird sounds from the next room. But to their surprise that adjacent room is locked. Sudheer slowly starts realizing that he and Rani are getting more and more trapped in a do or die situation.

When asked The Receptionist tells them that the source of the sound from the neighboring room is a Ghost. But The Manager says it is not a ghost but a thief. Frightened at their gestures, Sudheer and Rani try to get out of the resort, but the manager, receptionist and a servant (Brahmaji) hold them captive and keep Rani in room number 9 - the same room as the one with the Ghost. However, Sudheer and Rani manage to escape from them but are trapped in the same building. The three men at the resort Supreet, Brahmaji and Subbaraju who claim to be workers at the resort are actually kidnappers working for a don who calls himself Munna Bhai. They have kidnapped a businessman Narayana Murthy (Brahmanandam) and locked him up in room number 9. To solve the kidnap mystery cops Shiva (Lakshmi Manchu) and Richard (Sunil) arrive at the resort feigning to convey the message that Munna Bhai who leads their gang is arrested. What ensues now is a game of hide and seek as Sudheer, Rani and Narayana Murthy are now on the run. Finally, Prakash Raj arrives as a cop-on-duty to arrest The Mutha, later revealing himself to be the don Munna Bhai who is the actual mastermind in the kidnap drama.

Cast[link]

Dongala Muta Promo Poster

• Ravi Teja as Sudheer
• Charmee Kaur as Rani
• Sunil as Richard
• Prakash Raj as Munna Bhai
• Lakshmi Manchu as Shiva
• Bramhanandam as The Ghost/Businessman
• Subbaraju as The Receptionist
• Brahmaji as The Servant
• Supreet as The Manager

Crew[link]

The seven member crew on location consisted of the Director, an Assistant Director and 5 Camera operators and the unit breakup is as follows:

Reception[link]

The film bombed miserably at box office making it the least successful movie in entire Ravi Teja career. The movie was critically panned by the critics.

Trivia[link]

1. Total no. of shooting days were just 5 in comparison to any normal film taking anywhere between 60 to 120 days.
2. Total no. of shooting crew were just 7 members that is Director, Asst. Director and Five Camera operators in comparison to any film having 150 to 200 members.
3. There was no D.O.P for the film because there were no lights used and hence there was no concept of lighting and the composition of shots and the angles were independently chosen by the 5 camera operators by themselves without having any co-ordination with each other and hence there was no need for a supervising D.O.P
4. None of the camera operators were ever on a film set before.
5. The whole cost of the camera dept. for the film is just Rs.65,000 including cameras and operators in comparison to a normal film where with this kind of cast, the cost will be at least between 75 Lakhs to 1.5 Crores.
6. The entire editing for the film has been done by 3 editors on a shift basis on 3 Mac computers sitting in two small rooms.
7. All the post production work like background score, colour corrections etc. were done in small rooms without going to any studio.

[edit] The Making Video

Ram Gopal Varma's main idea for making Dongala Mutha is to explain to the world that a film need not have a whole bunch of technicians taking care of camera work but could be done with just Canon 5D cameras. He has revealed his idea at the end of the film with the ‘The Making of Dongala Mutha’ video. How the FX School students have used the hand held cameras and shot the film without using regular cranes and other machinery, how Varma himself has looked after everything instead of making use of assistant directors, associate directors, managers and make-up artistes, light boys and others, etc., forms the plot of the 2 minute 34 seconds video. He has penned the dialogues to the characters and has tried to derive comedy by repeating the same dialogues between the characters. The video also reveals the action choreography to have been handled by Varma himself. Music for the video is by 'Deyyam' fame Sathyam.

Soundtrack[link]

Composer Sathyam scored the film's title track, his second collaboration with Ram Gopal Varmaafter Deyyam. The music video for the song was picturised on the cast which included Ravi Teja, Charmme Kaur, Lakshmi Manchu, Sunil, Subbaraju, Brahmaji, Prakash Raj, Brahmanandamand Supreet by noted director S. Harish Shankar at the deserted Aluminium Factory in Gachibowli, Hyderabad. The song was shot completely on Canon DSLRCamera in one day.

External links[link]

• Official website
• Dongala Mutha ReviewUmpire.com
• Cinegoer.com Review

References[link]

Ravi Teja (born Bhupatiraju Ravi Shankar Raju on 26 January 1968) is an Indian Telugu film actor. He won the Nandi Award for Best Actor for the film Neninthe in 2008. He has acted in other films including Avunu Valliddaru Ista Paddaru, Idiot, Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi, Venky, Bhadra, Vikramarkudu, Krishna, Kick, and Mirapakaay. These successful films have established him within a short period of time as one of the leading actors in Tollywood.

Early life[link]

Ravi Teja was born as Bhupatiraju Ravishankar Raju to father Bhupatiraju Rajgopal Raju and mother Rajya Lakshmi Bhupatiraju on 26 January 1968 in the Indian village of Jaggampeta, Andhra Pradesh, India. Ravi Teja's father was a pharmacist and mother was a homemaker. He is the eldest of three sons and the other two Bharath and Raghu are also actors. Ravi Teja spent most of his childhood in Northern India because his father used to move very often due to his work. Due to that, his schooling was done in Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai and Bhopal. Ravi Teja completed his schooling at N.S.M. public school. Later on he moved to Vijayawada along with his family and completed his Bachelors in Arts at Siddhartha Degree College. From early child hood Ravi Teja had dreamt of acting in films. As a result, in 1988 he went to Chennai to start his career in films.

Personal life[link]

Ravi Teja got married to Kalyani in 2002.^[1] The couple have two children, Mokshadha (b. 2003) and Mahadhan (b. 2006).^[2] He is known to be good friends with Puri Jagannadh.

Career[link]

Early career (1990-1996)[link]

In the following years of his arrival to Chennai, Ravi Teja struggled to get even a small opportunity to prove himself at acting. Strong willed, Ravi never gave up on his dream to be an actor. Y. V. S. Chowdary and Gunasekhar were his roommates during struggling days^[3] Finally after few years of struggle, he began his career with small roles in films like Karthavyam (1991),^[4] Chaitanya (1991) and Aaj Ka Goonda Raj (1992). After gaining few years of experience, Ravi became an assistant director. He worked in both television and films. As an assistant director, he worked in several Bollywood as well as Telugu projects including Prathibandh, Aaj Ka Goondaraj, and Criminal.^[5] He met Krishna Vamsi and worked as an assistant director under him for the 1996 hit film Ninne Pelladutha. Vamsi also gave Ravi an opportunity to act in a small role in that film. He continued to work as an assistant director for few other films.^[6]

[edit] Sindhooram, Nee Kosam and breakthrough (1997-2000)

In 1997, while still working as an assistant director, Ravi got an opportunity to act in the film Sindhooram directed by Krishna Vamsi. Vamsi cast Ravi as one of the lead actors. The film was critically acclaimed and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. Ravi Teja's performance was critically acclaimed and was appreciated by the movie-goers. This was the turning point for Ravi's acting career.

Following the fame he got, he continued acting in small yet significant roles in films like Seetharamaraju, Padutha Teeyaga, Manasichhi Choodu and S. V. Krishna Reddy's Premaku Velayara. He became well known to Telugu movie-goers with these films and was acclaimed for his acting. In 1999, he was cast in a leading role by Srinu Vaitla for Nee Kosam co-starring Maheswari. The film was critically acclaimed and won the Silver Nandi for Best Film. Ravi Teja won the prestigious Nandi Award for Best Actor Special Jury for his performance. This was Ravi's first award. Following this, he started appearing in more significant roles such as Krishna Vamsi's Samudram, Chiranjeevi's Annayya and Budget Padmanabham. He also appeared in lead roles in multi-starrer films such as Kshemanga Velli Labanga Randi, Tirumala Tirupathi Venkatesa, Sakuntumba Sapari Vare Sametham and Ammayi Kosam.

Lead roles and success (2001–2005)[link]

In 2001, Ravi Teja's association with Puri Jagannadh began when the later cast Ravi as the lead role in Itlu Sravani Subramanyam. The movie was a commercial hit and got Ravi Teja much required success as a solo lead actor. For the second time, Ravi Teja won the Nandi Special Jury Award for his performance. In 2002, his next film Avunu Valliddaru Ista Paddaru, directed by Vamsy and co-starring Kalyani was released. The film was a successful at the box office and won Ravi lot of acclaim. The year also saw Ravi in Idiot. Directed by Puri Jagannadh and co-starring Rakshita, the film was a blockbuster hit and Ravi's performance and dialogue delivery were praised by critics and movie-goers alike. With three consecutive successes, Ravi Teja became a big name in Telugu cinema.

The year also saw the release of Krishna Vamsi's Khadgam. Ravi Teja was cast as one of the lead actors. The movie was a huge success at the box office and won Sarojini Devi Award for a Film on National Integration. Ravi's portrayal of a young wannabe actor won him the Nandi Special Jury Award for the third time and his performance was praised^[7]. In 2003, Ravi again worked with director Puri Jagannadh for Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi. The film co-starring Asin became a blockbuster hit and Jeevi of idlebrain praised him:"Ravi Teja did well. His strength lies in his dialogue delivery and reckless body language"^[8]. The year also saw Ravi working in commercially successful films like Dongodu, co-starring Kalyani and directed by Bheemineni Srinivas and Veede, co-starring Aarthi Agarwal and directed by Ravi Raja Pinisetty. In the same year, Ravi was also seen in films like Ee Abbayee Chala Manchodu, Anveshana and Oka Raju Oka Rani, which failed to do well at the box office.

In 2004, Raviteja was seen in Venky, co-starring Sneha. The film was directed by Srinu Vaitla, who previously made the critically acclaimed Nee Kosam with Ravi. The film was commercially successful and was declared a hit, Idlebrain wrote:"His comedy is very good in the first half. His antics with Siddanthi and the way he curses himself in front of the mirror is hilarious"^[9]. The same year saw Ravi acting in Naa Autograph, co-starring Gopika and Bhumika Chawla. The film was directed by cinematographer turned director S. Gopal Reddy. It was successful at box office and Ravi won accolades for his performance in the film especially a critic wrote:"Ravi Teja delivers a stunning performance as a dejected lover"^[10]. The same year had Ravi in Chanti. The film was directed by Sobhan and was a failure at the box office. In 2005, Ravi was seen in commercially successful hit Bhadra. It was directed by Boyapati Srinu and Ravi was paired alongside Meera Jasmine. He was also seen in Bhageeratha, directed by Rasool Ellore and co-starring Shriya Saran; the film performed well at the box office. He also worked in the crime film Shock, directed by Harish Shankar and co-starring Jyothika and produced by Ram Gopal Varma, the film was unsuccessful at the box-office.

Commercial stardom (2006–2010)[link]

In 2006, Raviteja worked with director S. S. Rajamouli for Vikramarkudu. Co-starring Anushka Shetty, the film became a blockbuster hit, Jeevi praised his performance:"Vikramarkudu is the best film of Ravi Teja so far in histrionics aspect. He did both characters of Athali Sathi Babu and Vikram Rathod equally well, His mannerism of ‘jintata’ is simply superb"^[11]. Later in 2006, Raviteja was seen in Khatarnak, directed by Amma Rajasekhar and co-starring Ileana D'Cruz, the film was unsuccessful and bombed at the box office. In 2007, Raviteja was seen working for the third time with director Srinu Vaitla for Dubai Seenu. Co-starring Nayantara, the film was very successful at the box office and was declared a hit. The year also saw Ravi doing a cameo in Chiranjeevi's Shankar Dada Zindabad. In 2008, Raviteja was seen in the blockbuster hit Krishna. Co-starring Trisha Krishnan and directed by V. V. Vinayak, the film was released for Sankranthi and performed very well at the box office. In August 2008, Raviteja was seen in Baladur. The film was declared a flop and was unsuccessful at the box office. Later in the year, Ravi again collaborated with director Puri Jagganath for Neninthe. Although the film was not successful at the box office, Ravi Teja's portrayal of an upcoming assistant director in the film won him the prestigious Nandi Award for Best Actor. This was Ravi's fourth time winning the Nandi award.

In 2009, Raviteja worked with director Surender Reddy for Kick. Co-starring Ileana D'Cruz, the film was declared a blockbuster and performed amazingly well at the box office. Later that summer, he was seen in Anjaneyulu. The film had an average run at the box office. In 2010, he was seen in the multi-starrer Shambo Shiva Shambo alongside Allari Naresh, Siva Balaji and Priyamani — a remake of 2009 Tamil hit film Naadodigal. The Telugu version was unsuccessful although Ravi won accolades for his performance. The year also saw Raviteja in the film Don Seenu, directed by Gopichand Malineni. Co-starring Shriya Saran, it was very successful at the box office and was declared as one of the biggest hits of 2010.

"Mass Maharaja" and current work (2011–present)[link]

In 2011, Ravi Teja was seen in blockbuster hit film Mirapakaay, directed by Harish Shankar. Co-starring Richa Gangopadhyay and Deeksha Seth, it performed very well at the box office. Ravi was credited as "Mass Maharaja" for this film, implying his massive following in rural areas of Andhra Pradesh: "Mass Maharaj" Ravi Teja. The year had him acting in the experimental film Dongala Mutha under the direction of Ram Gopal Varma. With a crew of only eight people including Varma, filming was completed within five days^[12] and was made with a budget of 6.5 lakh budget.^[13] Later that year, Ravi Teja appeared in Veera, directed by Ramesh Varma and co-starring Kajal Aggarwal and Taapsee Pannu. The film received mixed reviews and had an average run at the box office. He also did a cameo in Ram Gopal Varma's Katha Screenplay Darshakatvam Appalaraju. In 2012, Ravi was seen in Nippu under the direction of Gunasekhar. Produced by YVS Chowdary and co-starring Deeksha Seth, the film was released on 17 February 2012. The film received mixed reviews upon release. The year will also see Ravi Teja in Daruvu, directed by Souryam fame Shiva and co-starring Taapsee Pannu. The movie is scheduled to be released on 25 May 2012. Ravi Teja will collaborate again with Puri Jagannadh for the film Devudu Chesina Manushulu, co-starring Ileana D'Cruz. The movie is expected to begin filming in March 2012 and be released in June 2012. Apart from these Ravi Teja will be seen in an untitled Venkat Prabhu project. It is said to have Ravi Teja as the other protagonist and belongs to the buddy cop genre.^[14]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ravi Teja at the Internet Movie Database

Penmatsa Subbaraju is an actor and fighter in Tollywood. He acted in many hit Tollywood films like Amma Nanna O Tamil Ammayi,Arya and Pokiri. He is currently trying to turn as a character artist from his fighter image.

Back Ground[link]

Subbaraju was born in Bhimavaram, to Penmatsa Ramakrishnam Raju and Vijayalakshmi. He has one elder Brother Pullam Raju, who is working as a Sanskrit Lecturer. Subbaraju did his education in D. N. R. College, Bhimavaram. He did his Bachelors Degree in Mathematics and after that he did some computer courses and joined with Dell Computers, Hyderabad.

Film career[link]

Subbaraju's introduction to the cinema world was a happy accident. Renowned Tollywood director Krishna Vamsi's personal assistant asked him to fix computer issue for Krishna Vamsi's personal computer. After going to Krishna Vamsi's house, Subbaraju was offered a small role in Krishna Vamsi's Khadgam movie.

Popular Roles[link]

1. Subbaraju made his debut in Tollywood in Good Night (First Night), Khadgam, and the super hit film Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi, directed by Puri Jagannadh. In this movie, he played the role of a boxer, who fights with the hero in the climax and is defeated. This role brought him good opportunities to star as a fighter/small negative shade roles in subsequent films.
2. Subbaraju played a powerful role in the movie Arya, a henchman who will do anything for his boss. In one scene the heroine slaps him, leading him to consider killing his boss' son to exact his revenge. The boss' son is played by Siva Balaji.
3. He played a prominent role in Nenunnanu as Sreya's cheating lover.
4. Subbaraju played another role as a land settlement mafia gangster in Nayar; in the movie Pokiri, he attempts to kill hero Mahesh Babu, but towards the end he is killed by the hero.
5. Although he wants to do different types of roles, he is mainly offered villain/negative role because of his physique.
6. Currently, he is rumored to don different roles in Tollywood, Kollywood as well as Bollywood.
7. Subbaraju is turning from villain to hero in the remake of Kannada Film Duniya,^[1] which was one of the biggest hits in Sandalwood, the Kannada film industry in 2007. Malli will direct the film.
8. Subbaraju has been in transitional phase from negative to a redeeming character in movies lately, for example: Bindaas.
9. His most famous role to date is in "Leader," where he won over fans with his solid performance.

References[link]

Filmography[link]

Ram Gopal Varma
Born	Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (1962-04-07) 7 April 1962 (age 50) Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Occupation	Film director, producer and writer
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Ratna (divorced)
Website
rgvzoomin.com

Ram Gopal Varma also known as RGV (born 7 April 1962) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer. Varma has directed, written and produced films across multiple genres — psychological thrillers, underworld gang warfare, road movies, horrors, politician-criminal nexus, and musicals in multiple languages.

He gained recognition in Bollywood with the Hindi film, Shiva premiered at International Film Festival of India in kolkata^[1] and Rangeela (1995). The next film he directed was Satya (1998), which won six Filmfare Awards, including the Critics Award for Best Film, and was show cased among the Indian panorama section, at the 1998 International Film Festival of India.^[2] Satya, together with his 2002 film Company (which he directed and which won seven Filmfare Awards) and the 2005 film D (which he produced), form an "Indian gangster trilogy".

Other acclaimed films that Varma directed include Kshana Kshanam (1991), Gaayam (1993), Anaganaga Oka Roju (1997), Prema Kadha (1999), Kaun (1999), Jungle (2000), Bhoot (2003), Sarkar (2005), Sarkar Raj (2008), Rakta Charitra (2010) Katha Screenplay Darshakatvam Appalaraju (2011) and Dongala Mutta (2011).^[3]

Early years[link]

Ram Gopal Varma was born in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India to Krishnam Raju Penmetsa and Suryavathi Raju Penmetsa.

In an interview to Tehelka, Varma talked about his relationship with his parents and the reasons behind his decision to become a filmmaker.

From my parents’ perspective, I looked like a useless bum. It was the truth. I had no objective. I was just fascinated by people, so I used to study their behaviour. I was most fascinated by the bullies in my classroom. They were like gangsters for me. They had the guts to push around people, do things I couldn’t— perhaps did not even want to do myself. But I’d want a friend like that (laughs). I used to adulate them like heroes. That was my first touch with anti-socialism. Over a period of time, I developed a low-angle fascination for larger than life people. I was always a loner — not because I was unhappy, but because I live away from myself, not just others. I like to study myself — the way I am walking, talking, behaving. My constant obsession with studying myself and other people is perhaps the primary motivation for me to be a filmmaker.^[4]

Varma completed BE in civil engineering from V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College, Vijayawada. Even during this period, Varma remained a film buff, through his uncle. Varma would skip classes often and watch films instead. He would watch the same film repeatedly "just to watch certain scenes which interested him."^[5] According to him, that is how he learned film direction.

After a brief stint as a site engineer for Krishna Oberoi hotel in Hyderabad, he put his dreams on the back burner and decided to go to Nigeria to make some money. It was at this moment that he visited a video rental library in Hyderabad. He loved the idea and decided to start one of his own at Ameerpet in Hyderabad, through which he slowly developed connections with the film world.^[6] Without being successful as a fourth assistant director in B. Gopal's film Collector Gari Abbai, Varma directly ventured into film direction, in Nagarjuna's 1989 movie Shiva.^[7]

Career in Telugu cinema[link]

Ram Gopal Varma in the sets of a Telugu film

Before Varma started his career in the Telugu film industry, he lingered on the sets of films such as Raogaarillu and Collectorgari Abbai. His father was a sound recordist at Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad which is owned by Akkineni Nageswara Rao. Varma managed to meet Nagarjuna and narrated a scene to the actor which impressed him.^[8] The result of their collaboration was a film on the criminalization of student politics — Siva. It was a blockbuster with Varma demonstrating his technical expertise and storytelling skills. The success of the film in Telugu led to a Hindi remake with similar success.^[9]

Varma's next film was Kshana Kshanam with Venkatesh and Sridevi which got him noticed by Bollywood critics. It was dubbed into Hindi as Hairaan. Then he made films such as Raatri and Antham. While Gaayam with Jagapathi Babu and Anaganaga Oka Roju with J.D. Chakravarthy were successful, Govindha Govindha with Nagarjuna and Sridevi proved to be a moderate success at the box office.^[10] During this period, Varma produced films such as Money and Money Money and was the screenwriter for Mani Ratnam's Tamil movie Thiruda Thiruda.

Career in Hindi cinema[link]

While Varma's first successful Hindi film was the remake of Siva. His next film was Drohi. What really put the spotlight on him was the blockbuster Rangeela.^[11] The film won Filmfare Awards for Rahman and Shroff. According to Varma, it was dedicated to actress Sridevi.^[12] His next film Daud (1997), however, sank without a trace.^[9]

In 1998, Varma was an executive producer for Dil Se.., directed by Mani Ratnam and starring Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala and Preity Zinta. The film won the NETPAC Award for Special Mention at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as two National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards.^[13]

Indian gangster trilogy[link]

In 1998 came his masterpiece, the critically acclaimed Satya, based on the Mumbai underworld. A script written by Anurag Kashyap and Saurabh Shukla, music by Vishal Bharadwaj and Sandeep Chowta, acclaimed performances by J. D. Chakravarthy, Manoj Bajpai and Urmila Matondkar, and Varma's directorial and technical brilliance, contributed to a landmark. The film won six Filmfare Awards, including the Critics Award for Best Film.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002 came his greatest commercial as well as critical success, Company, again set against the backdrop of the Mumbai underworld, in which he cut off the song-and-dance sequences, common in Bollywood films at the time. It was based on the real-life underworld organization, the D-Company.^{[citation needed]} It won seven Filmfare Awards and earned him a Filmfare Best Director Award nomination. Mohanlal debuted in Bollywood with this film.^{[citation needed]}

A prequel to Company was made in 2005: D, produced by Varma and directed by Vishram Sawant. Satya, Company and D are together considered an "Indian gangster trilogy".^{[citation needed]} Satya and Company, in particular, were cited by British director Danny Boyle as influences on his Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), for their "slick, often mesmerizing portrayals of the Mumbai underworld", their display of "brutality and urban violence", and their gritty realism.^[14][15][16]

Experimental films[link]

During the years between his trilogy, from Satya in 1998 to D in 2005,^[17] Varma experimented with different film genres. In 1999, he directed Kaun, a suspense thriller set entirely in one house and featuring only three actors, and Mast, a subversion of the Hindi cinema's masala genre.^[18] In 2000, he directed Jungle, set entirely in a jungle, for which he was nominated for the Star Screen Award for Best Director.

Following the success of Company in 2002, Varma's next film as director was Bhoot (2003), a psychological horror film, which was a major success. It starred Ajay Devgan and Urmila Matondkar, who earned a number of awards for her performance. Varma himself was nominated for the Filmfare Best Director Award for the film.

Following the success of Bhoot, Varma produced two other experimental films: Sriram Raghavan's Ek Hasina Thi (2003), a psychological thriller, and Shimit Amin's Ab Tak Chhappan (2004), a film about an inspector in the Mumbai Encounter Squad famous for having killed 56 people in police encounters.^[19] In 2005, Varma was nominated for the Zee Cine Award for Best Producer of the Year.^{[citation needed]}

Later films[link]

Varma's next film as director was Sarkar, released in June 2005, starring Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek. Amitabh played the character of Sarkar who is a self-righteous and powerful businessman cum social worker, while Abhishek played his son. Sarkar was a loose adaptation of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather.^[20] Sarkar went on to become a critically acclaimed box office hit.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, his next film as director was Shiva, which premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival, where a retrospective featuring several of his previous movies was staged. Alongside Shiva, the festival screened his earlier successful films Company, Ek Hasina Thi and Ab Tak Chhappan. While these three were praised,^[19] Shiva was a critical and commercial failure. In 2007, he directed Nishabd, followed by the ambitious Sholay remake, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, as well as Darling. All three were critical and box office disasters.^{[citation needed]}

He was written off by the media and public until June 2008, when he reclaimed, to some extent, his lost reputation with his much hyped venture, Sarkar Raj, a sequel to Sarkar; it was a average and met with good reviews. The primary cast featured Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan reprising their roles from the prequel alongside Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Supriya Pathak, Tanisha Mukherjee and Ravi Kale reappeared in their respective roles from Sarkar. Unlike Sarkar, which was loosely adapted from The Godfather, Sarkar Raj had an original plot.

Phoonk (2008) was another horror film movie which was met with mixed to negative reviews. However, the film was a success compared to its minuscule budget.^{[citation needed]} Agyaat, which released on 7 August 2009, was again a commercial as well as critical failure. Next was Rann, a film about the media. It had Amitabh Bachchan, Kannada actor Sudeep, Ritesh Deshmukh and Paresh Rawal. Released on 29 January 2010, it was praised by some critics but was a commercial disaster. Then he began the promotion works for Phoonk 2, a sequel of Phoonk, which was released on April 16, 2010.

Next came Rakta Charitra, in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi languages. The movie was based upon the faction backdrop of the Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh. As it lasted about five hours, the film was released in two parts, with a gap of three months. It depicts the life of slain political leader Paritala Ravindra, played by Vivek Oberoi, with Tamil actor Surya Sivakumar, enacting the role of Maddelacheruvu Suri, Shatrughan Sinha, playing N. T. Rama Rao. Radhika Apte and Priyamani star in other pivotal roles. The film released to a good opening following Varma's clever pre-release marketing using the controversy surrounding the main characters to his advantage. A fortnight after the release, Maddelacheruvu Suri was shot fatally. Though the movie could not get a good reputation in Hindi and Tamil, it gained positive reviews in Telugu and the critics said "RGV is back".

Varma's latest release had comedian Sunil as the lead. The film was titled Katha Screenplay Darshakatvam Appalaraju (Story Screenplay Direction Appalraju in English). It is said to be a satire on the Telugu film industry mainly targeting directors. One song covered almost all directors like Raghavendra Rao, E.V.V., Kodi Ramakrishna, B. Gopal, S.S. Rajamouli, Sreenu Vaitla, Puri Jagannadh, Vinayak and Boyapati Seenu. On 25 February 2011, Varma reportedly filed a complaint against a Telugu news channel in Hyderabad.^{[citation needed]}

Varma has announced another horror film titled Amma 3D. It will be the first 3D horror film made in India and is reported to have Ritesh Deshmukh in a significant role.^{[citation needed]}

Varma has roped in Amitabh Bachchan for the lead role in his yet-to-be-filmed Department, the plot of which shall revolve around the internal politics of the police department. He has been quoted saying that this film may be considered as "the other side of Company." Sanjay Dutt and Rana Daggubati are reportedly going to play supporting roles. It is a much anticipated collaboration of Sanjay Dutt with the director after their earlier venture Daud.^{[citation needed][21]}

Autobiography[link]

Varma wrote an autobiography titled Na Ishtam, which discusses his thoughts, opinions and ramu style philosophy.'Naa Ishtam' was released on December 2010) at Taj Banjara, Hyderabad. Vijayawada MP and RGV's friend Lagadapati Rajagopal launched the book.

Awards[link]

Filmfare Awards

• Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie - Satya (1998)
• Filmfare Best Story Award - Rangeela (1995)

Filmfare Awards South

• Filmfare Best Director Award (Telugu) - Siva (1989)

Nandi Awards

• Nandi Award for Best Director - Siva (1989)
• Nandi Award for Best Director - Kshana Kshanam (1991)
• Nandi Award for Best Director - Gaayam (1993)
• Nandi Award for Best Director - Prema Kadha (1999)^[22]

Bollywood Movie Awards

Bollywood Movie Award – Best Director

• Satya (1998)
• Jungle (2000)
• Company (2002)
• Bhoot (2003)

Filmography[link]

As director[link]

As producer[link]

As writer[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ram Gopal Varma

• Ram Gopal Varma's Official Blog
• Ram Gopal Varma at the Internet Movie Database
• Ram Gopal Varma profile at Gomolo.in
• Interview with RGV
• Ram Gopal Varma At Taj by Chance
• Timesofindia.indiatimes.com