At any point, there are a thousand ideas swirling in Ram Gopal Varma?s mind. When he has a pressing need to turn an idea into a story, it?s the story that drives the genre he is going to tell it in. Through the years, Ramu, as he likes to be called ? ?it lets me get away with doing kiddish stuff,? he has explained in his blog ? has delved in many genres. He has done a film on student politics (Shiva); he has directed a gangster trilogy, Satya, Company, D (produced by him), one of the best to come out of Bollywood, frilly romantic films like (Rangeela and Mast), family dramas (Sarkar Raj 1 and 2), horror and supernatural thrillers (Raat, Bhoot, Phoonk) and done two remakes ? Sholay and Shiva ? which didn?t work. And yet, he is never defensive about his films ? ?I make films for myself,? he often claims, and after directing over two dozen films, he is obviously having a lot of fun. In his upcoming horror film, Agyaat ? The Unknown, Ramu went deep into Sri Lanka?s Sigiriya forests to shoot. Ramu talks to Sudipta Datta on how he convinced his 150-odd crew to shoot in the Sri Lankan jungles, what drives him to make films and why multiplexes are the best thing to happen to the film industry. Excerpts:
You are back to directing a horror flick?
Agyaat is not really a supernatural horror film. Hollywood makes a lot of these films, like Ridley Scott?s Alien or even the Blair Witch Project. But in my film, I don?t show who is the killer. It?s the story of a film crew, which goes to shoot in the jungle and are being targeted one by one. The people who are targeted see that unknown entity, but are killed, the audience never gets to see it. I wanted to create an interest in the unknown.
So you had fun with the camera and sound?
Yes, the challenge was to use the background scare to create the atmosphere of fear. I also used the camera at different angles to create the desired effect. I have played around with camera movements. I must say I really enjoyed making the film.
Why did you choose to shoot in the Sigiriya forests of Sri Lanka?
The jungle is the principle character in the film. If Agyaat is the hero, the jungle is the heroine. The Sigiriya forests have a character ? it?s scary almost, and it added to the look of the film considerably.
How did you convince the crew to shoot there? Because of the LTTE strife, even Hollywood has been staying away from the Sri Lankan jungles, once famous for the shooting of Bridge over the River Kwai?
The unit people were scared, they were 150 in all. But I told them you can die having dinner at Taj restaurant too. That convinced them to go. At the end of the day, we didn?t have the luxury of returning to a five-star hotel, we lived in tents in the forest, and that too added to the look and feel of the film.
Are you going to make a film on 26/11? After all, you did visit the hotel, creating quite a controversy?
Well, I never say never to anything, so who knows, I may make a film on terrorists holding a city to ransom. But after 26/11, I went to the Taj hotel out of curiosity, at that time, I had never thought I may do a film and so forth. The problem is people here have a lot of opinion and they like to air that opinion.
Do you think your films now have more of a chance to find an audience than ever before?
The multiplex phenomenon is helping a wide variety of films to release. Everyone has different tastes and sensibilities and with the multiplex, you can have one show too to showcase a film. Now, films have become like books ? each person can watch what he wants to see just like you can go to a bookshop and buy whatever you want to read.
You have dappled in many genres. Is there a favourite?
No, for me the most important thing is the story, that drives the genre I want to film in.
What are you working on next?
I never work on two films at a time. After Agyaat, I will turn to Rann, the shooting of which is over. Besides, I have a thousand stories to tell.
There?s a controversy over the use of the national anthem with new lyrics.
The song fitted with the subject matter I chose. The issue is with the tribunal now.