'Rann' is a men's film: Ram Gopal Varma

Mumbai, Jan 5 (IANS) Director Ram Gopal Varma describes his forthcoming movie as a 'men's film' and says it was natural for Amitabh Bachchan to spearhead the show in the promos of the movie.

'Isn't that obvious? With the kind of personality and the stardom that he enjoys, it is but natural that Amitabh Bachchan would be spearheading the entire film,' Varma told IANS.

If one goes by the film's synopsis, there are other characters like Sudeep, Riteish Deshmukh, Mohnish Behl, Paresh Rawal and Rajat Kapoor who have been described to be quite important. What sort of space and time has Varma managed to create for these characters?

'Every other character is important; otherwise it wouldn't have found place in the film. There won't be any character that would feel short-changed or left out in the film,' said Varma.

Where do Neetu Chandra, Gul Panag, Suchitra Krishnamurthy or Simone Singh fit in?

'Women are supporting characters in 'Rann' which is indeed a men's film. They may not be directly involved in the conspiracy or the entire drama that ensues in 'Rann', but they definitely bring in a humane aspect to the proceedings,' said the director.

'Suchitra plays the role of a programming head with Amitabh Bachchan's new channel and she is in constant conflict with him since she can see the cut throat competition in the outside world. On the other hand, Gul is indifferent to what's happening in the country and first thinks about herself and her man (Riteish Deshmukh) before anything or anybody else.'

Neetu Chandra, who had replaced Raima Sen in the film's cast just before the shooting, is paired opposite Sudeep and also has a few scenes with Amitabh Bachchan.

'Hers is one character which keeps her completely out of the entire political equation and does not understand the intricacies of power games and hidden motivations behind actions of people. Bring them all together and they represent the common man,' said Varma.

Produced by Sheetal Vinod Talwar and Madhu Mantena, 'Rann' is set for release Jan 29.


©Indo-Asian News Service

'Phoonk 2 is scarier than Phoonk'

Nithya Ramani in Mumbai

Say what you will of Ram Gopal Varma, but his horror films always seem to thrill. It's evident from the impact his spook tales like Bhoot, Darna Mana Hai, Darna Zaroori Hai and Phoonk have.

Since Phoonk did farely well at the box office, the filmmaker has decided to make its sequel. It will be directed by first-timer Milind Gadagkar, who had written Phoonk. Phoonk 2 is ready to release early next year.

Nithya Ramani caught up with Ram Gopal Varma to quiz him about Phoonk 2, why he didn't direct it himself and what new thrills he has added to the story.

Why did you decide to make a sequel to Phoonk?

Making a sequel to a film that has done well is an obvious step. Especially in the horror genre.

Milind, who wrote the first film, suggested that we do a sequel to Phoonk. I didn't see a reason why we shouldn't.


Image: A scene from Phoonk 2

Agyaat: Watch it to believe it!

I just got back from Agyaat and I am not done laughing yet.

Ram Gopal Varma's thriller is seriously, decidedly, indisputably funny -- in the ridiculous dialogues recycled by the characters (seems the writers ran out of words), in the forced, schmaltzy romantic interludes, and even the way almost all the characters in this ensemble cast are hurriedly bumped off or turn suicidal so that the lead pair can carry on with their lives.

It makes the television horror shows look classier, more substantial.

Forget the preamble, and let's cut to the chase. Here are some compelling reasons why you should watch Ram Gopal Varma's latest re-launch pad for his old muse Priyanka Kothari (aka Nisha Kothari ):

You will want to watch it because the monsoons are waning, it is hot outside and the chilling air-conditioning in the theatres works much better than the purported chills of the movie.

You want to know what a reputed director does in his spare time with his spare group of lackeys and technicians. Well, he goes to a jungle and makes his characters play Ringa-Ringa-Roses around the same spot, dunks them in water and bumps them off. The more irrelevant you are, the earlier you die.

You want to play the guessing game with your friends in which everyone will be a winner. You know when a motley crew gets stranded in a jungle, they will all be bumped off one by one. You know when frogs croak loudly and bees buzz angrily, something is not right. You know, when the camera sneaks up on a character from the back, he/she either dies or it is a false alarm. The list goes on and on and on...

You want to see how a director gets to bastardise a classic scarefest such as the Predator, and have the gumption to promote it the way he did. No self-respecting filmmaker will ever want to claim credits for as shoddy a product as this. You are curious to know what Varma was on when he made this.

You are a fan of Priyanka Kothari, and want to see for yourself what a spectacularly bad actress she is and how Varma has the innate ability to make all his leading ladies look the same, move the same way and strip at the slightest excuse -- this time, it is the damn leeches. But small correction, when a leech latches on to your body, you don't feel a thing. Not until someone else spots it. Law of the jungle Mr Varma.

RGV says hanging dummy dead bodies was to get noticed

New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) Perhaps Ram Gopal Varma doesn't need to get noticed any more after he created panic by getting dummy dead bodies hung at 15 locations in Mumbai. And the unapologetic filmmaker says it was merely for more publicity for his supernatural thriller 'Agyaat'.

'The whole thing was to create publicity. And this sort of an idea came up to garner publicity which represents the concept and context of the film. Now since 'Agyaat' is a scary film - and has people dying - this was a good way to create that sort of an atmosphere,' Varma told IANS.


Varma and the creative team of UTV, which has co-produced the movie, planted the hoardings with the dummy Sunday night.

Priyanka ko darr kyun lagta hai

Priyanka Kothari -- formerly known as Nisha Kothari -- had to deal with mosquitos and painful mosquito bites when she decided to promote her forcoming film, Agyaat, in a jungle! Of course, it's very tough to actually find a jungle in the city of Mumbai, so she had to be content with a bit of greenary in suburban Andheri.

A horror film, Agyaat will be directed by Ram Gopal Varma, who had earlier directed the actress in his flop film, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag.